Top Stories - AP

EL CAJON, Calif. - A man has been convicted of torture and attempted murder for beating and kidnapping a 76-year-old California woman and holding her in a car trunk for 26 hours. Full Story »

RAYVILLE, La. - A Louisiana high school student was killed after she fell into the path of a departing school bus during a fight with another student. Full Story »

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - One man was killed and another wounded during an early Monday robbery at a downtown Anchorage hotel, police said. Full Story »

RIVERSIDE, Calif. - Two Riverside County men have been found guilty of murdering an 18-year-old girl, putting her body in a 55-gallon drum and leaving it in a field in Southern California. Full Story »

BRIDGEWATER, N.J. - Students returned Monday to a New Jersey high school that prosecutors say was the target of a "Columbine-like" plot and were greeted by a police presence that was intended to reassure that Bridgewater-Raritan High School was safe. Full Story »

As of Monday, Dec. 14, 2009, at least 4,370 members of the U.S. military had died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. Full Story »

HONOLULU - New and dramatic species of coral and sponges have been found in the Pacific during deep sea dives near the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, scientists said Monday. Full Story »

NEW YORK - A federal judge has ruled the New York Police Department must release 2,000 pages of documents related to its surveillance of protesters before the 2004 Republican National Convention. Full Story »

ZION NATIONAL PARK, Utah - Zion National Park is establishing a sister relationship with a national park in China. Full Story »

SANTA ANA, Calif. - A convicted triple murderer has been indicted in the slayings of five Southern California women in the 1980s and '90s. Full Story »