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Even as they press cuts to foreign aid, food stamps and a host of domestic programs, Republicans running the House of Representatives are opting against any further cuts to their own office budgets. …

Hundreds of firefighters worked to combat a growing blaze that was scorching terrain around a scenic canyon in northern Colorado.…

In Missouri, they call her Karen. In Guatemala, she is known as Anyeli. The 7-year-old is at the center of an international custody fight. …

Prisons, from famous ones such as Alcatraz to less-known facilities, are becoming tourist sites and drawing a growing number of visitors. …

Medical center where Obama's golfing partner works defends grant earned through federal innovation initiative Second University May Drop Student Insurance Over ObamaCareVIDEO: Catholic University Drops Student Health Plan …

Mary Kennedy, the estranged wife of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., died of asphyxiation due to hanging, the Westchester County medical examiner said Thursday.…

Lawmakers say wealthy Americans who renounce citizenship need to prove not just trying to avoid taxesMillions Refuse to 'Like' Facebook Facebook Prices Shares at $38 Each in Looming IPOFULL COVERAGE: Facebook …

The U.S. Postal Service announced on Thursday it's moving forward with a $2.1 billion cost-savings plan to consolidate postal plants over the next two years, with consolidations starting in July.…

Trayvon Martin had drugs in his system when he was shot dead earlier this year by George Zimmerman in central Florida, according to autopsy results out Thursday. …

About three-fourths of the nation - from the Southwest to the Mid-Atlantic - faces elevated odds of above-average temperatures this summer. …

A Kentucky man purchased every last bit of inventory from a Kmart store that was two days away from shutting its doors. But he didn't keep the stuff for himself. Rankin Paynter gave it all way to a local charity. Paynter spent a total of $200,000 to buy the goods, which ranged from clothes to [...]…

A New York medical examiner will begin an autopsy Thursday on Mary Kennedy, the estranged wife of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. …

A South Carolina woman who gave birth to twins days ago is the latest victim of "flesh-eating bacteria." …

Children from racial and ethnic minorities now account for more than half the births in the US, estimates from the latest census data say.…

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s estranged wife, Mary Richardson Kennedy, who had fought drug and alcohol problems, was found dead Wednesday. …

The House of Representatives passed the GOP version of the Violence Against Women Act, despite strong opposition from Democrats, who support the Senate version. …

A man listed on the Texas DPS Most Wanted Fugitives has been captured. DPS says he was one of several Texas Mexican Mafia members who attacked a spring breaker in South Padre.…

President Obama is awarding the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest military award, to a Pennsylvania Army specialist killed in 1970 while serving in Cambodia during the Vietnam War.…

PORTLAND, Oregon (Reuters) - In a primary election race for Oregon's top law enforcement post, the candidate who pledged to protect medical marijuana patients scored a decisive victory Tuesday night over a rival who led a cannabis crackdown last year. Retired judge Ellen Rosenblum, strongly backed by proponents of liberalized marijuana laws, captured 63 percent of the vote in the Democratic primary for state attorney general, trailed by former U.S. Attorney Dwight Holton with 36 percent, according to early returns. …

Police believe two highway shootings in Mississippi may be connected. A 74 year old man and another woman were shot to death last week.…

Five small Texas towns made the list. Laredo came in at number 10, nine - Lubbock, four- San Angelo, two is Midland with 6.3 percent unemployment growth and number one is Odessa with an employment rate of 9.5 percent.…

Frank Knight was a professional logger but earned his true legacy spending decades protecting New England's tallest elm tree. But as all things must, the 217-year-old tree nicknamed "Herbie" eventually succumbed to Dutch elm disease. And over the weekend, 103-year-old Knight died as well. But as a final tribute to this unique relationship between man …

Lake County prosecutors have dropped charges against Bennie Starks, 52, who spent 20 years in prison before DNA evidence cleared him in the rape of a woman in Waukegan. …

Five people were found fatally wounded at a Florida home early Tuesday morning after a neighbor called 911 reporting gunfire. …

About 150 Los Angeles County firefighters fought a second-alarm fire for more than an hour Tuesday morning at a strip mall in Palmdale, officials said. Authorities were alerted to the fire about 3:58 a.m. in the 2200 block of E. Palmdale Boulevard. It began at a clothing store that was full of merchandise, Brian Riley of the Los Angeles County Fire Department told KTLA-TV. No one was inside the building, he said, and no injuries were reported. Firefighters appeared to have the blaze under control by about 5:45 a.m. It was far enough from the freeway that morning commuters were not affected, officials said. ALSO: 'Sense of urgency' in search for missing FBI agent Book claims Zodiac Killer is 91-year-old Northern California man L.A. Now Live: Chat about L.A.'s overburdened ERs, 911 system - KTLA-TV Photo: A fire erupted early Tuesday at a Palmdale strip mall. Credit: KTLA-TV.…

On Monday, East Texans saluted law enforcement officers who gave their lives in the line of duty.…

A $5 weekly investment in a lottery office pool has paid off for a group of Bell Helicopter employees. The group of seven men and three women learned they won the $28 million jackpot Sunday morning.…

Gulf leaders balked at Saudi Arabia's call to confederate their nations in a broad security and economic union, telling the country that they needed to hear more specifics first about what such a union would entail.…

This article comes to us courtesy of California Watch.By Bernice YeungFor a good part of its rich history, residents of unincorporated Allensworth, the first African American colony west of the Mississippi, have gone without a reliable supply of safe drinking water.Read More... …

Austin Anderson remembered as hero after pulling friend from the wreckage of a small plane crash in Kansas …

  At 12:47 a.m. Sunday, University of Idaho wide receiver Ken McRoyal announced that he was back in L.A. and happy to be visiting home. "Wasup L.A I'm here show me sum luv!" he tweeted, using his screen name itsme8six. Forty-five minutes later, McRoyal was shot and dying after an argument with some men at a party at Brewery Lofts in Lincoln Heights. He was pronounced dead at a hospital, police said. A second man was shot in the arm. McRoyal, 22, of Carson, had returned to Southern California from Moscow, Idaho, where he had earned a spot on the school's football team last season. He had joined the team as a walk-on receiver from El Camino College in Torrance. Days ago, he was notified that he'd been granted a full scholarship for his senior year, the school said. He'd come home to visit his daughter, according to a post on his Facebook page. "Miss my daughter," he tweeted Friday night. His Twitter bio includes the hashtag #inlovewithmydaughter. Police are seeking four male suspects who argued with McRoyal, then fled after one fired the shots about 1:30 a.m. Sunday. No arrests have been made, officials said Monday morning. Students and friends mourned McRoyal's passing, many turning to social media to express their grief. Dozens posted messages on his Facebook page. "We all gonna miss u bro," wrote Ashley Taylor. His cousin, Dominique Blackman, the team's quarterback, had arrived from Idaho only hours before McRoyal's death, with equally high hopes for fun, according to posts to his Facebook page. "Cali ima see u Saturday for the first time since 2009 damn y'all better show me LOVE," he wrote Wednesday. Then Saturday night, he posted, "Cali What's good I'm home." Instead of a good time, Blackman was leading a memorial vigil for his cousin at El Camino College. The two had grown close since McRoyal's family had moved to Carson from their native New Orleans, displaced by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. They played together at Carson High, with Blackman throwing passes to his cousin. On Twitter, Blackman credited his cousin with helping him win the school's Football Player of the Year award last season. "These two cousins had more love for each other than some people will ever be able to understand," wrote Chelsea Jo Gocke, a student at the school, on her Facebook page. "You couldn't know one without knowing the other... from their matching swag, their sibling pits, and jokes only they understood you could feel the love they had for each other. They were the type of cousins so close they might as well have been brothers." Blackman tweeted: "A lot of y'all know there is no me without ken." ALSO: Ex-USC, NFL player Erik Affholter turns up unhurt L.A. gun buyback yields rocket launcher, assault weapons Labor groups cite 'war on women' at L.A. City Hall in job cuts  -- Sam Quinones twitter.com/samquinones7…

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Dominion Virginia Power will face additional federal oversight at its North Anna Nuclear Power Station in central Virginia because of a safety violation related to its emergency diesel generators, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Monday. Federal regulators said inspectors found that a gasket failure prevented one of the four diesel generators from performing its function following the August 5.8-magnitude earthquake. The failed gasket was not caused by nor related to the earthquake. While the gasket was replaced the same day, inspectors found the plant did not have adequate procedures for installing it. Richmond-based Dominion discussed the issue with federal regulations in April. The NRC has deemed it a "white" violation, or being of low to moderate safety significance. The NRC evaluates performance at commercial nuclear power plants with a color-coded system that classifies findings as green, white, yellow or red, in increasing order of safety significance. Read More... More on Nuclear Power …

Starting Monday, the Pentagon will open more than 14,000 combat-related roles to women serving in the army. …

Tax the rich! That's how California Governor Jerry Brown wants to solve the state's growing budget crisis that now nears $16 billion.…

Orlando Morel was 6 years old when he and his mother left Haiti on a crowded small wooden boat destined for America. Now 24, Morel remembers the blue of the ocean everywhere. And the hunger. …

A sixth child from the same family dies following a fire at their home in Derby.…

A search continued early Monday for a missing FBI agent from Burbank, California, whom authorities have described as suicidal and possibly carrying a handgun. …

Avid texters beware: Fort Lee, N.J. police said they will begin issuing $85 jaywalking tickets to pedestrians who are caught texting while walking.…

Crews across Arizona spent the weekend fighting several wildfires, including one south of Payson that had grown to more than 4 square miles and another north of Phoenix that led authorities to order evacuations in a historic mining community. …

Gov. Brown warns of cuts to schools, public safety if voters don't approve tax increase in November …

Defense secretary rails against pricey projects after missile-shield survey gains steam without Pentagon nodVIDEO: House Approves Missile Defense Site Military Class Suspended for Islam ViewsNavy Study: Use of Sonar, Explosives Might Hurt More Sea Life …

Tire brands and air pressure discrepancies may put drivers into the fast lane without them even knowingHybrid Owners Cite Price in Refusing to Buy Again …

Mark Kelly weighed in on his wife Gabrielle Giffords' recovery Friday morning, saying she's "doing really well."We were up in D.C. a couple days ago, she's back in Houston now," Kelly said during an appearance on MSNBC's "Morning Joe." "[She's] back, you know, doing her rehab, and she's in a great mood and she's getting better."Gene Cernan -- who appeared with Kelly to discuss the commissioning of the National Flight Academy at Pensacola Naval Air Station -- called Giffords a "dynamic young woman."Read More... More on Gabrielle Giffords …

A  man used a small Bobcat front loader to break through the windows of a West Side Family Dollar, then walked off with two cans of deodorant and a bunch of gift cards, according to police. …

The Arizona sheriff and congressional candidate involved in a scandal with an ex-boyfriend has ended his bid for the U.S. House. …

TRENTON, N.J. -- Gov. Chris Christie on Thursday vetoed legislation that would set up a state health insurance exchange as part of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul, saying the state shouldn't rush to enact such a law and possibly create new burdens on taxpayers while the constitutionality of the federal act remains to be decided."Because it is not known whether the Affordable Care Act will remain, in whole or in part, it would be imprudent for New Jersey to create an exchange at this moment in time before critical threshold issues are decided with finality by the court," the Republican governor said in announcing his veto.Read More... More on Barack Obama …

Alex Rodriguez wears an ankle monitor 24-hours a day. It was placed on him by Immigration and Customs Enforcement after being arrested for shoplifting. A misdemeanor crime.…

Defense Secretary Panetta warns against unnecessary 'pet projects' in the defense budget a day after the House committee approves $1M survey for missile shields the Pentagon doesn't want.House Votes to Protect Military from Budget CutsLawmakers Question Lack of Federal Agency Watchdogs …

(Reuters) - Adam Mayes, the fugitive charged with kidnapping two Tennessee girls and suspected of killing their mother and older sister, is dead and the two girls he was holding are alive, the Northeast Mississippi News reported on Thursday, citing Union County Sheriff Jimmy Edwards. …

PHOENIX -- A suburban Phoenix man made a lucky, lucky, lucky, lucky, lucky, lucky guess in a recent multistate lottery game.An Arizona Lottery spokeswoman says the Glendale man claimed six $1 million prizes after purchasing six Powerball tickets with the same winning numbers late last month.Read More... …

A design change to One World Trade Center might jeopardize its plans to become the tallest U.S. building. …

Former pal says suspected kidnapper Adam Mayes wanted to get custody of two girls he allegedly snatched PHOTOS: America's 10 Most Wanted Fugitives Foul Play Eyed in Case of Missing Hollywood Exec …

Law enforcement agents began searching the Connecticut home of an alleged mobster on Thursday. But the suspect's attorney says authorities are actually hunting for hundreds of millions of dollars in stolen art that went missing from a Boston museum more than 20 years ago. …

As more states move to pair veterans with jobs, Texas has emerged as one of the most aggressive in connecting employers and veterans. …

Los Angeles Fire Department rescuers were trying to free a man buried in eight feet of dirt in Benedict Canyon. The "trench rescue" was changed to a "recovery" effort after fire crews rushed to to the site at 1265 N. Benedict Canyon Rd., the Fire Department said. The victim was fully buried, with at least three feet of dirt over his head, according to the LAFD. No other details on the man's condition were immediately available.         …

GREENSBORO, North Carolina (Reuters) - Prosecutors rested their case against former Senator John Edwards on Thursday after presenting nearly three weeks of evidence and two dozen witnesses in an effort to prove he violated federal election laws during his 2008 presidential bid. …

President Barack Obama came to office vowing a clean break from George W. Bush's national security policies: He would end the war in Iraq, order a halt to harsh interrogation practices that met international definitions of torture and close Guantanamo Bay. Three and a half years later, how's he doing? The independent investigative journalistic outfit …

We've been covering Illinois' ridiculous "anti-eavesdropping" law, which has been used a few times against individuals who record the police in public. For reasons that are beyond me, Illinois' attorney general has been not only quick to use the law (often in a very vindictive manner), but also has been pretty adamant in his defense that it was a perfectly reasonable law (despite other rulings that make it clear that recording police is perfectly reasonable). A few state courts have been rejecting the law as unconstitutional, but now a federal appeals court has weighed in and suggested that the law may violate the First Amendment. For now, it has simply sent the case back to the lower court to reconsider: The Illinois eavesdropping statute restricts a medium of expression commonly used for the preservation and communication of information and ideas, thus triggering First Amendment scrutiny. Illinois has criminalized the nonconsensual recording of most any oral communication, including recordings of public officials doing the public's business in public and regardless of whether the recording is open or surreptitious. Defending the broad sweep of this statute, the State's Attorney relies on the government's interest in protecting conversational privacy, but that interest is not implicated when police officers are performing their duties in public places and engaging in public communications audible to persons who witness the events. Even under the more lenient intermediate standard of scrutiny applicable to contentneutral burdens on speech, this application of the statute very likely flunks. The Illinois eavesdropping statute restricts far more speech than necessary to protect legitimate privacy interests; as applied to the facts alleged here, it likely violates the First Amendment's freespeech and free-press guarantees. It's good to see more and more courts rejecting these cases that clearly serve no purpose other than to scare off whistleblowers. Frankly, the state government should have recognized this long ago and not only dumped such a law, but then refused to bring such cases or stand behind such a ridiculous and unconstitutional law. Unfortunately, this ruling was not unanimous among the three judge panel. Well respected appeals court judge Richard Posner -- who had already expressed concerns that if people were allowed to film the police, they might continue to do so -- disagreed with his colleagues and wrote a dissent on the ruling. Posner's argument seems to hinge on the idea that police might discuss private things in public places (not that any of the cases to date seem to involve that), and thus he fears that a wholesale rejection of the law goes too far. Even so, that seems like a bizarre ruling. Why should others get into legal trouble (and face jailtime) just because someone decided to discuss private info in public? Shouldn't the onus be on the person making those statements not to have revealed them in public? Posner uses the dissent to launch an attack on supporters of a strong First Amendment, arguing that such an interpretation is inconsistent with how the Bill of Rights was written and would obliterate all sorts of laws that go up against the First Amendment. That seems like a rather extreme extrapolation. Even today, with the right to free speech expanding in all directions, it remains a partial, a qualified, right. To make it complete would render unconstitutional defamation law, copyright law, trade secret law, and trademark law; tort liability for wiretapping, other electronic eavesdropping, and publicly depicting a person in a "false light"; laws criminalizing the publication of military secrets and the dissemination of child pornography; conspiracy law (thus including much of antitrust law); prohibitions of criminal solicitation, threats and fighting words, securities fraud, and false advertising of quack medical remedies; the regulation of marches, parades, and other demonstrations whatever their objective; limitations on free speech in prisons; laws limiting the televising of judicial proceedings; what little is left of permitted regulation of campaign expenditures; public school disciplining of inflammatory or disruptive student speech; the attorneyclient, spousal, and physician-patient privileges in cases in which an attorney or spouse or physician would like to speak but is forbidden by the privilege to do so; laws making medical records confidential; and prohibitions against the public disclosure of jurors' names in cases in which jurors might be harassed. All these legal restrictions of free speech are permitted He goes on to point out that recording the police in public may make them not be able to do their job: An officer may freeze if he sees a journalist recording a conversation between the officer and a crime suspect, crime victim, or dissatisfied member of the public. He may be concerned when any stranger moves into earshot, or when he sees a recording device (even a cell phone, for modern cell phones are digital audio recorders) in the stranger's hand. To distract police during tense encounters with citizens endangers public safety and undermines effective law enforcement. That seems like a pretty extreme hypothetical, and a nonsensical one once you think about it. If police are so distracted by someone filming them in public, they either shouldn't be in that job or need better training. It's hard to see how Posner's argument makes much sense, so I'm glad he was outvoted by his fellow judges, but his interpretation of the First Amendment is still worrisome.Permalink | Comments | Email This Story …

President Obama will confer the Medal of Honor this month on a hero from the Vietnam era. …

Two Cleburne veterans ran into red tape from Washington, D.C. and were concerned they would have to stop their project to put flags on soldiers' graves at DFW National Cemetery. News 8 has learned the Department of Veterans Affairs will allow them.…

The U.S. Justice Department plans to file a civil lawsuit against Maricopa County, Arizona, and Sheriff Joe Arpaio over civil rights violations. …

Authorities on Thursday continued their search for two kidnapped Tennessee girls and the man accused of abducting them and killing their mother and sister. …

In 2007, having served with distinction during two deployments to Iraq and one to Afghanistan, U.S. Air Force firefighter John Brownfield Jr. took a job as a correctional officer at the maximum-security federal prison in Florence, Colorado, 40 miles south of Colorado Springs. Ten months later pri…

Controversial measure puts ban on same-sex marriage into the state Constitution; also bans civil unions for both gay and straight couples …

A 75-year-old man was sentenced in San Diego federal court Tuesday to four years, three months in prison after admitting to four bank robberies. But officials were quick to point out that he is not considered the celebrated/infamous Geezer Bandit. Albert Joseph Wallake pleaded guilty to robbing a Bank of America branch twice in 2007 and a U.S. Bank branch twice in 2011. Along with the prison sentence, District Judge Robert T. Benitez ordered Wallake to pay restitution of $2,105 to the Bank of America and $10,400 to U.S. Bank. Before Wallake was arrested, the FBI gave the bank robber the nickname of the Bird Leg Bandit because of his lean, rather bow-legged appearance. The Geezer Bandit is still at large after 16 bank robberies from August 2009 to last December. He has robbed 11 banks in San Diego County and banks in Temecula, Bakersfield, Goleta, Morro Bay and San Luis Obispo. Whether the Geezer Bandit is truly an man between 60 and 70 years old or a younger man wearing a theatrical mask is open to debate. --Tony Perry in San Diego Photo: Bird Leg Bandit seen on surveillance camera robbing a U.S. Bank branch in November 2011, a crime for which Albert Joseph Wallake has been convicted. Credit: FBI  …

A 23-year-old Marine has been found dead at Camp Pendleton. Lance Cpl. Michael Ronner, of Sudbury, Mass., was found at 9:15 a.m. Monday. Paramedics were unable to revive him. Officials declined to release details about the death. The death is under investigation by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. Ronner was assigned to the 9th Communications Battalion, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force Headquarters Group, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force         …

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security notified state officials Tuesday that despite the objections of Gov. Deval Patrick and immigration activists, they plan to launch a federal program aimed at identifying illegal immigrants arrested for crimes. …

When a boat springs a leak, it's often the Coast Guard to the rescue. But who rescues the Coast Guard when one its new ships does the same thing? …

A Texas woman's quick trip to Margaritaville could leave her wasting away in jail.Authorities say that Jessica Christian locked her 2-year-old son in a hot car outside a Tejano restaurant in Dallas while she went inside to down four fruity cocktails in under forty minutes, the Carroll County Times reported.A witness called 911 after discovering the child sitting inside the car -- reportedly left with the windows cracked and engine off. Police arrested Christian when she returned to vehicle upon exiting the restaurant.Read More... More on Video …

Today is National Teacher Day.…

The search for a man accused of abducting a Tennessee woman and her three young daughters intensified. …

The U.S. Border Patrol on Tuesday unveiled its first national strategy in eight years, a period in which the number of agents more than doubled and apprehensions of people entering illegally from Mexico dropped to a 40-year low.…

A few months after four East Haven police officers were arrested for allegedly targeting and harassing Latinos, Connecticut's state legislature passed a bill Monday to beef up safeguards against racial profiling. …

A referendum that would constitutionally ban same-sex marriages in North Carolina is in the spotlight Tuesday, as three states hold primaries. …

An Indiana mother who sent her gay son to school with a stun gun after administrators apparently didn't do enough to stop the bullying against him said she would do it again -- even though the teen now faces expulsion. …

A Texas woman's quick trip to Margaritaville could leave her wasting away in jail.Authorities say that Jessica Christian locked her 2-year-old son in a hot car outside a Tejano restaurant in Dallas while she went inside to down four fruity cocktails in under forty minutes, the Carroll County Times reported.A witness called 911 after discovering the child sitting inside the car -- reportedly left with the windows cracked and engine off. Police arrested Christian when she returned to vehicle upon exiting the restaurant.Read More... More on Video …

A few months after four East Haven police officers were arrested for allegedly targeting and harassing Latinos, Connecticut's state legislature passed a bill Monday to beef up safeguards against racial profiling. …

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Empire State Building has long been a signature feature of Manhattan's skyline. But owners of the iconic edifice, planning a $1 billion initial public offering, hope to convince investors and tenants that it's what's on the inside that really counts. …

WASHINGTON - Federal officials say the National Christmas Tree planted near the White House a year ago has died and is being removed.The National Park Service says the Colorado blue spruce died of "transplant shock." It came from a tree farm in New Jersey last year and was planted on the Ellipse just south of the White House in March 2011.Read More... More on Video …

Bodies found hanging from a bridge or decapitated in border city where drug cartels are fighting escalating turf warFear Spreads as Mexican Journalists Mourned …

In a program believed to be the first of its kind in the nation, a restaurant workers' group and Los Angeles community clinic have teamed up to provide inexpensive health care coverage to undocumented immigrants.The program, called ROC-MD (Restaurant Opportunities Center-MD), offers uninsured restaurant …

What does May 15 mean for your local post office?…

The National Mall will be transformed from a swath of trampled grass to a grand urban park. …

Three Homeland Security agents injured in a Petaluma shootout this morning were reportedly serving search warrants related to the December 2010 shooting in South San Francisco that left three men dead. …

GRAPHIC WARNING: Oklahoma teen severely injured in fight after alleged bully incident during dodgeball gamePolice Investigate 'Sucker Punch' Video at Mass. High SchoolDad Wants Teacher Gone Over Bullied Autistic Son …

Lake Elsinore police were searching Friday for a man who tried to kidnap a 15-year-old girl as she walked home from school. She fought him off, hitting him with her spiked track shoe…

HUNTSVILLE - Convicted killer Beunka Adams, 29, was executed this evening.…

Authorities were searching Friday for a gunman who shot a 21-year-old in the ear as he drove on the 110 Freeway in Carson. Tran Nguyen Anh Linh was driving his 2008 Honda Accord northbound on the freeway near the…

The 16 sets of twins in the Class of 2014 at one Connecticut high school have a lot of people seeing double, so much so that it could break the world record held by another school in the state.…

An alcohol-ravaged Native American tribe fights back…

A military judge rejected a defense motion Thursday to consolidate some of the charges against an Army private accused in the biggest leak of government secrets in U.S. history.…

A loophole in a U.S. anti-bribery law, the same law that Walmart's Mexico subsidiary reportedly violated again and again, actually allows companies to offer bribes.Under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, bribing foreign officials to win business is illegal, but the law makes an exception for what are known as "facilitating payments" -- essentially, small-dollar bribes to low-level functionaries to speed visa processing, for example, or to secure police protection. While this exception does not permit the type of widespread, systematic bribery in which Walmart allegedly engaged, according to a blockbuster report in The New York Times, lawyers say it is ripe for misinterpretation and even abuse."This is the most contentious area in terms of anti-corruption compliance," said Greg Paw, a white collar criminal defense lawyer at the firm Pepper Hamilton who routinely advises on corruption investigations. "It's hard to draw the line." Wal-Mart …

The U.S. Senate has passed a plan to save the struggling postal service. The proposal could save thousands of jobs, temporarily retain Saturday service and keep open 100 mail processing plants.…

Teen girls are far more likely than boys to engage in dangerous and distracted driving behavior. A new study finds that the overwhelming majority of teen girls change music on car stereos and play loud music while driving. …

Rep. Darrell Issa today wrote to Department of Defense Secretary Leon Panetta requesting a briefing and detailed information about the investigation surrounding the 12 military personnel implicated in the prostitution scandal in Cartagena, Colombia. Darrell Issa …

To those of us who have studied the largest wave of immigration in history from a single country to the United States -- the four-decade-long influx of millions of Mexicans -- it seemed inconceivable that it would ever come to a halt. Yet, as our new Pew Hispanic Center report has shown, it has. …

How easy would it be to avoid driving? A new ranking of 25 U.S. cities for public transit offers clues and perhaps surprises. …

A day after U.S. lawmakers were briefed on an alleged prostitution scandal in Colombia involving Secret Service members, a report emerged Thursday of similar allegations, this time in El Salvador. …

The city of Miami is considering selling ad space on lamp posts, fire hydrants, public buildings and parking meters, The Miami Herald report ... …

A Seattle TV station reports on alleged sex and drinking by a Secret Service team in El Salvador in 2011 ahead of President Obama's visit. …

Liz Boone took this photo of Lake St. Clair in Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich. …

Serial offender kicked school principal Indiana cops detained a "belligerent" six-year-old last week, after the cantankerous nipper kicked his school principal and threatened to kill two other members of staff..…

The sister and mother of Adis Medunjanin, accused in a suspected plot to bomb New York's subways, testified at his trial Wednesday in Brooklyn federal court. …

The third day of the John Edwards conspiracy trial was a lot like the second, with former aide Andrew Young offering more details about how the candidate instructed him to hide his mistress, Rielle Hunter-even after Edwards dropped out of the 2008 presidential race. Young, who was …

A House of Representatives task force was formed to see how the federal government can use its wireless spectrum more efficiently to free up excess airwaves for consumer services. …

The parents of missing 6-year-old Isabel Mercedes Celis pleaded for her safe return Wednesday after police said they had scaled back their search for her. …

The Coast Guard is searching for a man who may have fallen off a New York-based tugboat off the Rhode Island coast. …

Authorities have rescued five people, including a child, from an SUV that wound up dangling off the side of a San Diego freeway. …

U.S. Senator Mark Pryor is adamant ... he did NOT agree to auction off the 4-week congressional internship allegedly purchased by Joe Francis ... and has told the FBI an IMPOSTOR is to blame. Here's the back story -- Francis sent out a press release. …

LeTourneau University's School of Engineering has received $250,125 grant funding from the Federal Highway Administration for a two-year research project on welding on modern bridges. This grant is in addition to a current $180,000 grant.…

Justices suggest support for provision in Arizona law requiring cops to check immigration statuses during stopsVIDEO: Pro-Immigration Rallies Form as Rights Groups Protest Law …

Marine Corps discharges sergeant for criticizing president, saying he violated Pentagon policy on speech limitsAtheist Group Demands Rhode Island Town Remove Cross Off War MemorialUSS Iowa Prepped for Final Voyage - as a Museum …

Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy signed a bill into law Wednesday that abolishes the death penalty, making his state the 17th in the nation to abandon capital punishment and the fifth in five years to usher in a repeal. …

Opposite-sex married couples, unmarried couples and same-sex couples all on the increase. …

The Illinois House today sent Gov. Quinn legislation that would crack down on a fugitive's family members who help him flee. …

As the Secret Service pursues an inquiry into allegations of egregious behavior by agents during President Obama's trip to Colombia, investigators have pieced together a more nuanced story.…

A military judge refused on Wednesday to throw out the case against an Army private accused of providing reams of sensitive documents to Wikileaks in the biggest leak of government secrets in U.S. history.…

Pentagon will create new spy agency focused on intelligence gathering around the world despite military cuts Panetta: Marines Punished for Prostitute Attack VIDEO: Concern Mounts Over Cyber Security …

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is dealing with another controversy involving U.S. servicemen and prostitutes in South America - this time in Brazil. Panetta arrived in the capital…

The Supreme Court is bracing for another election-year legal and political fight over Arizona's immigration law, which has met strong opposition from the Obama administration. Oral arguments will be held Wednesday morning. …

The Marine Corps is bringing women into units that had been male-only, starting with its infantry officer school at Quantico, Va., and some ground combat battalions.…

A Winthrop man prosecutors say was an enforcer for a crime ring associated with the New England Mafia has been sentenced to seven years in prison. …

Less than a month after hearing a challenge to the Obama health care law, the Supreme Court will explore the relationship between the federal government and the states on another hot-button issue: immigration.…

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley is set to announce an initiative to prevent foreclosures by increasing the number of loan modification specialists available to help distressed borrowers and provide a range of grant opportunities. …

Three more Secret Service employees are being forced out of the agency and two others cleared of serious misconduct in the agency's investigation into the prostitution scandal in Colombia.White House Review of Sex Scandal ChallengedObama Calls Secret Service Agents Accused in Scandal 'Knuckleheads'OPINION: Scandal Reveals Obama's Leadership Deficit …

Former confidante testifies Edwards initially saw a 'one-in-three chance' he fathered Rielle Hunter's childEdwards Aide a 'Risk' for Prosecution in Trial?VIDEO: Problems for Prosecution in Edwards Case? PHOTOS: Key Players in Trial …

Site raising legal funds for suspect in Trayvon Martin killing shut down while attorneys try to restructure fundPHOTOS: Pictures Tell the Story in Trayvon Case Was Attack in Ala. a Hate Crime in the Name of Trayvon? …

Alaskan tribal leader Caroline Cannon has won a prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize for battling to keep offshore oil and gas drilling out of Arctic waters…

The Senate has moved to impose new restrictions on the closing of rural post offices. …

The Louisiana State Police said Tuesday that they have joined the FBI in investigating allegations that New Orleans Saints General Manager Mickey Loomis had the ability to eavesdrop on opposing coaches for nearly three seasons. …

Click image to see more photos. (AP/Carolyn Kaster) President Barack Obama on Tuesday praised the Secret Service agents who guard him as "incredible" and blamed "a couple of knuckleheads" for the Colombia prostitution scandal engulfing the agency. Obama, taping an appearance on "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon," also said he had met presumptive Republican presidential …

Net Mexican immigration to the United States has slowed to a standstill, according to a report released Monday.…

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama is honoring Rebecca Mieliwocki (Mil-WAU-kee) as the 2012 National Teacher of the Year.Mieliwocki is a seventh-grade English teacher in suburban Los Angeles. During a White House ceremony, Obama said Mieliwocki maintains "big expectations" for her 7th grade class but remembers that "school should be fun." …

A Houston woman has given birth to sextuplets. Lauren and David Perkins announced on their website that doctors at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston delivered three boys and three girls Monday. …

Rep. Issa complains GSA's Jeffrey Neely, who is expected to plead the Fifth in hearing, is on paid leaveVIDEO: Rep. Issa on GSA Scandal …

15-year-old facing nine murder, 17 smuggling charges after a van he was driving crashed, killing nine suspected illegal immigrants …

Far from the mortar shells and sniper fire, Syrian-Americans are trying to cope with the humanitarian crisis plaguing their beloved country since the southern city of Daraa sparked an uprising against President Bashar al-Assad's police state in March 2011. …

A judge entered not guilty pleas Monday for two Oklahoma men accused of going on a racially-motivated shooting spree in a predominantly black section of Tulsa this month, killing three people and wounding two others.…

Tornado, hurricane or flood, nursing homes are woefully unprepared to protect frail residents in a natural disaster, government investigators ... …

Clean-up efforts were under way across the Midwest after dozens of tornadoes ripped across the region, killing five people in one Oklahoma town, three of them young girls, after storm sirens failed to sound and houses were reduced to rubble. …

Two Oklahoma men are due to be arraigned on charges alleging they killed three people and wounded two others. …

Coast Guard says 'window of survivability' has passed in search for 4 missing after yacht racing accident Illinois Kayaker Drowns After Reportedly Being Attacked By Swan …

Congress set to begin hearings aimed at uncovering how agency spent $820G on Vegas conferenceGame On: Geithner Battles Romney Over Job ClaimsDespite Tax Rate, No Plans for Obama to Chip in MoneyObama Pledges to Tackle Immigration Early If Re-Elected …

Silver haired and sweet faced, Darlene Mayes looks like many grannies but according to police, she is one of Oklahoma's biggest drug kingpins.…

A former private school teacher and camp counselor facing child pornography charges was added to the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list Tuesday. …

SAN DIEGO -- The website displays a clock counting down seconds to Tuesday's board meeting of Southern California's major water wholesaler.It is part of a new front in California's water wars opened by the agency that purchases water for San Diego and its suburbs. The San Diego County Water Authority launched the website last month to attack the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, its largest supplier, saying it wanted to lift a veil of secrecy. The site offers a trove of internal documents obtained under California's public records law, including references to a "Secret Society" and an "anti-San Diego coalition …

According to statistics compiled by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, 72 police officers were killed in 2011, a 25 percent increase from the previous year and 75 percent rise from 2008.…

Middle-schooler is credited with saving a school bus of kids after he drove it to safety after driver passes out Hair Stylist Saves Elderly Customer After She Misses Appointment …

Some nail polishes have high levels of agents known to cause birth defects, according to California state chemical regulators. …

Three public school employees in Maryland hold the third winning ticket form the recent historic Mega Millions lottery, a lottery official said Tuesday. …

PITTSBURGH - Dozens of bomb threats at the University of Pittsburgh, including at least four on Monday, have made professors start holding classes outside and forced security officials to put in new building access measures and offer a $50,000 reward for information.Some students "are definitely afraid," said Brian Haughwout, a junior who had one of his final exams changed to a take-home because of the disruptions…

At least two tornadoes have touched down and hail the size of softballs pounded northwestern Oklahoma. …

Areas evacuated as flames affect nine states, thousands of acres of land, homes and even nuclear facility endangered …

Teen births fell again in the United States in 2010 with the highest rate once more in Mississippi, according to a new government report. …

Another video from agency shows an official joking about making a mock music video while at workDem Calls for Hearing on GSA's Vegas BashProminent Dem: GOP Not Waging 'War on Women'Senate Budget Chairman Predicts Stalemate Through Election …

Lottery officials say Mega Millions ticket holder has come forward to claim share of $656M jackpotVIDEO: Inside Maryland's Bizarre Mega Millions Mystery …

A troubled Michigan nuclear power plant cited for safety violations has been taken off line for maintenance and refueling, the plant's owner said Monday. …

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Navy began distributing emergency relief checks on Monday to people left homeless after a fighter jet crashed and destroyed much of an apartment complex last week in Virginia Beach, Virginia. …

In a sign of the improving economy, the U.S. government saw a sharp rise in petitions for skilled-foreign-worker visas during the first week of this year's application season.…

Whitney Houston's funeral reportedly cost the singer's hometown $187,000 in police overtime, and some residents of Newark, N.J., are not pleased by the idea of taxpayers picking up the tab…

The westbound 134 Freeway will undergo nightly repairs after a gasoline tanker explosion that caused a massive fire and closed the road for several hours Sunday…

The University of Pittsburgh heightened security Monday while school and federal officials continued to investigate bomb threats made against the campus. …

Another government official was placed on administrative leave Monday in the continuing fallout over wasteful spending involving a 2010 Las Vegas conference for government workers, the General Services Administration announced. …

As the rest of the U.S. emerges from an unusually warm winter, Anchorage shattered its previous annual snowfall record Saturday and faces a mess as towering snow piles melt.…

A $10,000 reward will be officially announced Monday for information leading to the capture of the person who killed a father as he shielded his 8-year-old son from gunfire last week…

Nearly 1,100 homes were hit by the tornadoes that struck the Dallas-Fort Worth area Tuesday, including 349 homes that were destroyed, a Red Cross spokeswoman said Thursday. …

The twin reactors at the San Onofre nuclear plant have been sidelined, more than 300 tubes that carry radioactive water will be scrapped because of excessive wear, and investigators are trying to figure out why tubing is rattling inside the lungs of the plant -- its massive steam generators. …

The Justice Department has until 1 p.m. ET Thursday to answer fundamental constitutional questions dealing with the health care law championed by President Barack Obama in an escalating political battle that has embroiled all three branches of government.…

The latest photos of notorious killer Charles Manson have been released by the California Department of Corrections, one week before his next parole hearing. …

Some people think the government can't get it right even when it's doing wrong. Take, for example, a group of federal employees encouraged to go "over the top" on a five-day conference in 2010 in Las Vegas. They blew $823,000 -- in part on commemorative coins, $44 breakfasts, shrimp dinners and matching vests…

The state Senate voted Thursday voted to abolish the death penalty in Connecticut, a state that has executed only one prisoner in a half-century and is now on track to join a national trend away from capital punishment. …

Gun rights advocates scored a victory Thursday when the Illinois Supreme Court decided to let a challenge to Cook County's assault weapons ban proceed, even though two lower courts had tossed it out. …

Massachusetts school has children sing 'We Love the USA' instead of 'God Bless' in popular songVIDEO: Teachers Union Gets Tough on Teachers …

Connecticut state Senate approves proposal to abolish the death penalty, but victims, pictured, are concerned Police: Different Administrator Was College Shooting TargetCampus Shooting Suspect Charged With Murder …

In New York City, the high end is in high demand.…

Federal agency under fire for $820,000 lavish conference in Vegas had ballooning budgets in recent yearsObama Signs Insider Trading Ban for LawmakersOPINION: GSA Scandal Makes Strong Case for Shrinking Government …

The nursing program director at the Calif. college where a gunman went on a shooting rampage was the intended target. …

GARFIELD HEIGHTS, Ohio (Reuters) - Half a decade into the deepest U.S. housing crisis since the 1930s, many Americans are hoping the crisis is finally nearing its end. …

The alleged gunman accused of fatally shooting seven people at a small Oakland college was charged Wednesday with seven counts of murder…

Massachusetts-based company announced successful test flight of their flying car: Terrafugia Transition …

The 911 calls from March 26 raised further questions about emergency officials' response to last week's fast-growing fire. …

The only automaker not to be bailed out in 2008 posted its best March sales in 5 years.…