WASHINGTON -- Budget Director Mick Mulvaney, who until months ago was embraced by conservatives for his relentless budget-slashing advocacy, returned to Capitol Hill on Wednesday as the White House's chief spending-cut champion -- and found both Republicans and Democrats challenging him.

Mulvaney, a tea party favorite who until February ...Read more

You have the privilege of sharing the planet with the largest animal that ever lived on Earth.

The great blue whale, which can be found in every ocean around the globe, is bigger than any dinosaur you've seen in a museum.

It can weigh as much as 24 elephants, and can grow up to two school buses in length.

Its jawbone is as big as a telephone ...Read more

Thursday's special House election in Montana offers an early and important test for the Democratic Party: Can it win over districts and states that loved Donald Trump just last year?

Republicans watching this week's congressional contest are nervous the answer is already a resounding "yes."

The special election between Democrat Rob Quist and ...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- A Schlitterbahn spokeswoman said Wednesday that an ongoing investigation by the Kansas attorney general into a child's death at its Kansas City, Kan., water park last year "feels like a long time" but will show it was an accident.

On Monday, Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt said that his office continues to look into ...Read more

BRUSSELS -- The British government scolded the United States on Wednesday after confidential details about the Manchester suicide bomber that had been shared with U.S. intelligence agents were leaked to the news media.

It was the second time this month that the United States has been accused of divulging intelligence from another government. ...Read more

WASHINGTON -- When a botched drug raid led to the shooting deaths of four civilians, including a teenage boy, on a Honduran river in May 2012, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration officials insisted that the victims were cocaine traffickers who had shot first and that DEA agents were present only as advisers.

Those claims were not true, ...Read more

President Donald Trump's budget proposal includes deep cuts to education but funds a new push for school choice.

The budget includes more money for charter schools and proposes a $250 million program to promote school vouchers.

When pressed by representatives at a House appropriations subcommittee hearing on the budget, Education Secretary ...Read more

WASHINGTON -- A digital worm powered by stolen National Security Agency software caused $1 billion in damages when it infected hundreds of thousands of computers in less than a week, a Florida digital security company says. And new attacks may be in the offing.

Hackers unleashed the worm, dubbed WannaCry, on May 12. Some 200,000 to 300,000 ...Read more

Medical researchers have identified a compound that may reduce your risk of a dangerous type of heart rhythm that can lead to strokes, dementia, heart failure and early death.

In a study of more than 55,000 Danish men and women who were tracked for up to 16 years, people who used this compound were up to 20 percent less likely to experience the...Read more

WASHINGTON -- Congress and the Trump administration may be facing off over raising the debt limit sooner than planned.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he wanted Congress to complete a clean measure to lift the debt ceiling before the August recess on Wednesday.

"I urge you to raise the debt limit before you leave for the summer," ...Read more

The family of a Naperville, Ill., high school student who committed suicide after being called into a dean's office for a disciplinary matter filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the school district and city's Police Department, accusing them of breaking the law by interrogating the teen without first notifying his parents.

The lawsuit, filed in ...Read more

WASHINGTON -- The House Freedom Caucus is looking for a debt ceiling increase by August and it's willing to lend votes to pass one -- with some caveats.

According to a source familiar with the group's plans, the Freedom Caucus could soon take an official position saying they will provide votes for a debt ceiling increase conditional on two ...Read more

WASHINGTON -- The House Intelligence Committee will subpoena former Trump adviser Michael Flynn after he refused to cooperate with the panel's investigation into Trump campaign ties with Russia.

"We will be following up with subpoenas and those subpoenas will be designed to maximize our chances of getting the information we need," Rep. Adam ...Read more

BRUSSELS -- President Donald Trump sent shock waves across Europe when he railed against the NATO alliance during his campaign and threatened not to defend those nations that hadn't paid their share of defense expenses.

He wasn't the first to raise concerns: President Barack Obama had frequently lamented NATO members' failure to spend enough on...Read more