Nation News

The cafeteria in Pennsylvania's state Capitol had to be shut down after inspectors found evidence of a rodent infestation. Read More

The Copenhagen talks on climate change were convened with a sense of urgency that many ordinary folks don't share. Why is that? One big reason: It's hard for people to get excited about a threat that seems far away in space and time, psychologists say. Read More

James Bain used a cell phone for the first time Thursday, calling his elderly mother to tell her he had been freed after 35 years behind bars for a crime he did not commit. Read More

The California Department of Parks and Recreation is forming a task force to address equality issues for its women and gay employees. Read More

Sen. Lindsey Graham makes an unlikely champion for action on climate change. Read More

The former head of a union representing mailroom employees of New York-based newspapers has been charged with embezzling more than $200,000. Read More

The mothers of three Americans detained in Iran said Thursday they've held off on hiring a lawyer for their children and are still hopeful they will be freed without being put on trial despite being left in the dark by authorities about their case. Read More

A gunman shot a man, his son and grandson to death in their apartment Thursday, then fell off a fire escape to his death while trying to flee the scene, police said. Read More

A legal team that was seeking a bankrupt funeral home's financial records instead made a macabre discovery: nearly 100 boxes of cremated remains, some dating back more than two decades, stashed in a suburban storage unit. Read More

A crumbling cliff forced residents to grab what they could and flee an apartment building atop a Northern California coastal bluff over fears it could slide into the Pacific. Read More

A woman fatally shot her Alzheimer's disease-suffering mother three years ago, burned the body and then had her son bury the remains _ which she had placed in a suitcase _ before filing a missing person report, authorities said Thursday. Read More

About 100 starving sled dogs have been seized from a racing business in Colorado. Read More

Any slacker living over his parents' garage can make pot brownies. Gourmet chefs are taking the art of cooking with marijuana to a higher level. Read More

A 16-year-old girl has admitted killing her mother by repeatedly beating her head with a claw hammer in San Diego. Read More

A California lawmaker wants to make it a crime when witnesses don't report all violent attacks to authorities. Read More

The number of foreign children adopted by Americans plunged more than a quarter in the past year, reaching the lowest level since 1996 and leading adoption advocates to urge Congress to help reverse the trend. Read More

The top 10 source countries for U.S. foreign adoptions in fiscal year 2009, with the new number followed by the number for 2008: Read More

A sheriff's deputy arrived at a Southern California home moments before a door was slammed shut and gunshots were fired in an apparent murder-suicide that left four dead, an official said Thursday. Read More

Prosecutors across New York had to review closed criminal cases because a now-dead forensic scientist routinely failed to perform mandatory tests and then fraudulently wrote up results, state officials said in a report released Thursday. Read More

The government has asked a federal judge to let it cut ACORN's funding, saying a report commissioned by the embattled community activist reinforces Congress' concern about misuse of federal funds. Read More