AP - An 18-year-old high school student stockpiled bomb-making materials in his bedroom and wrote about wanting to blow up his school, target individuals he hated, rape women and "become the world's most infamous sociopath," authorities said.

AP - American shoppers, taking advantage of deep discounts and tax-free holidays, opened up their wallets a little more for back-to-school spending compared with last year, giving some retailers better-than expected gains for August.

AP - Teachers who were fired and ultimately rehired in a dispute that focused national debate over education reform have returned to their classrooms amid hopes that changes they agreed to will help improve student performance at their persistently troubled high school.

AP - Jefferson Thomas, who as a teenager was among nine black students to integrate a Little Rock high school in the nation's first major battle over school segregation, has died. He was 67.

AP - The Army is ending a program that helped nearly 3,000 high school dropouts earn high school equivalency certificates and become soldiers.

AP - Hoping to portray themselves as more affordable and all-around better neighbors, private colleges from Appalachia to Boston are sweetening financial aid packages for students from their own backyards.