A contest sponsored by the Service Employees International Union is calling on Americans to share their ideas on how to help the economy grow and create better-paying jobs. The winning idea is worth $100,000 and two runners-up will claim a second prize of $50,000 each. SEIU President Andrew Stern says the country needs new ideas on strengthening the economy and compete in the fast-changing international marketplace - ordinary Americans are the best people to provide those ideas.

A man is convicted of animal cruelty after officials say he cut off his pet pit bull's ears with a razor to make him look tougher. Smokey, a tan and white male pit bull, was handed over to city animal care workers after his owner sliced off his ears in a bathtub on August 1.

A man is convicted of animal cruelty after officials say he cut off his pet pit bull's ears with a razor to make him look tougher. Smokey, a tan and white male pit bull, was handed over to city animal care workers after his owner sliced off his ears in a bathtub on August 1.

A man is convicted of animal cruelty after officials say he cut off his pet pit bull's ears with a razor to make him look tougher. Smokey, a tan and white male pit bull, was handed over to city animal care workers after his owner sliced off his ears in a bathtub on August 1.

In the latest way of violence attributed to Islamic separatists, a Thai couple throats are slit, the impact of which was so hard, their heads were nearly severed. Jad Suwanchatri, 52, and his wife Serm, 51, stopped their motorcycle on Friday, to clear a log from a road in Yala province. Assailants ambushed them, shooting Jad, and then cutting each of their throats. The couple's dog, traveling with them in a sidecar, was also slashed to death.