ELMIRA, N.Y. – Police say a bronze plaque stolen from Mark Twain’s gravesite in upstate New York has been recovered in good condition. In a statement to media, the Elmira Police Department said the 12-by-12-inch likeness of the American writer was recovered Saturday. The statement said details on how it …

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine government said Wednesday it had received 87 million pesos ($1.97 million) from the United States to pay for damage caused by a U.S. Navy minesweeper to a protected reef two years ago. Manila received the compensation last month for the damage that resulted from the …

HARRISON CITY, Pa. – Authorities say a 50-year-old Pennsylvania woman can be seen on video chugging beer with teens and laughing at a passed-out girl while hosting an underage drinking party at her home. The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (http://bit.ly/1ETt7I4 ) reports Linda Swope, of Harrison City, was charged Thursday with corruption …

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The man rescued from a disabled sailboat off the North Carolina coast is responding to critics of his story, explaining that he avoided sunburn and blisters by staying in the vessel’s cabin and that he survived by rationing food and water. Louis Jordan’s statement, issued Monday, says …

NEW ORLEANS – Lawyers want a federal judge to cancel subpoenas of the two FBI agents and a state trooper who arrested real estate heir Robert Durst because they say state courts need permission to call federal agents. A New Orleans magistrate subpoenaed the three for a hearing about whether …

NEW YORK – If Sunday’s Oscars go on as planned expect to see a number of stars with a new kind of accessory — one that may be especially popular considering the current unstable time in the nation. It has become common to see celebrities toting not just the latest …

HONOLULU – A lake of lava on Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano has been rising over the past week and, at times, overflowing in a spectacular show. Janet Babb, a geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, said Thursday that this is the first time lava from this vent has …

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Thirty-four death-row inmates in Tennessee are challenging the state’s lethal injections protocols. On Wednesday, their attorneys asked the state Supreme Court to let them challenge Tennessee’s backup method of execution as well: the electric chair. Here is a look at some of the chief issues involved: ___ …

MADISON, Wis. – Hundreds, maybe thousands, of Milwaukee criminal cases could be compromised due to a malfunction in January of a contracted video system used for capturing interviews and confessions of suspects, multiple sources tell Wisconsin Watchdog. Among the interviews lost is that of Darmequaye D. Cohill, 21, who was …

WASHINGTON – A warning from theDemocratic National Committee (search)has forced Washington, D.C.’s Democratic Party to back away from the city’s decision to buck tradition and hold its primary on Jan. 13, less thanone week before the Iowa caucus and two weeks before New Hampshire’s usually first-in-the-nation primary. The D.C. Democratic …