WASHINGTON -- Secretary of State Mike Pompeo acknowledged -- after prodding by lawmakers -- that he backs the finding by U.S. intelligence agencies that Russia meddled in the U.S. presidential campaign to hurt Hillary Clinton and ultimately help Donald Trump.

Pompeo, who previously was Trump's CIA director, was pressed by Democrats on whether ...Read more

WASHINGTON -- In an effort to prevent or expose conflicts of interest in the executive branch, House and Senate Democrats are pushing legislation that would force senior members of the Trump administration to reveal more about their business interests.

The legislation, introduced this week, would empower the Office of Government Ethics to ...Read more

BEIJING -- A U.S. government employee stationed in China has suffered health problems "very similar" to those that afflicted several American and Canadian envoys in Cuba and led to a still-ongoing diplomatic row, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Wednesday.

A health alert sent to U.S. citizens from the consulate in Guangzhou in southern China...Read more

LAS VEGAS -- A labor union representing thousands of culinary workers in Las Vegas has voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike next month if casinos don't agree to a proposed five-year contract.

The vote among the 25,000-member Culinary Union was 99 percent in favor of allowing a strike the day after the current contract expires on May 31, ...Read more

Compared to the rest of the animal kingdom, the human brain is way out of whack.

Our brains are roughly six times larger than what you would expect for a placental mammal of our stature, scientists say.

And no other animal has a brain as large as ours relative to body size.

So why did humans evolve to have such large brains when other animals...Read more

WASHINGTON -- After months of delay, senators said Wednesday they have reached a deal on legislation to reform how sexual harassment claims against lawmakers and staff are handled on Capitol Hill.

The legislation requires members of Congress to personally repay taxpayers for settling harassment claims filed against them, even if they resign.

...Read more

An Illinois high school principal has apologized for a yearbook headline that has been called "disgusting" by some in a heated social media debate.

The headline, "No one ugly allowed," is printed in bright letters on a yearbook page devoted to an Oswego High School cheerleading team, a picture of the page provided by Community Unit School ...Read more

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Esteban Santiago gave his first public statement Wednesday about why he killed five people and injured six others in the January 2017 mass shooting at Fort Lauderdale's main airport.

"Umm, I don't know. I wasn't really thinking about it at the moment. A lot of things were going on in my mind. Messages," Santiago said.

...Read more

MIAMI -- Federal transportation safety investigators are looking into cracks that appeared in a critical structural support piece in the Florida International University pedestrian bridge days before it collapsed, according to a preliminary report issued Wednesday.

The four-page report from the National Transportation Safety Board confirms that...Read more

ST. LOUIS -- Classes were canceled at Belleville West and Belleville East high schools Wednesday after reports of a "credible threat" made by a former student against a current student.

Belleville Township High School District 201 Superintendent Jeff Dosier said the former student was a male who had been a student at Belleville West. The threat...Read more

The highest branches of a Brazilian forest. The permanent darkness of a cave in China. The deepest place on Earth.

Life has carved niches for itself in the most extreme and stunning habitats. As a result, it has taken on surprising -- and just plain weird -- physical attributes and behaviors.

In celebration of this biodiversity, the SUNY ...Read more

WASHINGTON -- A new poll found most Americans don't like what Congress has been doing the past few years, even if they don't know the major players in office.

Over 59 percent of respondents to this week's Economist/YouGov poll said they disapproved of Congress' performance, placing the blame on both parties.

But no one is quite sure of how ...Read more

WASHINGTON -- House Republicans are on the precipice of a major win or an embarrassing loss on immigration. Either outcome will have lasting impacts for the current leadership team and future contenders for those jobs.

But the prospect of an immediate backlash against Paul D. Ryan's speakership over anything that could be perceived as an ...Read more

The opioid crisis has shown us that prescription painkillers and their illicit counterparts can wreak havoc in American communities. Now researchers have quantified the damage they can do inside hospitals when administered to patients following surgeries and other invasive medical procedures.

More than 10 percent of hospitalized patients who ...Read more

Walt Disney Co. is getting some serious competition in its effort to acquire 21st Century Fox's movie and television assets: Comcast Corp.

Comcast said Wednesday that it is in the advanced stages of preparing an all-cash counteroffer that will top Disney's $52.4-billion stock bid.

"While no final decision has been made, at this point the work ...Read more

BALTIMORE -- Three more teenage boys have been charged in Baltimore County police Officer Amy Caprio's death Monday.

Darrell Jaymar Ward, 15, of the 2300 block of Ashland Avenue; Derrick Eugene Matthews, 16, of the 200 block of Dallas Court; and Eugene Robert Genuis IV, 17, of the 400 block of Lakewood Road, were each charged with first-degree ...Read more