WASHINGTON (AP) -- America is swiftly becoming a granny state. Less frail and more involved, today's grandparents are shunning retirement homes and stepping in more than ever to raise grandchildren while young adults struggle in the poor economy.

EXETER, N.H. (AP) -- Despite a new rival's surge, Mitt Romney is campaigning as though he's still the GOP presidential front-runner, focusing his criticisms on President Barack Obama, taking few risks and keeping most proposals vague enough to leave ample maneuvering room.

BUXTON, N.C. (AP) -- A nightmare Hurricane Irene barreled toward the Eastern Seaboard on Thursday, sending thousands of vacationers fleeing and threatening up to 65 million people from the Carolinas to New England.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Americans are plenty angry at Congress in the aftermath of the debt crisis and Republicans could pay the greatest price, a new Associated Press-GfK poll suggests.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Americans eager to give after the 9/11 terrorist attacks poured $1.5 billion into hundreds of charities established to serve the victims, their families and their memories. But a decade later, an Associated Press investigation shows that many of those nonprofits have failed miserably.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Singles, take note: With marriages at an all-time low, states in the South and West rank among the highest for couples hearing wedding bells. But many of these states also have higher rates of divorce.

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) -- Hattiesburg Mayor Johnny DuPree on Tuesday became the first black candidate in modern times to win major-party nod for Mississippi governor in a state that hasn't had a black statewide official since Reconstruction.

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Soon after the lunch plates stopped rattling and books stopped thumping to the floor, shaken easterners could hear another sound from Tuesday's magnitude-5.8 quake: snickering emanating from the opposite side of the continent.

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) -- A handwritten letter from author Kathryn Stockett has become the focal point of a lawsuit over her bestselling novel "The Help," which has been made into a box office hit.

DENVER (AP) -- The strongest earthquake to strike Colorado in more than 40 years shook awake hundreds of people, toppled groceries off shelves and caused minor damage to homes in the southern part of the state and in northern New Mexico. No injuries were reported as aftershocks continued Tuesday.