CHICAGO — The accusations tell a sordid tale that seems straight from a supermarket tabloid: The story of the genius scientist who stabbed his boyfriend to death as part of a violent sex fetish, then led police on a nationwide manhunt, sending his family a chilling video confession along the way.

But, prosecutors allege, it was all too real. ...Read more

KABUL, Afghanistan — What was the “Ka-bubble”? Was it Kabul’s party behind the blast walls, fueled by a mix of diplomats, military contractors, journalists and war tourists? Or was it the madcap real estate market, with staggeringly high rents in a country where most Afghans barely made $2 a day?

Some would say it was less a place than ...Read more

When the Dixie fire sparked in Plumas County on a warm afternoon in July, few could have known that it would morph into the monster it soon became. A downed tree, a blown power line fuse and a small ring of fire were all it took to create the second-largest wildfire in California history.

In the days and weeks after the fire began, it produced ...Read more

A large banner supporting Jacob Frey hung above the entrance to the Karmel Mall as he strode in recently to campaign for a second term as Minneapolis mayor.

The embattled leader told voters that no one is better positioned to create a more diverse police force, more affordable housing and greater economic opportunity for all as the city emerges...Read more

Facebook Inc. said body image was the only area out of 12 categories in its research into well-being issues where more teenage girls felt Instagram made things worse instead of better.

The social media giant was rebutting a Wall Street Journal report last week that called the photo-sharing app “toxic” for the group, citing a March 2020 ...Read more

Voting to elect the leader of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party is almost certain to go to a second round, with no candidate expected to reach the initial majority needed to avoid a runoff, national broadcaster NHK said.

The four lawmakers seeking to replace outgoing Yoshihide Suga as party leader, and thus premier, have two days to ...Read more

The World Health Organization is launching a new investigation into the origins of COVID-19, months after an earlier probe ended without drawing firm conclusions, according to a report published on Sunday.

The WHO is putting together a team of some 20 scientists who will be charged with finding new evidence in China and other locales, the Wall ...Read more

President Joe Biden hadn’t heard Germany’s election results when he returned to Washington from his weekend retreat on Sunday, but he complimented the projected winner.

“I’ll be darned,” Biden said when a reporter told him that the Social Democrats were ahead in the election, which will determine who replaces Angela Merkel as German ...Read more

Austin Police Department officials are finalizing plans to dispatch civilians instead of police officers to certain types of calls that do not involve emergencies as a way to maximize patrol staffing and respond to reformers' demands for change.

Interim Police Chief Joe Chacon hinted at his plan Wednesday during an announcement that he would ...Read more

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Hurricane Sam, a Category 4 with maximum winds of 150 mph, is expected to slowly weaken over the next couple of days, while remaining a major hurricane, forecasters said Sunday.

Sam’s intensity is expected to drop as it encounters storm-shredding wind shear this week, but it’s expected to remain a major hurricane, ...Read more

On the eve of an emergency commission meeting that threatens to shorten his already brief tenure in Miami, Police Chief Art Acevedo broke a brief silence and penned a scathing eight-page memo that is likely to play a big part in Monday’s showdown.

The chief, sworn in only last April — and who has spoken very little publicly since Monday’s...Read more

The U.S. is heading to the precipice of a debt default as much for the sake of campaign ads and political branding as fiscal philosophy.

While agreeing that the statutory limit on U.S. borrowing must be raised before it’s breached sometime next month, Republicans and Democrats are completely at odds over who should act.

Senate GOP leader ...Read more

HAMPTON, Va. — Deep beneath Mars’ red clay surface lie ancient oceans now frozen into ice sheets. Earth’s moon has hidden water deposits, too — pockets embedded deep inside its rocks.

It’s the kind of liquid treasure scientists at NASA hope to one day mine using specialized drilling tools on the moon or Mars.

As NASA looks for new ...Read more

SAN JOSE, Calif. — A Palo Alto woman has been charged with arson in connection with Shasta County’s Fawn fire that has destroyed 41 homes and 90 smaller structures and is threatening thousands more.

Alexandra Souverneva, a 30-year-old graduate of the California Institute of Technology and former Bay Area biotech employee, pleaded not guilty...Read more

Olaf Scholz of the Social Democrats inched ahead of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives in an unprecedentedly tight election that is still to decide who will lead Europe’s biggest economy.

Scholz’s SPD, the front-runner over the final weeks of the campaign, is set to win 26% of the votes, according to a projection by ZDF on Sunday, ...Read more

NEW YORK — For six weeks, while attorneys sparred and accusers gave emotional testimony about the disgraced R&B superstar at the defense table, the jurors who will determine R. Kelly’s fate have watched in silence.

Now, after 50 witnesses and hours of arguments, their work has begun.

The jurors will have far more complicated decisions to ...Read more