State

• Ill. grandmother says she was right to hide boy

• Former cocaine kingpin now serves dogs, not drugs

National

• Milwaukee police: DNA links man to 9 slain women

• Autopsy inconclusive on boy found in septic tank

• San Francisco bridge shutdown spills into workweek

• Stubborn LA blaze flares up, burns deep wilderness

  • Inmates prayed, prepared for death in LA wildfire

• Volunteer NY firefighter honored with 9/11 medal

• Yale criticized for nixing Muslim cartoons in book

• Weak economy sparks rebirth of funeral sciences

• Recall information

International

• NATO confirms civilians died in Afghan airstrike

• UN-backed commission orders Afghan vote recounts

• China says coal mine blast kills 35, traps 44

• Point man in Mexico's war on drug cartels resigns

• Ex-UK prosecutor calls for intercept evidence

• US embassy plans spur rumors, concern in Pakistan

• Pakistan resumes polio vaccinations in Swat

• Prosecutor wants 5 more Khmer Rouge investigated

Politics & Government

• Obama to tell students to take responsibility

  • 'He's the only 1 we've got'; Obama at 8 months

• Obama thanks labor for hard-won rights at work

• Health care dominates as Congress returns

  • Time running out for bipartisan health compromise

• Former Rep. Joseph Kennedy nixes Senate campaign

• SPIN METER: Once Medicare's foe, GOP now boosts it

ODD & Extraordinary

• NY man's next blood donation will be gallon No. 40

• Vermont group tries to take Chili's pepper sign

• Coffee break pays off for Minnesota deputies

• Aliens, zombies try to break 'Thriller' record

Entertainment, Entertainers, Media & Arts

• Nearly $60.5M raised in MDA Telethon

•  'Final Destination' keeps fans coming with $15.4M

• Blige, Brown to perform at Vienna Jackson tribute

• Clooney in Venice for premiere of 'Goats' movie

• Chavez walks Venice red carpet with Oliver Stone

Science, Technology & Environment

• Space crews say goodbye; shuttle departing Tuesday

• Great white sharks tagged for 1st time off Mass.

• In tiny 'Tuk,' they man climate's front line

Today

• This day in history

• The nation's weather