By DAVID BAUDER / AP Television Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Journalism in 2004 is in the midst of an epochal transformation that is complicated by cost-cutting and a public mistrust of the media, a study released Sunday concluded. The study, by the Project for Excellence in Journalism, is intended to be the first of…

By MICHAEL J. SNIFFEN / Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Two cutting-edge computer projects designed to preserve the privacy of Americans were quietly killed while Congress was restricting Pentagon data-gathering research in a widely publicized effort to protect innocent citizens from futuristic anti-terrorism tools. As a result, the government is quietly pressing ahead with…

By MARY DALRYMPLE / AP Tax Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Students heading to college may want to make their first class a short course in tax law. They will need it to work out the myriad tax credits, deductions and savings plans that help defray the rising cost of a college education. The complications built…

By BEN FELLER / AP Education Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The struggle over surging health care costs is hitting the classroom as schools increasingly cut teachers and textbooks to pay for insurance. When finance director Dave Jones arrived at the Kodiak Island Borough School District in Alaska seven years ago, the school system spent about…

CAMARILLO, Calif. (AP) — Gasoline prices reached a record high nationwide average of $1.77 a gallon for all grades, rising 1.34 cents in the last two weeks, according to a study released Sunday. Gas prices have jumped by nearly 26 cents so far this year, and while they won’t be falling by that amount any…

By MARK NIESSE / Associated Press Writer ATLANTA (AP) — When Lisa Johnson saw a man exposing himself to her in a parking lot, she reached for her cell phone — not to call 911, but to snap a picture. The images captured on her camera phone led police to the capture of a former…

By CATHERINE TSAI / Associated Press Writer DENVER (AP) — Coin collecting experts say they have identified a 210-year-old silver dollar that is likely the first one coined by the United States Mint. The American Numismatic Association, a coin collectors organization based in Colorado Springs, told The Associated Press on Sunday it planned to put…

By KEN GUGGENHEIM / Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Bush administration officials continue to hold out hope that weapons of mass destruction stockpiles will be found in Iraq. But even if they’re not, they say, the war to topple Saddam Hussein was still worthwhile. The Iraqi leader, now in U.S. custody, represented “the most…

PIGEON FORGE (AP) — A Nashville woman died Sunday after she fell from a ride at an amusement park. June Carol Alexander, 51, of Nashville died from injuries suffered after falling from “The Hawk” at Rockin Raceway. The ride is shaped like a ship and rocks back and forth, going higher each time. It eventually…

By BILL POOVEY / Associated Press Writer Fred Exum, president & CEO of the Krystal Company, sits at the table at a Krystal restaurant in Chattanooga Wednesday, March 3, 2004. The company is starting a new postion of master cashier to help promote customer relationships. (AP Photo) CHATTANOOGA (AP) — Betty Moorer stands out from…