Nation News

Authorities have dropped the case against a Tennessee father arrested in Japan when he snatched his children from his ex-wife, the man's spokesman said Thursday. Read More

Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday he will lead an intensive push for new ways to defuse the threat from homemade bombs, the crude ambush weapons that account for eight in 10 casualties in Afghanistan. Read More

One of the D.C. sniper's ex-wives said Thursday that she has fully healed from the abusive marriage she endured with him, and is helping her children cope with knowing their dad won't be a part of their lives. Read More

The Army psychiatrist accused in the Fort Hood shootings was charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder in the military's legal system, making him eligible for the death penalty if convicted, officials said Thursday. Read More

The Colorado parents who reported their 6-year-old son floated away aboard a helium balloon will plead guilty to some charges so that the family can stay together, the attorney for the boy's father said Thursday. Read More

Thomas Tobin, the Roman Catholic bishop of Providence, has made a career out of putting politicians in his crosshairs, but his latest battle over abortion threatens to spiritually exile Rep. Patrick Kennedy, a son of the nation's most famous Roman Catholic family. Read More

A North Carolina man charged with kidnapping a 5-year-old girl told a judge he is not guilty Thursday as investigators scoured the town for any sign of the missing child and said they assume she is in danger. Read More

A judge Thursday threw out a murder case against a man imprisoned for nearly two decades and declared he was innocent, saying a key witness lied and others influenced one other into identifying him as the shooter. Read More

The Associated Press-GfK Poll on the flu and flu vaccinations was conducted by GfK Roper Public Affairs & Media from Nov. 5-9. It is based on landline and cell phone telephone interviews with a nationally representative random sample of 1,006 adults. Interviews were conducted with 806 respondents on landline telephones and 200 on cellular phones. Read More

A skydiver from Boston killed in a California accident had tried to set a parachuting record in a charity jump hours before his death. Read More

Lawyers for a man who has publicly admitted killing a Kansas abortion provider are seeking to move the trial out of Wichita. Read More

The discovery of 11 victims of an alleged serial killer, most of them poor, drug-addicted black women, has prompted calls for Cleveland police to respond faster and devote more resources to missing-persons cases. Read More

Environmental groups are suing the federal government to return a type of flying squirrel to the endangered species list. Read More

A young Ohio pastor didn't lose his nerve about asking his girlfriend to marry him _ even after he accidentally dropped the diamond engagement ring overboard during their hot-air balloon ride. Read More

Prosecutors say receipts prove Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon went on personal shopping excursions with holiday gift cards meant for the needy. Read More

Looking for love? Try leaning in for a ... cheek swab. Read More

Cessna Aircraft Co. is calling back 200 workers it laid off earlier this year as the company resumes production of its Citation Sovereign business jet. Read More

Otty Sanchez got two weeks in a state mental hospital after she was found wandering around a drug store last year, shopping for an imaginary trip to China. Read More

Relentless rain drenched much of the Atlantic seaboard Thursday, pelting communities from North Carolina northward with gusty winds and heavy rains, inundating streets and stranding drivers in hard-hit Virginia. Read More

A national team will help the U.S. Forest Service manage the attack against the beetle infestation that has swept through about 2.5 million acres of forests in northern Colorado and southern Wyoming. Read More