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Key dates in the history of the RMS Titanic: — April 15, 1912: White Star oceanliner sinks 400 miles off the coast of Newfoundland after striking iceberg on maiden voyage. More than 1,500 passengers and crew die. — 1916: Oceanic Steam Navigation Co., Titanic’s owner, pays $664,000 to settle all …

OMAHA, Neb. – A hospital in Nebraska is investigating the cause of a small fire in an operating room that burned a patient. Because of the fire, the federal agency that administers Medicare will audit the hospital’s procedures. Chief medical officer Steve Smith said Wednesday that the Feb. 3 fire …

ST. LOUIS – A suburban St. Louis man is charged with flashing young girls at a lemonade stand. Prosecutors filed two counts of sexual misconduct involving a child Friday against 52-year-old Rodney Swank of O’Fallon. Swank is accused of exposing himself in October to several 8- and 9-year-old girls as …

The Italian man convicted with American student Amanda Knox of murdering her British roommate insisted Friday that Knox, his former girlfriend, is a “sweet girl” who is incapable of murder, Sky News reported. Raffaele Sollecito, who was convicted with Knox last week by an Italian jury of murdering British student …

BENNINGTON, Vt. – Police in Bennington, Vt., arrested a man after school officials suspected he picked up his children from school while intoxicated. Police said staff at the Pownal Elementary School attempted to keep 40-year-old Ted Free from leaving with his two children after observing Free’s odd behavior and slurred …

Scientists believe they have found a “missing link” in the evolution of the virus that causes AIDS. It bridges the gap between the infection that does no harm to most monkeys and the one that kills millions of people. That link is a virus that is killing chimpanzees in the …

A quick trip around Hannity’s America… Car Trouble Is it even news anymore? Another Obama appointee is under investigation. This time, it’s the administration’s “car czar.” The Wall Street Journal revealed Friday that Steven Rattner is the subject of a long-running SEC investigation into a massive pay-to-play scheme. Authorities allege …

LONDON – The only person jailed over the 1988 Lockerbie bombing said he would drop his appeal against conviction — provided Britain allows him to serve the rest of sentence in Libya, a visiting Libyan official said Wednesday. Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi, who is terminally ill with cancer, was found …

RED LAKE, Minn. – This place and its people have never warmed to outsiders. The Red Lake Band of Chippewa (search) have been here for more than a century, fighting among themselves and others for sovereignty in the cold, hard landscape of northern Minnesota. They have closed ranks even more …

VIENNA, Austria – Traders chalked up a sharp decline in oil prices Tuesday to profit-taking ahead of the U.S. government’s next petroleum supply report. With little news to push prices higher Tuesday, trader said the markets also may have keyed on a key OPEC member’s reiteration that the group is …