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AP Top News at 5:54 p.m. EST
(AP Online Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Fla. police close books on '81 Walsh killingHOLLYWOOD, Fla. (AP) _ A serial killer who died more than a decade ago is the person who decapitated the 6-year-old son of "America's Most Wanted" host John Walsh in 1981, police in Florida said Tuesday. The announcement brought to a close a case that has vexed the Walsh family for more than two decades, launched the television show about the nation's most notorious criminals and inspired changes in how authorities search for missing children. "Who could take a 6-year-old and murder and decapitate him? Who?" an emotional John Walsh said at Tuesday's news conference. "We needed to know. We needed to know. And today we know. The not knowing has been a torture, but that journey's over."
Stocks surge after Fed cuts rates to record lowsNEW YORK (AP) _ A surprised Wall Street bolted higher Tuesday after the Federal Reserve's historic decision to further slash interest rates and pledge broad support to revive the troubled economy. The Dow Jones industrials surged 360 points, or 4.2 percent, and broader indexes jumped more than 5 percent after the central bank said it will use "all available tools" to jump-start the economy. It also set its target for the rate at which banks lend to each other to a range of zero to 0.25 percent, the lowest level on record.
SIPC chief: Madoff falsified books to hide lossesNEW YORK (AP) _ Investors poring over Bernard Madoff's books have discovered the money manager falsified documents to hide massive losses to investors in a fraud case that could take months to unravel, an official helping to oversee the firm's liquidation said. Stephen Harbeck, chief executive of nonprofit group Securities Investor Protection Corporation, told The Associated Press that there are different sets of books that investigators are sorting through.
Ill. parties clash over potential special electionSPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) _ Even without an election, the battle over Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat resembles a classic political campaign, complete with negative ads and heated rhetoric. Illinois Democrats, after initially supporting a special election to replace Obama, this week canceled a vote on an election and backed away in the name of good government. They say an election would cost up to $50 million and leave the state with a Senate vacancy until at least April _ giving the new senator an even shorter window before the 2010 campaign cycle heats up. Republicans say Democrats are simply afraid of losing the election, particularly if a potential backlash arises from the criminal charges against Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich. They claim Democrats want to hold onto the power to appoint a senator.
Russian warships causing no ripples in PentagonWASHINGTON (AP) _ Russian warships have been plying the waters off Venezuela and Panama in recent weeks and are now heading for Cuba, but U.S. officials are not so much wringing their hands as yawning. Asked about a Russian warship transiting the Panama Canal earlier this month, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice _ who saw the ship while crossing the canal last week _ told The Associated Press: "I guess they're on R&R. It's fine."
Nation's first face transplant done in ClevelandA woman so horribly disfigured she was willing to risk her life to do something about it has undergone the nation's first near-total face transplant, the Cleveland Clinic announced Tuesday. Reconstructive surgeon Dr. Maria Siemionow and a team of other specialists replaced 80 percent of the woman's face with that of a female cadaver a couple of weeks ago in a bold and controversial operation certain to stoke the debate over the ethics of such surgery.
Strange dark energy acts as galactic diet enforcerWASHINGTON (AP) _ Mysterious dark energy, which likely causes the universe to keep expanding, seems to have another effect: It prevents the biggest clusters of galaxies from getting too fat. Astronomers used X-rays to study the formation of galactic clusters billions of years ago. Their research supports the hard-to-fathom concept of dark energy as a potent force that governs the growth of the universe. It also means Albert Einstein's century-old theory of general relativity passes another crucial, but not conclusive, real-world test.
Document: Actor Peter Falk has Alzheimer'sLOS ANGELES (AP) _ A court document filed by Peter Falk's daughter says the Emmy-winning actor is suffering from Alzheimer's disease. Catherine Falk is seeking a court's approval for a conservatorship of her 81-year-old father, who she claims no longer recognizes people. A hearing has been scheduled for late January. Falk is familiar to most audiences as the star of the television series "Columbo," for which he won four Emmys. He was also nominated twice for Academy Awards for movie roles in 1959 and 1960.
Police: Armed burglars demand man's eggbeaterTAMPA, Fla. (AP) _ It really must have been a special item. According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, two men entered a man's home early Sunday and demanded his eggbeater. One suspect was holding a pistol while the other brandished a knife to the resident's neck. Police caught the men outside the home and they are being held in Orient Road Jail. One suspect also faces a charge of aggravated assault.
Rafael Furcal near 3-year deal to return to BravesATLANTA (AP) _ Shortstop Rafael Furcal is close to accepting a $30 million, three-year offer to return to the Atlanta Braves. The 31-year-old began his major league career with Atlanta, playing for the Braves from 2000-05. He spent the last three seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers. "He liked the idea of coming back to Atlanta, but there hasn't been any formal agreement," Furcal's agent, Paul Kinzer, said Tuesday. "Everything is preliminary. The whole thing with coming back home intrigued him. He still has a house here in Atlanta."
Copyright ? 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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