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ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A Chechen immigrant shot to death in central Florida after an altercation with an FBI agent had several ties to one of the Boston Marathon bombing suspects who authorities were questioning him about at the time.

By Keith Coffman DENVER (Reuters) - Public defenders representing James Holmes, accused of killing 12 moviegoers in Colorado last summer, will return to court on Thursday to challenge the state's insanity defense law in a bid to try to avoid the death penalty for their client. Lawyers representing Holmes, 25, are challenging Colorado's capital punishment statute on several fronts, and on Thursday are arguing that it unconstitutionally bars him from calling his own mental health experts at sentencing if he refuses to cooperate with court-appointed psychiatrists. ...

Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today:

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — The FBI has arrested a suspect in a case involving the discovery of a pair of letters containing the deadly poison ricin and says investigators are working "around the clock" to address any remaining risks.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama on Thursday is expected to address some of the thornier aspects of national security policy, including drone strikes, the prison at Guantanamo Bay and the dire threats Americans continue to face — even from fellow citizens.

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A Chechen immigrant shot to death in central Florida after an altercation with an FBI agent had several ties to that of one of the Boston Marathon bombing suspects who authorities were questioning him about at the time.

So, you're considering college but don't have the dough. Or maybe you're out of college now and still don't have the dough. You're not alone: In the past 30 years, the cost of a college degree has risen 1,120 percent and the number of people taking out loans to pay for it has skyrocketed. The [...]

Making money off the student loan industry isn’t just for big banks anymore. Thanks to new lending rules and historically low interest rates, the federal government is now getting a sizable piece of the action. Commercial banks like Sallie Mae, a former government agency now the nation’s largest private student loan lender, continue to make [...]

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A Chechen immigrant shot to death in central Florida after an altercation with an FBI agent had several ties to that of one of the Boston Marathon bombing suspects who authorities were questioning him about at the time.

"Plaza (Towers Elementary School) did the best they could. That's all they have. I'm big on the schools need shelters. They need storm cellars, something where these kids can go and we're not picking through rubble to try and find our kids." — Mikki Davis, mother of 8-year-old Oklahoma tornado victim Kyle Davis.

MOORE, Okla. (AP) — All that is left of Shayne Patterson's three-bedroom home is the tiny area where his wife hunkered down under a mattress to protect their three children when a tornado packing winds of at least 200 mph slammed through his neighborhood.

BANGKOK (AP) — The price of oil fell below $93 per barrel Thursday after a survey showed manufacturing activity in China falling to its lowest level in seven months, a sign that the recovery in the world's No. 2 economy is fading.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The economy is recovering, the White House is dealing with multiple controversies, and President Barack Obama appears generally unaffected either way.

BANGKOK (AP) — Japanese stocks plummeted Thursday after a spike in government bond yields and unexpectedly weak Chinese manufacturing spooked investors sitting atop months of massive gains in share prices. The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo nosedived 7.3 percent to close at 14,483.98, its worst drop since the 2011 tsunami.

NORTH WEBSTER, Ind. (AP) — A school bus slammed into the back of another one, setting off a chain-reaction crash involving four buses in northern Indiana, leaving about 50 middle and high students with non-serious injuries and one driver seriously injured.

DENVER (AP) — Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper's decision to block the execution of convicted killer Nathan Dunlap for as long as he is governor infuriated victims' relatives and drew quick criticism from Republicans ahead of the 2014 election.

PHOENIX (AP) — Jurors in Jodi Arias' murder trial resume deliberations Thursday after they were unable to reach a unanimous verdict on whether she should be sentenced to life in prison or death for killing her one-time boyfriend, prompting the judge to instruct them to keep trying.

DENVER (AP) — In the most prominent challenge of its kind, Hobby Lobby Stores Inc. is asking a federal appeals court Thursday for an exemption from part of the federal health care law that requires it to offer employees health coverage that includes access to the morning-after pill.

YORBA LINDA, Calif. (AP) — U.S. Navy Lt. Mike McGrath was just 27 years old, with a wife and two toddler sons in the U.S., when he was shot down and taken prisoner on his 179th bombing mission during the Vietnam War.

NEW YORK (AP) — A company that promised sightseer tours to the Bronx that included a New York City "ghetto" has stopped the bus rides under fire from an outraged neighborhood.