NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The names of at least 10 ministers convicted of or indicted on charges related to sex crimes involving minors were found on an online search directory on the Southern Baptist Convention Web site. The Tennessean reports that number includes three ministers in Tennessee. One has been convicted …

The National Weather Service called flooding in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, a “historic hydrologic event” Thursday as the swollen river poured over its banks at 500-year flood levels, forcing the evacuation of nearly 4,000 homes. The National Weather Service issued a flood warning for the Cedar River in east central Iowa …

MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – Call it poetic justice: More than two dozen young people who broke into Robert Frost’s former home for a beer party and trashed the place are being required to take classes in his poetry as part of their punishment. Using “The Road Not Taken” and another poem …

DEKALB, Ill. – Faculty members at Northern Illinois University are undergoing training about how to help students cope with the aftermath of last week’s campus shooting. Faculty, graduate assistants and some staff will meet in groups of 50 to talk about last week’s shooting spree that killed five students. The …

EUNICE, La. – They began arriving before sunrise — men and women in bright costumes, eager for the annual ritual of fellowship, drinking and merry-making that is the Cajun Mardi Gras. Hundreds of people registered for the Courir de Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday run, a wild send-off to the …

DILI, East Timor – Australian troops backed by a warship arrived in East Timor to boost security Tuesday after rebel attacks on the country’s two top leaders left the president in “extremely serious” condition with gunshot wounds. The government declared a state of emergency amid fears of more unrest and …

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – A woman has been indicted on federal charges that accuse her of placing an ad on the Internet classified ads site Craigslist that solicited the murder of her lover’s wife. Ann Marie Linscott, 48, of Rockford, Michigan, was arrested two weeks ago after she placed the online …

PHOENIX – Polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs was handed over to Arizona authorities Tuesday to face charges alleging he arranged the marriages of two teenage girls to older men. He already has been convicted in Utah. Deputies from the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office took custody of Jeffs from Utah officials, …

TAMPA, Fla. – Authorities say a Labrador retriever named Jet really can fly. The 65-pound dog survived a six story leap from a Tampa airport parking garage and lived. Police and Jet’s owners and vet say the 2-year old dog accidentally leaped over a parking garage railing on New Year’s …

Muslim medical workers in three major English cities are balking at hospital hygiene rules such as rolling up their sleeves when they scrub for surgery, according to The Daily Mail. Health officials have been ready to wash their hands of the dispute, but at least one hospital is bending to …