WASHINGTON - More than one of every 100 adults in the United States is either in jail or prison, said a study released Thursday. The study, conducted by the Pew Center on the States' Public Safety Performance Project, found that at the beginning of 2008, 2,319,258 adults -- or one in every 99.1 men and women -- were incarcerated in U.S. prisons or jails. During 2007, the study found that the U.S. prison population rose ... [full story]

Maggie is a regular visitor at the Audubon Villa nursing home in Litz, Pa. She is a golden retriever. Maggie and her owner, Ginny Wiskeyman, are volunteers with the Animal Assisted Therapy program of the Susquehanna Valley. The late Dean Martin (no relation to the singer) was one of Maggie's first clients to visit. A multiple sclerosis patient, Martin couldn't speak, sit up or control his arms. Ginny put Maggie on a chair so Dean ... [full story]

The garden catalogs are still coming, and with them comes the desire to plant just about everything in the catalog. Not every plant, which is touted as easy to grow in some catalog, will work in everyone's garden. Some people find it simple to grow zucchini and others can't get any production at all.   Cool season crops grow in the spring and fall, while warm season crops develop in the summer. A beginning gardener will ... [full story]

WASHINGTON - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has called on Attorney General Michael Mukasey to open a grand jury probe of a current and a former White House staffer. The House voted to pursue contempt of Congress charges against White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten and former White House Counsel Harriett Miers for not responding to subpoenas issued as part of Congress' investigation into the U.S. attorney firing probe. Mukasey and his predecessor, Alberto ... [full story]

SAN DIEGO - As expected, the San Diego Chargers released fullback Lorenzo Neal and free safety Marlon McCree on Thursday. In a somewhat surprising move, however, offensive tackle Shane Olivea was also released by the two-time defending AFC West champions. Neal, a three-time Pro Bowler in his five seasons in San Diego, had been on the trading block for a week. There were no takers, and the 37-year-old was let go with three seasons remaining ... [full story]

HOUSTON - A Texas school district is investigating allegations that an elementary school teacher repeatedly called her 4- and 5-year-old pupils "stupid." The Houston Chronicle reported Thursday that the teacher's comments were captured on a tape recorder a student's mother had placed in her daughter's backpack. "If it's true, it's a serious breach of a teacher's responsibility to children, and it will be dealt with swiftly and surely," Houston Independent School District spokesman Terry Abbott ... [full story]

NEW YORK - Federal prosecutors have offered plea deals to all but two of 62 suspected mobsters arrested three weeks ago in New York, authorities said. Members of the reputed Gambino crime family and their associates were offered prison terms ranging from four months to nearly 20 years, New York Newsday reported Thursday. The U.S. Attorney's Office in Brooklyn said the plea offers were given to 60 defendants named in a recent 80-count racketeering indictment. ... [full story]

WAUKEGAN , Ill. - An explosion blew out three stores, injuring nine people, at a suburban Waukegan, Ill., mall Thursday, police said. Initial reports indicated the blast may have been a gas explosion, the Chicago Tribune reported. Police evacuated the immediate area. Waukegan Fire Chief Patrick Gallagher said most of the injured were from a hair salon. "Initially when you pulled up to the front of the building, you thought it was a lot worse ... [full story]

TIJUANA, Mexico - A Chinese automaker's announcement last June that it would build a $300 million factory in Baja California was greeted warmly by officials working to turn the state into a car and truck manufacturing center. But eight months later, the Hebei Zhongxing Automobile Co. and its U.S. partner, Chamco, are looking to build their assembly plant elsewhere in Mexico. Chamco's chairman, William Pollack, said Tuesday that the main reason for the change of ... [full story]

Called to jury duty on a hot, smoggy, summer day in 2007, Bitsie Tulloch sighed, then loaded up on reading material before reporting at 8 a.m. in the cavernous holding area for prospective jurors at the massive Superior Court of California facility in downtown Los Angeles.   BITSIE TULLOCH - Bitsie Tulloch plays Dylan, the star of the Web log drama 'quarterlife.' CNS Photo courtesy of Elisabeth Caren.  After four excruciatingly boring hours of reading, re-reading and ... [full story]