Retail rent on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue soars

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The price for staking ground on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue jumped 22 percent in the past year, spurred by a record number of tourists spending their dollars at top U.S. and international retailers on America's most coveted shopping ground.

Jury deliberations in Edwards trial to resume next week

GREENSBORO, North Carolina (Reuters) - Jurors weighing whether former U.S. Senator John Edwards illegally used campaign funds to conceal an extramarital affair when he ran for president headed home on Friday and will resume deliberations next week.

Pennsylvania Supreme Court judge charged with corruption

(Reuters) - Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Joan Orie Melvin was charged on Friday with illegally using her taxpayer-funded staff to campaign for her seat on the state's highest court.

Soldier to stand trial for 2009 Iraq shooting

SEATTLE (Reuters) - A U.S. soldier accused of killing five fellow servicemen at a military combat stress center in Baghdad in 2009 has been ordered to stand trial in a U.S. military court, officials said on Friday.

Texas town settles council election with coin flip

(Reuters) - In the small Texas town of Wolfforth, it's "Heads I win."

Bride's suspected killer may have fled to U.S.-Mexican border

MCALLEN, Texas (Reuters) - A man suspected of killing his newlywed bride near Chicago and leaving her in a bathtub in the same silver sequin cocktail dress she wore to her wedding reception may have fled to the U.S.-Mexican border in Texas, an FBI affidavit showed.

Oregon bans American Indian team names, mascots for schools

PORTLAND, Oregon (Reuters) - The Oregon state board of education has banned public schools from using American Indian names and mascots for their athletic teams, out of a concern they disparage native American people.

Arizona towns at risk as wildfires hit U.S. Southwest

PHOENIX (Reuters) - An Arizona wildfire threatened two more towns on Friday, with high winds on the way, even as firefighters made progress against the largest of a string of blazes spreading across the U.S. Southwest.

Arizona elections chief seeks proof of Obama's citizenship

(Reuters) - Arizona's secretary of state said Friday he had asked officials in Hawaii to verify that Barack Obama was born in their state in order for the president's name to appear on the November ballot in Arizona.

EPA report outlines potential Pebble mine risks

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - Large stretches of salmon-spawning streams and thousands of acres of wetlands would be wiped out if a large-scale mining project were to be built in southwestern Alaska's copper-rich Bristol Bay region, according to a report issued Friday by the Environmental Protection Agency.