National News

Hurricane Earl weakened to a Category 1 storm Friday morning with maximum sustained winds of 85 mph hour. Residents of New York and New England, however, are still bracing for the storm.

President Barack Obama will award the Medal of Honor, the military's highest award for bravery, to Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Richard Etchberger for his valor in saving the lives of three wounded comrades in Laos in 1968, the White House announced Friday.

BP began operations to remove its failed blowout preventer from atop its well deep below the Gulf of Mexico, the company said Friday.

Cammie King Conlon, who played the ill-fated Bonnie Blue Butler in "Gone With the Wind," used to joke "that I peaked at age 5."

Bomb squad investigators were at Miami International Airport on Friday after a suspicious item was spotted in a baggage screening area, authorities said.

An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.4 has struck near New Zealand, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

Six job recruiters have been indicted in federal court in what the FBI has called the largest human-trafficking operation ever to result in charges in the United States.

After two days of meetings and talks led by President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Israeli and Palestinian leaders leave Washington deadlocked over the contentious issue of Israeli settlements.

A suicide bomber blew himself up outside an Ahmadi worship place in northwestern Pakistan Friday, killing a pedestrian, police said.

A cargo plane has crashed in an uninhabited area near the Dubai airport, according to the official WAM news agency in the United Arab Emirates.

After two days of meetings and talks led by President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton, Israeli and Palestinian leaders leave Washington deadlocked over the contentious issue of Israeli settlements.

President Obama promised to lay out a broad package of ideas for job creation next week and slamming Senate Republicans for blocking his small business aid legislation.

A judge on Thursday denied a request for President Barack Obama to testify at a court martial for a U.S. Army flight surgeon who refused to deploy to Afghanistan until he saw proof that Obama was born in the United States.

A veteran House representative from Texas said she made a mistake when she awarded charitable scholarships to her family members instead of students in her district.

Recently, we completed an intensive, bipartisan six-month study on cybersecurity and presented it to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.

There are plenty of reasons to be excited about the fall. We've got pumpkins, colorful leaves, Halloween, and whatnot. But the hands-down best thing about fall is that this is the season when the "good" movies come out.

Cammie King Conlon, who played the ill-fated Bonnie Blue Butler in "Gone With the Wind," used to joke "that I peaked at age 5."

Chrissie Hynde is an intimidating presence. Maybe it's her unflinching gaze and unapologetic swagger. Maybe it's the fact that she's the iconic lead singer of the Pretenders and a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

The 2010 CMA Awards nominations came out yesterday, and despite nine well-deserved nominations for Miranda Lambert, including Entertainer of the Year, most of the chatter was about the blondes missing from that category. Although they both had typically strong years, Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood will be sitting out the race for the top prize at country's big fall awards show -- and it's not super clear why.

"Going the Distance" is a light and tasty morsel of a romantic comedy in which two smart, funny, and basically sweet people try to conduct a cross-country relationship.

IRVING, Texas (AP) -- The Dallas Cowboys have traded receiver Patrick Crayton to San Diego and offensive lineman Pat McQuistan to Miami for future considerations.

OXFORD, Miss. (AP) It turns out Mississippi quarterback Jeremiah Masoli can now play for the Rebels immediately.

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) -- The NHL has signed off on Ilya Kovalchuk's latest contract with the New Jersey Devils.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Ben Roethlisberger's suspension has been reduced from six games to four by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.

Don't mess with 'The Code.' Unwritten rules are a time-honored baseball tradition -- and breaking them is the fastest way to enrage players. Just ask Nyjer Morgan, says Jason Turbow.

NHL2K11 (2KSports/Visual Concepts) tries to bring realism to sports on the Wii, but falls short because of control issues and a spotty artificial intelligence.

Apple this week launched Ping, a new social network that runs within the iTunes software.

Facebook is apparently testing a new subscription feature that would allow users to receive alerts any time a specific friend takes certain actions on the social network.

It's been two weeks since Facebook users took to blogs and message boards to voice their concerns about Places, a location-based service that allows people to check in to gathering spots via the social network.

For women carrying multiple fetuses, a medical argument for reducing that number is clear. But the decision isn't always clear-cut.

He's designed everything from upscale hotels and restaurants to the sets for Broadway plays and the Academy Awards ceremony.

All those late nights spent trolling Facebook, texting friends, and cramming for tests may be taking a toll on teenagers' diets, a new study suggests.

West Nile Virus has killed 14 people in northern Greece and sickened 142, the Hellenic Centre for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday.

I come from a small-ish town in Oklahoma where we've never met a vegetable we couldn't fry and the only things more super-sized than our portions are the huge church complexes that alternate with fast-food restaurants along our roads.