(AP Photo/Kathy Willens,File)

NEW YORK—When the New York Yankees clinched their spot in the World Series last week, the casual TV viewer might have wondered if they were about to go swim the 200-meter butterfly with Michael Phelps.   Full Story

BATON ROUGE, La.—A Louisiana justice of the peace who refused to marry a couple because the bride was white and groom was black has resigned.   Full Story

(AP Photo/Maricopa County Sheriff's Office)

PHOENIX—Two people suspected of stealing up to 1,000 pieces of luggage from baggage claim carousels at Phoenix's airport have been arrested by police who found heaps of the stolen bags strewn throughout their home.   Full Story

DENVER—A Denver public television station is planning a nonprofit investigative news operation with a Web site and on-air program.   Full Story

WASHINGTON—The long-serving head of the nation's best-known preservation group is retiring. Richard Moe has been president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation for 17 years and will step down in the spring.   Full Story

(AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

PORTLAND, Maine—Gay marriage was put to a vote in Maine on Tuesday in a closely watched referendum that gay-rights activists across the country hoped would prove that public opinion is turning in their favor.   Full Story

OAKLAND, Calif.—Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums says he owes back taxes to the Internal Revenue Service.   Full Story

ST. LOUIS—A 31-year-old Canadian man has been sentenced to two years in federal prison for stealing a plane in Canada and flying over three states before landing along a dark southern Missouri highway.   Full Story

NEW YORK—Five immigrant men who were detained in roundups in New York and eventually deported following the Sept.   Full Story

WASHINGTON—Using stimulus dollars as bait, President Barack Obama is coaxing states to rewrite education laws and cut deals with unions as they compete for $5 billion in school reform grants, the most money a president has ever had for overhauling schools.   Full Story