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Now that the Democrats have had convention fun in Denver and anointed Barack Obama as their presidential nominee, it's the Republicans' turn.

They gather next week in St. Paul, Minn., to officially name John McCain their standard-bearer. It seems that everybody will provide coverage of some sort -- a wide variety for aficionados and even casual observers to choose from.

The mystery of sudden infant death has been solved in a growing number of communities in America.

But the answer is seldom SIDS.

Matthew Murray spent more than a year amassing the deadly firepower he used in Sunday's Colorado shootings, once ordering so much ammunition that a worried store clerk called police.

By ERIN ALBERTY and NATE CARLISLE
Salt Lake Tribune
Friday, November 09, 2007

For more than three decades, investigators have suspected one man in the murder of Barbara Rocky.

Since the 21-year-old Brigham Young University student's naked body was found riddled with bullets in 1974, detectives and prosecutors have agonized over whether their case against Gerald Hicker was strong enough to win a conviction.

"We believed there was enough evidence," said former Salt Lake County District Attorney David Yocom, "just not enough for beyond a reasonable doubt."

The case sat filed away until last year, when the sheriff's cold case investigator began re-interviewing witnesses and this year submitted the evidence for prosecutors to review, Yocom said.

By JIM McKINNON
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Thursday, November 01, 2007

A money-hungry "werewolf" left frustrated this week when sandwich shop clerks refused to surrender cash during a robbery.

Though the clerks held their ground, Pittsburgh police Sgt.

By DALE QUINN
Arizona Daily Star
Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Tucson police are investigating a dognapping after someone squeezed through an air-conditioning duct and stole four pricey puppies from a pet store.

By ELAINE REGUS
The Press-Enterprise
Friday, October 19, 2007

Dogs and other animals are struck by cars every day, but it's rare that someone is convicted of intentionally running one over.

By STAN OKLOBDZIJA
Sacramento Bee
Tuesday, October 09, 2007

A love affair with an alleged con artist has left a Rancho Cordova, Calif., man not only heartbroken, but plain old broke as well.

Carl Miller, 77, is in the hole more than $200,000 after falling victim to a classic "sweetheart" scam, according to the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department.

In the course of a 2 1/2-year relationship, Miller refinanced his home to help provide cash and gifts, including a car, to a woman in her 30s, said Sgt.

By BILL SCANLON
Scripps Howard News Service
Thursday, May 24, 2007

A 17-year-old killed his girlfriend's mother, then used the victim's debit card to buy a handsaw to try to dismember the body, according to testimony that left two youths facing life in prison.

Tess Damm, 15, told her boyfriend, Bryan Grove, to kill her mother, then got on a cell phone to ask him what was taking so long, Lafayette police Detective Scott Robinson testified Wednesday during the preliminary hearing into the death of Linda Damm.

Although Linda Damm was an alcoholic who had a stormy relationship with her daughter and Grove, the pair had another motive, Robinson said.

By DON JACOBS
Scripps Howard News Service
Thursday, May 17, 2007

When a Knoxville woman's purse was pilfered from her vehicle while she was getting gas, she harnessed the power of the Internet to alert other women of the danger.

The e-mails, police said, helped reduce the number of potential victims and elicited tips that helped officers nab the suspect. Police arrested a suspect on the same day the 39-year-old woman sent out her e-mail alert.

"It was a good effort between the police and the public," said Knoxville Police Department Sgt. Tammy Mattina.

Rafael Mazyck, 24, faced five charges of theft and one count of evading arrest."Right now, we've linked him to eight cases and are talking to Blount County, also," Mattina said.

The maroon Dodge Durango that Mazyck was driving during the thefts was reported stolen last month in North Charleston, S.C., Mattina said.

Mazyck, Mattina said, would cruise area gas stations watching for women either filling up their vehicles or walking inside the business to pay for their purchase. If he didn't see a purse dangling from the woman's arm, Mattina said, the suspect knew he had a potential victim.

"He would just sit and watch for victims, like a predator," Mattina said.

The Knoxville woman who initiated the e-mail requested anonymity. Her purse was taken about 8 p.m. May 9 while she paid for gas.

While visiting the next evening another gas station where her stolen credit card had been used, the woman recognized the Durango as the same sport utility vehicle she had seen when her purse was taken. She jotted down the license plate information and on May 11 fired off e-mails to co-workers and friends.

Mattina said police already were looking for the Durango when tips prompted by the e-mail started flowing in.