Mass. transit authority banning driver cell phones after crash blamed on text-messaging

BOSTON — Massachusetts transportation officials announced Wednesday they were immediately banning nearly all mass-transit drivers in Boston from using or even carrying cell phones or other personal digital assistants after a text-messaging trolley driver caused a crash last week that injured nearly 50 people.

Financial overseer says 29 Detroit schools to close in the fall, saving district $14M annually

DETROIT — The emergency financial manager for the Detroit Public Schools says 29 schools will be closed next fall as the district works to trim a deficit topping $300 million.

Republican head Steele says he regrets how comments about Romney’s religion were interpreted

BOSTON — The head of the Republican Party said Tuesday he regrets the public interpretation of comments in which he said the GOP voted against Mitt Romney last year in part because he was a Mormon. “Chairman Steele regrets the way his comments have been interpreted,” Republican National Committee spokeswoman Gail Gitcho said in a statement.

Obama says unemployment system should be a stepping stone to future work, not a safety net

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama wants unemployment insurance to become a stepping stone for future work by making it easier to enroll in school or job training. Whether he succeeds will depend on the willingness of states and colleges to change the rules.

AFGHAN NOTEBOOK: Pentagon chief’s view of Afghan future shaped by his CIA past

WARDAK PROVINCE, Afghanistan — Defense Secretary Robert Gates looked over his shoulder Friday, not at the craggy, snowcapped peaks of Afghanistan or men in tribal dress behind him, but at his own role in walking away from the country years ago.

Md. becomes first state in nation to protect homeless people under hate-crimes law

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Maryland has become the first state in the nation to protect homeless people under a hate-crimes law.

Breaking the budget could mean prison for RI public servants under lawmaker’s plan

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Hand-wringing, not handcuffs, normally awaits public servants who blow their budgets and need more cash.

Unwed mother Bristol Palin, governor’s daughter, joining teen pregnancy prevention campaign

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Unwed mother Bristol Palin is going to take part in a national campaign to help raise awareness for teen pregnancy prevention.

Alaska Gov. Palin supports initiative to require parental consent for teens seeking abortion

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Gov. Sarah Palin says she’ll sign a petition aimed at letting Alaska voters decide whether girls under 18 should be required to notify their parents before getting abortions.

Senate’s approval of gay marriage, medical marijuana reflect NH’s demographic changes

CONCORD, N.H. — The New Hampshire Senate showed itself to be less liberal than the state House, yet voted to let gays marry and people with debilitating illnesses smoke marijuana if they’ll benefit.

Muslim rebels attacks banana plantation in southern Philippines, 9 wounded, 1 missing

COTABATO, Philippines — About 200 Muslim guerrillas attacked a sprawling banana plantation with grenades and machine guns in the southern Philippines on Sunday, burning 50 houses and wounding at least nine people, officials and rebels said.

Afghan provincial governor changes mind on presidential run against Karzai

KABUL — An influential Afghan governor who had signaled his intention to run for president said Saturday he will not, leaving President Hamid Karzai in an increasingly strong position to win re-election.

Obama says he hopes to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice David Souter by October

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama said Friday he will replace retiring Supreme Court Justice David Souter with someone who shares the president’s respect for “constitutional values” and hopes to have “him or her” seated on the nation’s highest court by the start of the next term in October. In a dramatic flourish, Obama interrupted spokesman Robert Gibbs’ daily press briefing to announce that he had just talked to Souter.

Source: Liberal-leaning Justice David Souter retiring from Supreme Court in June

WASHINGTON — Justice David Souter is planning to retire after nearly two decades on the Supreme Court, but his departure is unlikely to change its conservative-liberal split.

Louisiana, Saints announce a partnership that commits the club to the Superdome through 2025

NEW ORLEANS — The New Orleans Saints and the state of Louisiana have announced a new partnership that will continue the club’s commitment to the state through 2025 and also create a new Sports Development District.

Saints and state agree to extension of Superdome lease

NEW ORLEANS — The New Orleans Saints have agreed to a lease extension that will keep the NFL team playing home games in an improved Louisiana Superdome through the 2025 season.

AP Source: Chrysler lender talks break off, company headed for bankruptcy protection

DETROIT — Talks between Chrysler LLC’s lenders and the Treasury Department to reduce the automaker’s $6.9 billion in secured debt and keep it out of bankruptcy protection have disintegrated, a person familiar with the talks said early Thursday.

Bankruptcy filing shows Tribune plans to pay Zell’s legal bills

CHICAGO — Tribune Co. will pay the legal bills of Chairman and Chief Executive Sam Zell related to a federal corruption investigation into former Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

Party switcher Specter: Cancer survivor and political survivor known for independent streak

WASHINGTON — For decades, Arlen Specter was the kind of Republican who would rather fight than switch.

Renewed debate in NJ over granting in-state tuition rates to illegal immigrants

NEWARK, N.J. — Piash Ahamed has been living in New Jersey since legally emigrating from Bangladesh with his family as a child. He attended state public schools, graduated from high school at the top of his class and was accepted at Rutgers University.

Residents of Chicago suburb express fear, anger over alleged contaminated well water

CRESTWOOD, Ill. — Hundreds of outraged residents packed a community meeting Saturday to confront village officials about allegations that they knowingly drew drinking water from a contaminated well for more than two decades.

Blagojevich returns to Chicago after promoting NBC reality TV show in Los Angeles

CHICAGO — After embracing his celebrity status and promoting a reality TV show in Los Angeles, ousted Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (blah-GOY’-uh-vich) is back in Chicago.

Donald G. Jones, clergyman who mentored a young Hillary Rodham, dies at 78

MADISON, N.J. — Drew University professor and Methodist minister Donald G. Jones, who was spiritual mentor for a young Hillary Rodham Clinton, died Thursday at age 78.

Ill. fires transportation official who got ‘midnight raise’ weeks before Blagojevich ousted

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Illinois has fired a transportation official who saw his salary nearly double in five years, including an 8 percent bump in the final days of ousted Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s administration.

General Motors’ lengthy shutdown of plants this summer threatens to have far-reaching impact

DETROIT — General Motors ‘ decision to shut down 13 assembly plants for up to 11 weeks this summer will disrupt far more than the lives of nearly 24,000 workers, rippling out to damage part suppliers, local businesses and state economies.

Report finds state budgets hammered by national recession

NEW YORK — The national economic recession has hammered state budgets nationwide, with at least 43 states projecting deficits totaling more than $121 billion next year, a new report found.

Support builds to revamp California Constitution as budget crises, bickering paralyze state

SAN CARLOS, Calif. — Fed up with the budget crises and partisan battles that have paralyzed California for years, some influential voices believe it’s time to tear open the state constitution and start anew.

Aye, aye, cap’n, and pass the ketchup: Bring-your-own picnic planned for hijacked captain

MONTPELIER, Vt. — It’s no ticker-tape parade, just a bring-your-own picnic in a local park. But for reluctant hero Richard Phillips, it’s just what the captain ordered.

5 Democrats seek to replace storied Philly DA as city struggles with crime, corruption

PHILADELPHIA — Five Democratic candidates in Philadelphia are vying to replace the woman dubbed “America’s deadliest D.A.”

Anchorage woman files ethics complaint against Palin for PAC work, traveling outside Alaska

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s office says she’s being victimized by ridiculous ethics complaints.