OMAHA, Neb. – At least three homes were destroyed and at least three others were damaged by one of the six wildfires burning in the Nebraska Panhandle. About 700 firefighters were battling the fires, which have scorched more than 62 1/2 square miles and continued to be fueled by triple-digit …

SHANGHAI – Hollywood studio Warner Bros. is taking on the pirates in China’s film market, using lightning-fast home-video release and low prices to beat DVD counterfeiters at their own game. Warner’s China film-making joint venture released its first picture, a low-budget film called “Crazy Stone,” in cinemas on June 30, …

NEW YORK – Wall Street fell modestly Thursday as investors collected profits amid nervousness about the government’s second-quarter gross domestic product report. Concerns about another product delay at Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) weighed on the technology sector. Robust earnings growth at major oil companies lifted stocks through most of the session, …

GOLDEN, Colorado – Pete Coors, the telegenic beer company executive and chief commercial pitcher, as well as a former Senate candidate, was arrested in May for allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol, court officials said Thursday. Coors was driving a 2004 Jaguar when he was pulled over in Golden …

CAMARILLO, Calif. – U.S. retail gas prices dropped nearly 24 cents a gallon in the past two weeks, the third consecutive decline since a mid-August peak, according to a survey Sunday. The national average for self-serve regular was about $2.42 on Sept. 22, down from about $2.65 two weeks earlier, …

SCHAUMBURG, Ill. – Consumers needing a cell phone or accessories on the run have a new option now that Motorola Inc. has rolled out a series of what the company calls “robotic stores.” The vending machinelike stores unveiled Wednesday will carry about 30 products, initially including 12 phones and 18 …

PORTLAND, Maine – The Maine attorney general’s office has asked that Christian Nielsen, charged in the savage murders of four people over Labor Day weekend, be given a psychiatric evaluation. The state submitted the request to Superior Court Justice Robert Crowley to help determine if Nielsen, 31, is competent to …

Breaking up is hard to do, and nobody knows that better than Bernd Dressler. That’s why he set up what he calls a “separation agency” to make the jilting of lovers a more sanitary affair for those who desire a split but can’t be bothered to do the dirty work. …

CHICAGO – Candles used for light in an apartment without electricity probably caused a fire that killed six children inside, a fire department official said Monday as fire investigators continued sifting through debris. The fire, the city’s deadliest in years, has been classified as accidental but the Chicago Police Department …

MOODY AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. – A North Carolina native who told authorities she was kidnapped during a shopping trip in Kyrgyzstan returned Thursday to her Georgia Air Force base, the military said. Maj. Jill Metzger was reported missing last week and the same week found by local officials. She …