AP - Rain and high winds lashed Washington state Wednesday, causing widespread avalanches, mudslides, flooding and road closures as the heavy snowfall that has buried parts of the state began to rapidly melt. More than 30,000 people were told to leave their homes in a flood-endangered valley southeast of Tacoma, as authorities warned of heavy flooding.

AP - Watch out, Las Vegas: New York City wants to become the new No. 1 place to tie the knot.

AP - One of Gov. Bill Richardson's close friends and advisers worked as a consultant for the California firm at the center of a federal pay-to-play probe that derailed the governor's appointment as commerce secretary.