AP Top U.S. News At 11:09 p.m. EST

Michael Jackson's doctor pleads not guilty
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Michael Jackson's doctor pleaded not guilty Monday to involuntary manslaughter in the death of the pop star at a brief hearing that had all the trappings of another sensational celebrity courtroom drama....

Rep. John Murtha, Iraq war critic, dies at 77
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) -- Rep. John Murtha, the tall, gruff-mannered former Marine who became the de facto voice of veterans on Capitol Hill and later an outspoken and influential critic of the Iraq War, died Monday. He was 77. The Pennsylvania Democrat had been suffering from complications from gallbladder surgery. He died at Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington, Va., with his family at his bedside, the hospital said....

Criminal probe is launched in Conn. plant blast
MIDDLETOWN, Conn. (AP) -- Authorities launched a criminal investigation Monday into the cause of an explosion that killed five people at a power plant under construction, saying they couldn't rule out negligence....

Man arrested after Detroit airport security breach
ROMULUS, Mich. (AP) -- A portion of a terminal at Detroit Metropolitan Airport was evacuated Monday after a man without a boarding pass walked through a passenger screening checkpoint and refused to obey security officers, officials said....

Seats at a premium on planes, trains out of DC
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A $20 cab ride to the airport skyrocketed to the "snow rate" of $100 in the nation's capital, and those travelers who could get to the airport or train station still had to haggle or wait in long lines to escape the snowbound Mid-Atlantic....

AP Interview: NY's Paterson lashes back at rumors
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) -- New York Gov. David Paterson on Monday lashed back at what he called a "callous and sleazy" assault on his character in statehouse rumors and media reports that include accusations about womanizing and drug use, allegations he flatly denied....

Buffalo man accused of imprisoning 13-year-old
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) -- A 26-year-old Buffalo man remained jailed Monday on charges of holding a 13-year-old runaway in his house for six months, having sex with her more than 100 times and making her baby-sit his 1-year-old son....

Lawyer: Wife mulled extorting Ill. murder suspect
JOLIET, Ill. (AP) -- Days before a former suburban Chicago police officer's fourth wife vanished in 2007, she told a divorce attorney that her husband thought she suspected he had killed his previous wife and suggested extorting money from him to keep quiet, the lawyer testified Monday....

Attorney: Brooke Sheen wants case dismissed
ASPEN, Colo. (AP) -- Charlie Sheen and his wife were reunited Monday after a judge modified a restraining order and allowed them them to work out their differences following a Christmas Day domestic violence dispute in which the actor allegedly pinned his spouse on a bed with a knife to her throat....

NYC man pleads guilty to killing girlfriend's cat
NEW YORK (AP) -- A graphic designer accused of surreptitiously killing a series of his girlfriend's cats pleaded guilty Monday to aggravated animal cruelty, ending an eerie case in which authorities said the unsuspecting woman kept replacing her dying pets....