HAMILTON, Ohio (AP) - A judge has sentenced an Ohio teenager convicted in the torture beating of a mentally disabled woman to 44 years in prison.

PITTSBURGH (AP) - A federal appeals court Friday refused to dismiss fraud and theft charges against celebrity pathologist Cyril Wecht and said he can be tried again - but ordered the judge replaced to help ease the ``rancor in the courtroom.''

WHEATON, Ill. (AP) - Police say a man who wrested a gun from a police officer and took a dozen hostages in a bank in suburban Chicago has died after shooting himself in the head.

HOMESTEAD, Fla. (AP) - Ike is still far out in the Atlantic, but it's getting a close look from those who weathered 1992's Andrew, the devastating Category 5 storm against which all other Florida hurricanes are measured.

ContentType:Spot Development; ContentElement:FullStory; Breaking:True; ^By SAMANTHA CRITCHELL= ^AP Fashion Writer=

MARINETTE, Wis. (AP) - A Michigan man accused in a shooting rampage that killed three teenage swimmers at a river on the Wisconsin-Michigan border pleaded insanity to 10 felonies Friday, including new counts that he tried to kill six other teens.

WHEATON, Ill. (AP) - A suspect took at least one person hostage in a bank on Friday, forcing a standoff with police and prompting the evacuation of nearby office buildings and businesses, authorities said.

ContentType:Spot Development; ContentElement:FullStory; Breaking:True; ^By DUNCAN MANSFIELD= ^Associated Press Writer=

UNITED NATIONS (AP) - Nearly every nation pledged to do more to combat terrorism with the approval Friday of a U.N. General Assembly resolution that does not include a definition of such activities or say anything about states that engage in terrorist acts.

DALLAS (AP) - The oldest gorilla in captivity, a 55-year-old female named Jenny, has died at the Dallas Zoo - her home for more than half a century, a spokesman said Friday.

SAN DIEGO (AP) - Four San Diego men have been sentenced to between 90 and 349 days in jail for their roles in the beating death of professional surfer Emery Kauanui (kow-ah-NOO'-ee) last year.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - It's the season for Alaskans to be rewarded just for living here and this year's take is extra sweet: $3,269, a record share of the state's oil wealth combined with a special cash payout to help with stratospheric energy prices.

ContentType:Spot Development; ContentElement:FullStory; Breaking:True; ^By JEFFREY COLLINS and MIKE BAKER= ^Associated Press Writer=

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - Former Arkansas governor and U.S. Sen. David Pryor will lead the state Democratic Party after the shooting death of its chairman, Bill Gwatney.

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) - Substandard science has hurt a federal agency's seven-year effort to document possible links between industrial pollution and health problems in the Great Lakes region, an independent review panel said Friday.

HONOLULU (AP) - Rescuers on Friday searched for a missing crew member from a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter that crashed in ocean waters off Oahu, killing the three others on board.

CAPE MAY COURT HOUSE, N.J. (AP) - A Pennsylvania dentist has been charged with the Jersey Shore's most serious beach-dumping case in two decades, medical waste that sullied the coast in a popular area and forced beach closures at the height of vacation season.

PITTSBURGH (AP) - A federal appeals court refused Friday to dismiss fraud and theft charges against celebrity pathologist Cyril Wecht and said he can be tried again with a new judge presiding.

ContentType:Enterprise/Feature; ContentElement:FullStory; Breaking:False; ^By GREG BLUESTEIN= ^Associated Press Writer=

ContentType:Spot Development; ContentElement:FullStory; Breaking:True; ^By KEVIN MAURER= ^Associated Press Writer=