Updated: 11:32 PM Several gun shows, all about an hour's drive from Newtown, Conn., have been canceled.

Posted: 11:41 PM A newspaper is reporting that Flowers Foods and Bimbo are emerging as bidders for the bread brands of Hostess, which in the midst of a bankruptcy-court liquidation of its assets.

Posted: 12:05 PM The trial of a man accused of attempting to detonate an 1,800-pound bomb at a Portland Christmas tree-lighting ceremony begins this week.

Updated: 11:33 PM Records show that a 14-year-old charged with murder was on court-supervised probation when he was arrested in connection with the slaying of a Nevada woman who was visiting her parents in Oklahoma.

Posted: 4:53 PM President Barack Obama may round out his new national security leadership team next week, with a nomination for defense secretary expected and a pick to lead the CIA possible.

Updated: 8:18 AM Authorities in Tennessee and Alabama assured the public that a serial killer was not on the loose when they revealed that two suspects in a string of slayings on the state line have been in custody for months.

Updated: 8:19 AM Al Pacino says he decided not to meet famed record producer Phil Spector before portraying him in an HBO movie - only to find he already had.

Posted: 10:49 AM The Food and Drug Administration is proposing the most sweeping food safety rules in decades, requiring farmers and food companies to be more vigilant in the wake of deadly outbreaks in peanuts, cantaloupe and leafy greens.

Posted: 6:35 AM Five inmates at the Idaho State Correctional Institution south of Boise are suing a handful of major beer and wine companies, contending that alcohol led to their crimes and that they should have been warned that the beverages can be addictive.

Updated: 1:37 PM Massachusetts police responding to reports of teenagers tossing eggs at a house last month got quite a surprise when they tracked down the suspects.

Updated: 1:37 PM The Massachusetts compounding pharmacy linked to a nationwide meningitis outbreak that has been blamed for 39 deaths and hundreds of illnesses is blaming its cleaning contractor.

Updated: 8:47 AM U.S. employers added 155,000 jobs in December, a steady gain that shows hiring held up during tense fiscal cliff negotiations in Washington.

Updated: 8:49 AM The police chief in a Connecticut city has halted permits for gun shows, saying he's concerned any firearms purchased there might one day be used in a mass shooting.

Updated: 8:49 AM A spokesman says Connecticut's lieutenant governor has been invited to attend a meeting between former Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and families of the victims of the deadly Newtown elementary school shooting.

Posted: 6:25 PM A California appeals court has overturned the rape conviction of a man who pretended to be a sleeping woman's boyfriend, saying in part that an arcane law from 1872 doesn't protect unmarried women in such cases.

Posted: 6:21 PM The Justice Department has reached a $1.4 billion settlement with Transocean, the owner of the drilling rig that sank after an explosion killed 11 workers and spawned the massive 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Posted: 6:12 PM Illinois Senate Democrats are delaying a vote on a plan that would make the state the 10th in the nation to legalize gay marriage.

Posted: 11:47 AM Pipeline spills caused by flooding dumped 2.4 million gallons of crude oil and other hazardous liquids into U.S. waterways over the past two decades, according to a new report from federal regulators.

Posted: 1:02 PM The House has re-elected embattled Republican John Boehner (BAY'-nur) speaker.

Updated: 1:38 PM The Obama administration announced Thursday that four red states are on the list of those getting the initial go-ahead to build their own health insurance marketplaces.

Updated: 9:09 AM 200 adults have been arrested in a five-week, international investigation of child pornography.

Posted: 9:00 AM A last-minute surge in spending helped many major retailers report better-than-expected sales in December, a relief for stores that make up to 40 percent of annual revenue during the holiday period.

Posted: 8:53 AM The Justice Department is nearing a $1.4 billion settlement with Transocean Ltd., the owner of the drilling rig that sank after an explosion killed 11 workers and spawned the massive 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Updated: 8:52 AM Al-Jazeera, the Pan-Arab news channel that has struggled to win space on American cable television, has acquired Current TV, Al Gore confirmed Wednesday.

Updated: 8:48 AM Congress ushers in new and old today, with dozens of eager freshmen determined to change Washington and the harsh reality of another stretch of bitterly divided government.