HOUSTON (AP) -- The end of the space shuttle program is hitting its Florida launch home in the pocketbook with some areas practically becoming economic ghost towns. But Houston, home of Mission Control, is getting hit somewhere else: in the ego.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- They've been spotted in the suburbs and in New Orleans' biggest park, along river levees and on some streets. Coyotes - some possibly driven from their territories along the levee by the Mississippi River's spring flooding - are being targeted by SWAT teams in suburban Jefferson Parish. Officials are considering deploying sound systems that mimic the noises of cougars - a traditional coyote enemy.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- In 1995, no state had an obesity rate above 20 percent. Now, all but one does. An annual obesity report by two public health groups looked for the first time at state-by-state statistics over the last two decades. The state that has the lowest obesity rate now - Colorado, with 19.8 percent of adults considered obese - would have had the highest rate in 1995.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The number of people applying for unemployment benefits fell last week to the lowest level in seven weeks, although applications remain elevated.

No sooner had Casey Anthony been acquitted on charges of killing her daughter than her attorneys lashed out against cable news coverage that they said unfairly cast the verdict as shocking.

BALTIMORE (AP) -- A century and a half ago, women weren't allowed into military service; masquerading as men was the only way in for those who weren't satisfied with supporting the war effort from home or following their husbands' military units around. As the country marks the 150th anniversary of the War Between the States, some female re-enactors still cling to secrecy - not just for historical accuracy but because uniformed women aren't always welcome in the male-dominated hobby.

ATLANTA (AP) -- Former Atlanta schools Superintendent Beverly Hall knew about cheating allegations on standardized tests but either ignored them or tried to hide them, according to a state investigation.

LITTLE AXE, Okla. (AP) -- Wanda Tiger and her husband needed a new home after a long-term house-sitting arrangement came to an end. But for members of their American Indian tribe in rural Oklahoma, affordable housing options were few. Then tribal leaders learned of an impossibly attractive offer: Mobile homes that had never been occupied were available from the government almost for free. They had stood vacant for years after being rejected as temporary housing following Hurricane Katrina.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) -- The space shuttle was sold to America as cheap, safe and reliable. It was none of those.
It cost $196 billion over 40 years, ended the lives of 14 astronauts and managed to make less than half the flights promised.
Yet despite all that, there were some big achievements that weren't promised.

ATLANTA (AP) -- Bolstered by support from his loyal radio talk-show audience and tea party backers, businessman Herman Cain has revved up mainstream conservatives, rising recently to third place in a poll of voters in Iowa, the leadoff caucus state.