WASHINGTON -- The Trump administration suggested the blistering summer heat in Iraq, not alleged Israeli airstrikes, may have been responsible for at least some of the recent explosions that have destroyed Iraqi weapons depots linked to Iran.

Speaking to reporters on Friday, two administration officials said the U.S. had no corroboration that ...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- Al Franken is ready to make his comeback.

After resigning from the U.S. Senate at the beginning of 2018 due to sexual harassment allegations, the comedian is working with Hollywood firm United Talent Agency to make paid public speeches. The agency sent an email this week pitching Franken to potential bookers and promoters, ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minneapolis City Council on Friday signed off on a $200,000 settlement to the family of Jamar Clark, bringing to an end an emotional chapter in the city's history of police-community relations.

After briefly retreating to a closed session to finalize the deal, Council President Lisa Bender opened the room to reporters and ...Read more

WASHINGTON -- Several large federal agencies continue to be at risk for cyberattacks even as the number of cyber incidents reported during fiscal 2018 fell compared with the previous year, the Office of Management and Budget said in a report sent to Congress on Friday.

The number of cyber incidents reported by federal agencies fell 12% to 31,...Read more

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- The state of Kentucky must pay nearly $225,000 in legal fees and court costs incurred by couples who sued then-Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis in 2015 because she refused to issue marriage licenses due to her religious opposition to same-sex marriage, a federal appeals court ruled Friday.

The U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in ...Read more

CHICAGO -- One of the Illinois residents hospitalized for an unknown respiratory illness after vaping has died, public health officials said Friday.

The Illinois Department of Public Health would not disclose further details about the individual or circumstances surrounding the death.

In recent weeks, 22 people, ages 17 to 38, have been ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS -- A three-judge federal appeals court ruled Friday to revive the challenge of a St. Cloud couple suing Minnesota over the right to refuse to film same-sex weddings, arguing that the videos are a form of speech subject to First Amendment protections.

Carl and Angel Larsen, who run a Christian videography business called Telescope ...Read more

HARTFORD, Conn. -- In the two years since Fotis and Jennifer Farber Dulos filed for divorce, the oldest of the five children, twin boys, have grown into young teens -- old enough, Fotis Dulos' lawyers now say, to choose whether to live with their father while the search for their missing mother continues.

Jennifer Farber Dulos' mother has had ...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- In a new twist to the college admissions scandal, a father accused of resorting to fraud and bribery to get his daughter into the University of Southern California has subpoenaed the university for records detailing its admissions process and to what degree, if any, it is influenced by donations.

The subpoena is an early ...Read more

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Chris Murphy is working with the White House to keep alive conversations about a potential deal on expanded background checks for gun purchases.

The Connecticut Democrat said Friday he is willing to work with President Donald Trump because lives are at stake, but admits that he sees the chances of passing broad gun control ...Read more

WASHINGTON -- Massachusetts Democrat Seth Moulton, who ran on a centrist, pro-military platform that never ignited the Democratic base, on Friday became the fourth Democratic presidential candidate to drop out of the race.

During his brief bid, Moulton, an Iraq veteran and former Marine infantry officer, focused primarily on foreign policy and ...Read more

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Some may consider vaping safer than smoking traditional cigarettes, but new research from the UNC School of Medicine suggests that using e-cigarettes long-term may lead to a higher risk of emphysema.

In the study, lung fluids were sampled from 41 people -- smokers, vapers and non-smokers. Researchers found that vapers, like ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA -- She took one look at the handgun on the bedroom dresser and knew she was in trouble.

She'd been called to this two-story, red-brick rowhouse on Greenway Avenue near 70th Street in Southwest Philadelphia on Oct. 22, 2014, to meet with the man who'd given her an ounce of marijuana a week earlier, with the clear expectation that ...Read more

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Serial killer Gary Ray Bowles was executed Thursday night after a five-hour delay while the U.S. Supreme Court considered a last appeal from his attorneys, who contended the murderer was too intellectually disabled to die.

Bowles, 57, who committed the first of his six murders in Daytona Beach and the last in the ...Read more