LOS ANGELES – Former NBA star Dennis Rodman will be bagging trash instead of baskets after pleading no contest to a misdemeanor charge of spousal battery. The Los Angeles city attorney’s office says Rodman entered the plea Tuesday in Superior Court. Two other counts were dismissed under a plea deal. …

LOS ANGELES – Bill Clinton Tuesday canceled a commencement speech at the University of California, Los Angeles, because of a lingering labor dispute. The former president was scheduled to address 4,000 graduating seniors on Friday, but his office said he would not appear because of the long-running rift between UC …

PHILADELPHIA – The East Coast heat wave has claimed the lives of 17 people, and most of the victims were elderly. The Philadelphia medical examiner’s office says eight people died of heat-related causes in the four days of scorching temperatures. Six others died in New York City and two died …

VAN BUREN, Ark. – A man accused of assaulting and tying up his mother because he was reportedly mad about the death of his pet skunk has been arrested in Waldron, authorities said. Authorities say 35-year-old Scott Tolles Sullivan was arrested early Saturday in Waldron. He is being held without …

NEW YORK – A Manhattan judge has sentenced a former mental patient to three years of probation for stalking and harassing actress Uma Thurman. Jack Jordan of Gaithersburg, Md., will serve the probation in his home state, with the condition that he receive outpatient psychiatric treatment. The prosecutor had sought …

RICHMOND, Va. – A couple who obtained a state marriage license and had a ceremony before authorities realized both were biological men will not face charges, officials said Monday. Antonio E. Blount, 31, and Justin L. McCain, 18, faced misdemeanor false information charges, punishable by a fine up to $250. …

TOKYO – Toyota has developed a new fuel cell hybrid, a green car powered by hydrogen and electricity, that can travel more than twice the distance of its predecessor model without filling up, the automaker said Friday. The improved model’s maximum cruising range is 516 miles (830 kilometers) compared with …

BANGKOK, Thailand – Thailand’s prime minister and seven of his Cabinet ministers held off a parliamentary challenge Friday as street protesters demanded the coalition government’s resignation. Critics accuse Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej’s government of mismanaging the ailing Thai economy, failing to defend the country’s revered monarchy and of being a …

WESTBURY, N.Y. – The battling Lohans are back in court. Nearly a year after they settled their divorce, Lindsay Lohan’s estranged parents were in a Long Island courtroom Tuesday over custody issues. Michael Lohan complained that his ex-wife, Dina, wasn’t living up to a visitation agreement involving their two youngest …

WAUSAU, Wis. – Wisconsin fans of high school sports may soon get this message: Show your team spirit, but don’t expose anything else. The sportsmanship committee of the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association has recommended banning fans with bare or painted chests from indoor games. The proposal will take effect if …