The undisputed champion among the men's professional leagues when it comes to racial and gender hiring practices, the NBA once again has received a combined "A" for its continued effort to employ minorities and women in important positions within the league and its 30 teams.

University of Central Florida football player Ereck Plancher died after a preseason practice from complications of sickle cell trait, not an undetected heart problem as school attorneys have argued, a cardiologist testified Thursday during a wrongful death trial.

ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) -- A man carrying a backpack containing what authorities said were suspicious materials briefly fled police Friday before he was detained in the middle of the night near the Pentagon.

ATLANTA (AP) -- The gap in cancer death rates between college graduates and those who only went to high school is widening, the American Cancer Society reported Friday.

MIAMI (AP) -- Spanish-language television news is meeting a surge in Hispanic voting muscle and viewership with greatly expanded domestic coverage this year, just in time for the 2012 election season.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A Republican House committee chairman said Wednesday that federal agents were told by superiors to stand aside while gun buyers in Arizona walked away with weapons headed for Mexican drug cartels in a risky U.S. law enforcement operation that went out of control.

ATLANTA (AP) -- U.S. births apparently have declined for a third year in a row, probably because of the weak economy. Births had been on the rise for years, and the number hit an all-time high of more than 4.3 million in 2007.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- The man expected to be in the running to become the first African-American in the No. 2 position of the nation's largest Protestant denomination didn't choose to become a Southern Baptist. By Fred Luter Jr.'s account, it just sort of happened.

HAMBURG, Iowa (AP) -- Crews are trying to beat floodwaters expected to arrive in Hamburg on Tuesday by building up a secondary barrier to protect the small Iowa town after the swollen Missouri River punched a massive hole in the main levee.

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) -- President Barack Obama pledged Monday to push business-friendly policies on issues including free-trade agreements and worker pension funds as he sought to make good on promises to grow the economy and jobs by boosting competitiveness.