PITTSBURGH (AP) — A judge on Wednesday ordered a school district to readmit a 14-year-old student expelled for writing violent, profane rap lyrics, finding that his songs didn’t amount to “true threats” against the school and so were protected by the First Amendment. The Riverside Beaver County School District kicked out Anthony Latour because officials…

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minnesota man considered one of the world’s most prolific e-mail spammers was indicted on more than a dozen federal charges related to the operation of his business, Xpress Pharmacy Direct. The indictment against Christopher William Smith, 25, was unsealed Wednesday after he was arrested at his home in Prior Lake. Dr.…

WASHINGTON (AP) — Elderly patients are warming up to the prescription drug benefit that begins next year for Medicare recipients, a survey shows. Even so, the number of people who plan on not enrolling in a drug plan exceeds the number who say they will enroll, according to a survey from the Kaiser Family Foundation.…

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — The owner of a Web site critical of the Rev. Jerry Falwell’s views on homosexuality did not violate trademark laws by using a misspelling of the evangelist’s name as the site’s domain name, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday. A three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously…

WASHINGTON (AP) — For weeks, a federal commission has fretted that the Pentagon’s plans to close several major bases in New England could leave that region vulnerable to security threats. On Wednesday, the nine-member panel voted to ensure a large military presence in every part of the country. Commissioners voted to spare a submarine base…

PLAINFIELD, Ind. (AP) — A leading U.S. Muslim group called on President Bush Wednesday to show his support for mainstream Islam in this country and worldwide by meeting with the group next week in Chicago. Bush could make a powerful statement to the world’s 1.2 billion Muslims by appearing at the annual meeting of the…

BOSTON (AP) — The seven police officers swore they didn’t use cocaine, yet their hair tested positive for the drug. The officers — all of them black — were promptly fired or suspended. “I was in complete and utter shock,” said Officer Shawn Noel Harris. “I know that I never used drugs a day in…

KINGSPORT (AP) — A Rogersville woman charged in a fatal traffic accident was using a cell phone at the time of the crash, police said. Bethany Goodson, 19, was indicted on a charge of criminally negligent homicide and turned herself in at the police station on Monday. Goodson ran a red light May 17 and…

NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee labor leaders unhappy with Gov. Phil Bredesen’s TennCare reforms and his push to cut workers’ compensation benefits a year ago say they’re unsure about re-electing him. The governor addressed the Tennessee AFL-CIO Labor Council’s biennial convention here on Tuesday. While most in the hotel ballroom responded by giving Bredesen standing ovations…

KNOXVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee Valley Authority on Wednesday reported a $15 million loss in the third quarter, blaming rising fuel costs and the price of purchased power. The nation’s largest public utility said operating expenses reached $1.5 billion for the three-month period ending June 30, a 6 percent increase over the same period the…