Oct. 19 Reports: Dennis Alan Mahnkey, 49, was arrested for suspicion of DUII. Jamie Rae Neff, 32, was cited and released for second-degree theft. Kyle Richard Kroeger, 24, was arrested for suspicion of DUII. Oct. 20 Reports: Rian Eugene Bernhardt, 32, was arrested for conspiracy to commit assault, first-degree assault, and felony hit-and-run. Garnet Ewart Hunter, 26, was arrested on an outstanding warrant. Joseph Anthony Cepeda, 46, was arrested on an outstanding warrant. Jason Edward Welch, 27, was arrested for suspicion of DUII. Kristopher ... [full story]

CHICAGO -- Family members said a suburban Chicago mother who disappeared Sunday had a troubled marriage and wanted a divorce from her police sergeant husband.Stacy Peterson, 23, of Bolingbrook, Ill., told her sister just one day before she disappeared that she feared for her life, The Chicago Tribune reported Friday.Suzan Robinson said Stacy Peterson described her husband, Drew, as "a very jealous, very controlling person.""He followed her. Tracked her with GPS on her cell phone, ... [full story]

SANTA ANA, Calif. -- Fire officials in Southern California prepared the area for the possibility of further wildfires as strong Santa Ana winds were predicted to resume Friday.Fire departments placed teams in areas thought to be vulnerable to fires ahead of the expected resumption of strong winds Friday afternoon, the Los Angeles Times reported.The responders gave particular focus to populated areas that haven't been hit by large fires in recent years, including Topanga Canyon, Simi ... [full story]

NEW YORK -- U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., said if elected president of the United States he would personally try to strike a deal with Iran.The Democrat seeking his party's nomination for president told The New York Times in an hourlong interview that he would offer economic inducements and might even promise not to seek "regime change" in exchange for Iran's cooperation on terrorism and nuclear issues.Obama blamed the Bush administration's policies in the region ... [full story]

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- A federal jury in Alaska found former state Rep. Victor Kohring guilty of conspiracy, bribery and attempted extortion.Kohring, R-Wasilla and a legislator from 1994 to 2007, was convicted for soliciting and receiving financial benefits from a company in exchange for "performing official acts" on behalf of the company while he was a legislator, the U.S. Justice Department said in a news release.“Former Rep. Victor Kohring betrayed his oath of office and the ... [full story]

GUANGZHOU, China -- Provincial authorities in Guangdong, China, said more than 80 percent of the toy factories in the province are substandard.They said a survey conducted of the factories resulted in export quality certificates being revoked or suspended in one-third of the facilities, The Telegraph of Britain reported Friday.The survey followed recalls issued for millions of toys that were found to have faulty designs or contain toxic paint. The Chinese government and federal quality control ... [full story]

MOSCOW -- The prime suspect in the London death of former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko suggested that the poisoned man may have accidentally killed himself.Andrei Lugovoy said Thursday, the one-year anniversary of Litvinenko's death from radioactive polonium-210, that he did not poison the spy-turned-dissident during their meeting at a London hotel in November 2006, The Times of London reported Friday.Lugovoy and his business partner Dmitri Kovtun said at their Moscow news conference that Litvinenko may ... [full story]

WARSAW, Poland -- One Polish soldier was killed Friday and three others were injured when a military vehicle they were traveling in hit a land mine in Iraq.Polish Defense Minister Aleksandar Szczyglo in Warsaw said Andrzej Filipek, 31, of the 3rd mechanized brigade of the southeastern Polish town of Lublin, was declared dead at thr scene of the blast of a land mine planted at a roadside, Polish Radio said.One of the injured soldiers lost ... [full story]

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- Haiti hangs on the verge of political crisis amid concerns over President Rene Preval’s credibility and constitutional reforms.Haiti enjoyed 18 months of relative calm before a political firestorm erupted over delays in senate elections, electoral investigations and speculation concerning the country's 20-year-old constitution, the Miami Herald reported Friday.No date has been set to replace 11 senators whose terms expire Jan. 14 and Preval said he wants to replace the current Provisional Electoral ... [full story]

MANAMA, Bahrain -- The crown prince of Bahrain accused Iran of steering its nuclear program to weaponization amid internal sectarian divides.King Salman bin Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa said of Iran’s nuclear program in an interview with the Times of London Friday, “While they don’t have the bomb yet, they are developing it, or the capability for it.”Bahrain, a Western ally hosting the U.S. fleet monitoring the Strait of Hormuz, warned that “the whole region” could ... [full story]