The scandal embroiling an elementary school where two teachers were arrested last week on lewdness charges widened Wednesday with revelations of 200 more inappropriate photos of children and that one teacher sent warmly written birthday cards and presents to students who participated in his "games."

A social worker pleaded with a 911 dispatcher throughout a nearly seven-minute call to quickly get police to Josh Powell's house after he locked himself inside with his two sons.

Washington state lawmakers voted to approve gay marriage Wednesday, setting the stage for the state to become the seventh in the nation to allow same-sex couples to wed.

An ocean experiment that was accidentally conducted amid the shipping silence after Sept. 11 has shown the first link between underwater noise and stress in whales, researchers reported Wednesday.