Lawmakers, Obama in last chance talks on "fiscal cliff"

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and lawmakers are launching a last chance round of budget talks just days before a New Year'...

Famed Gulf War General Schwarzkopf dies

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. General Norman Schwarzkopf Jr, who headed coalition forces that drove Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's army...

Snow buries parts of Northeast, flights canceled

BUFFALO, New York (Reuters) - A powerful winter storm pushed through the U.S. Northeast on Thursday, forcing the cancellation of hundreds of...

Former President George H.W. Bush remains in intensive care

AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - Former President George H.W. Bush remained in the intensive care unit of a Houston hospital on Thursday, but his...

Russia's Putin signals he will sign U.S. adoption ban

MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin signaled on Thursday he would sign into law a bill barring Americans from adopting Russian...

U.S. population projected at 315.1 million on New Year's Day: census

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An estimated 315.1 million people will be living in the United States on New Year's Day, the Census Bureau said on...

Petition urges White House to classify Westboro church as hate group

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - More than 475,000 people have signed petitions asking the White House to crack down on Westboro Baptist Church...

Obama thanks EPA's Jackson for service on environment

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama thanked retiring Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson on Thursday for...

Cop with a gun in every school? NRA's Keene says it's up to schools

Breaking a weeklong silence after the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School, Wayne LaPierre was unapologetic and unambiguous as he...

Gun control: Surge in support, new poll shows

Public support for stricter gun laws has leaped to its highest point in eight years with 58% now in favor, according to a USA Today/Gallup...

Coast Guard finds safety issues with Alaskan Arctic drilling rig

SEATTLE -- A drilling rig that launched landmark exploratory oil operations in the Chukchi Sea Arctic this summer has been cited by the U.S....

Officials mute on George H.W. Bush's condition, cite family privacy

Hospital officials on Thursday declined to provide any update regarding former President George H.W. Bush’s condition, citing a desire...

Deadly storm moves through Northeast, dumping snow, sleet, rain

A deadly winter storm that dropped twisters onto the South on Christmas Day raced across the Northeast on Thursday, bringing with it heavy...

Former President George H.W. Bush in intensive care

Former President George H.W. Bush has been moved to the intensive care unit at Methodist Hospital in Houston, hospital officials confirmed...

Illegally obtained assault rifles key in recent public shootings

Two deadly weeks. Three high-profile public shootings. Three assault rifles conceived for military use, and three men who weren't supposed...

N.Y. news site stirs outrage after publishing gun owners' names

In the annals of the gun debate, both the act and the outrage that followed are familiar: On Saturday, the Journal News of White Plains, N....

Afghanistan female air force pilots left grounded

KABUL, Afghanistan — Unlike most women in Afghanistan, Sourya Saleh knows how to drive — but she's taken the wheel only with her...

Lakhdar Brahimi works to revive Syria peace plan

BEIRUT — Peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi made a new push Thursday to draw Syrian officials and rebels into negotiations, aiming to...

In Mexico, 1,000-year-old mummified dog begs for attention

MEXICO CITY — For nearly 50 years, the mummified remains of a dog believed to have lived 1,000 years ago sat forgotten in a school...

Colombia residents want Germany to return stone statues

BOGOTA, Colombia — Nearly a century ago, Konrad Preuss did pioneering work in Colombia's most important archaeological zone, called...

Russian president expects to sign ban on U.S. adoptions

MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested Thursday that he expects to sign a measure banning adoptions of Russian children...

Afghanistan Taliban appears to be softening stance

KABUL, Afghanistan — Recent pronouncements by the Taliban have raised the possibility that the insurgents may be softening their...

In Syria, 20 reported killed in fighting; commander defects

BEIRUT — Twenty people were killed Wednesday in fighting in a small Syrian village, according to opposition activists, as the...

Hard feelings on both sides as U.S. winds down its Afghan role

SUROBI, Afghanistan — Col. Babagul Aamal is a proud veteran of 28 years in the Afghan National Army. Short and fit, with a thick black...