NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A Nashville songwriter accused of killing comedic actress Cheri Oteri’s father has been released on bond. A judge set bond Thursday at $20,000 for Richard William Fagan. The judge has also ordered Fagan to go to a drug and alcohol treatment center. Fagan faces a criminal homicide …

The party isn’t over in California for helium-filled mylar balloons. Even as a proposal to ban the sale of the glittery globes ran out of air last week in the state Senate, where it fell five votes short of passing, some proponents continue to work to get legislation reintroduced. They …

A 21-year-old Buffalo, New York man has been charged with the attempted murder of a paraplegic shot by the suspect’s brother five years ago. According to the Buffalo News, Ronnie Austin is accused of shooting Jamal Watts, 21, twice in the chest while he sat in his wheelchair Sunday afternoon. …

LOS ANGELES – Parvati Shallow was the last woman standing on “Survivor: Micronesia — Fans vs. Favorites.” The 25-year-old boxer and charity organizer from Los Angeles outwitted, outlasted and outplayed her competitors — both “favorite” former castaways and “fan” contestants — to claim the title of “Sole Survivor” and the …

Rex Jameson bikes and swims regularly and plays tennis and skis when time allows. But the 5-foot-11, 180-pound software engineer is lucky if he presses 200 pounds — that is, until he steps into an “exoskeleton” of aluminum and electronics that multiplies his strength and endurance as many as 20 …

OLPE, Germany – German police arrested the mother of three infants whose bodies were found stuffed into a basement freezer, a prosecutor’s spokesman said Monday. Police made the grisly find Sunday night in the town of Wenden, near Olpe, in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia, after receiving a tip …

Erik Youngdahl and Michelle Garcia share a dorm room at Connecticut’s Wesleyan University. But they say there’s no funny business going on. Really. They mean it. They have set up their beds side-by-side like Lucy and Ricky in “I Love Lucy,” and avert their eyes when one of them is …

WASHINGTON – Just months ago, ethanol was the Holy Grail to energy independence and a “green fuel” that would help nudge the country away from climate changing fossil energy. Democrats and Republicans cheered its benefits as Congress directed a fivefold increase in ethanol use as a motor fuel. President Bush …

LAS VEGAS – Microsoft Corp. and Harrah’s Entertainment Inc. introduced a high-tech interactive bar table Wednesday that lets patrons order drinks, watch YouTube videos, play touch-screen games and even flirt with each other. The tables offer Harrah’s a new way to track its customers’ habits and behaviors, adding to its …

A Houston grandfather swam more than eight hours in the dark to reach help for his two friends and a teenage boy after his 15-foot fishing boat capsized on Friday, MyFOXHouston.com reported. Ed Pinson, 63, swam overnight after two waves crashed into his boat, causing it to hit a sandbar …