FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - A niece of the late Tom Carvel, who ran the Carvel ice cream company, has filed a complaint in Fort Lauderdale alleging her uncle was murdered. Pamela Carvel is not convinced her uncle died of natural causes 17 years ago in upstate New York. She believes he was killed because he found out employees had been stealing millions from his company, Newsday reported Monday. Carvel also began the legal process to ... [full story]

MENLO PARK, Calif. - David Halberstam, who won a Pulitzer Prize for his reporting on the Vietnam War, was killed Monday in a three-car crash in California. The 73-year-old New York resident was a passenger in one of the cars, the Palo Alto Weekly reported on its Web site. The crash, which occurred about 10:30 a.m., was being investigated by the Menlo Park (Calif.) police, the newspaper said. The drivers of two of the vehicles ... [full story]

ALAMEDA, Calif. - U.S. Coast Guard officials Monday showed off more than 20 tons of cocaine they said comprised the largest maritime seizure ever. The 765 plastic bags filled with the illegal drug, slapped with a street value price tag of about $300 million, were placed briefly on display in Alameda, Calif., under the watchful eyes of armed federal agents, the Contra Costa Times reported. The crew of the Sherman found the drugs March 17 ... [full story]

JUNEAU, Alaska - A marked fall in the number of harbor seals in Alaska's Glacier Bay National Park may be due to the predatory actions of area sea lions, a report said. The Anchorage (Ala.) Daily News reported Monday documented attacks on harbor seals by sea lions have increased dramatically since 1995 in the Southern Alaskan park and may be behind the recent population decrease. Area experts said the sea lions typically catch a harbor ... [full story]

COLUMBIA, S.C. - A South Carolina jury cleared suspect Kenneth Glenn Hinson of charges of raping two 17-year-old girls in Darlington County, S.C. It was alleged that Hinson raped the girls, bound them with duct tape and left them to die in a secret chamber where he kept marijuana, The State newspaper reported Monday. After deliberating for three hours Sunday night, jurors rejected testimony from the girls and investigators ending the eight-day trial. Hinson testified ... [full story]

RICHMOND, Va. - A Richmond, Va., group asked the governor to seek cancellation of a military exerciseheld in the aftermath of the Virginia Tech massacre. But the U.S. Marine Corps urban training exercises, which included the discharge of blank ammunition and the use of low-flying helicopters, went ahead as scheduled Thursday through Sunday, the Richmond (Va.) Times-Dispatch reported. "It's just so completely inappropriate," Phil Wilayto, spokesman for the group Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality, ... [full story]

CAMDEN, N.J. - New Jersey Gov. Jon S. Corzine showed signs of improvement in his recovery from an April 12 vehicle crash that has become the focus of a major inquiry. The Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger said Corzine took a positive step forward in his recovery on Sunday by eating solid food for the first time since the accident. Corzine is being treated at the Cooper University Hospital in Camden, N.J. Doctors said the governor was ... [full story]

BLACKSBURG, Va. - Classes resumed Monday at Virginia Tech, just one week after gunman Cho Seung-hui killed 32 people and himself on the Blacksburg, Va., campus. The day began with students, faculty and visitors walking through campus buildings carrying 33 white flags followed by a saxophonist playing "America the Beautiful" and then 1,032 balloons were released into the sky, the Richmond (Va.) Times-Dispatch reported. CNN reported that 32 white balloons were released in remembrance of ... [full story]

CHICAGO - A Chicago man who spent 25 years in prison for a rape he didn't commit was the 200th person cleared by DNA evidence in the United States. A Cook County, Ill., judge on Monday dropped all the charges against Jerry Miller, 48, who was released on parole in March 2006. A crowd of Miller's supporters cheered and clapped when Judge Diane Gordon-Cannon vacated Miller's conviction, the Chicago Tribune reported. Miller has always maintained ... [full story]

WASHINGTON - President George W. Bush on Monday said he has confidence in embattled U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. Some members of the Senate Judiciary Committee said after Gonzales appeared before the panel last week -- and repeatedly said he couldn't recall specifics concerning the controversial firings of eight U.S. attorneys last year -- that he should resign. But Bush said Gonzales' Capitol Hill appearance had "increased my confidence in his ability to do the ... [full story]