The National Transportation Safety Board's preliminary report on a New Jersey train derailment that released 180,000 pounds of a hazardous material doesn't say what caused the accident.

A judge has declared a mistrial in the case of a watchdog group accused of violating federal law when it shared a whistleblower settlement with a government economist 14 years ago.

A federal appeals court has ordered a new trial for a former New Orleans police officer who was convicted of manslaughter for fatally shooting a man whose burned body turned up after Hurricane Katrina.

Gov. Nikki Haley has picked U.S. Rep. Tim Scott as South Carolina's next senator.

The Mississippi Supreme Court and Court of Appeals have been briefly evacuated after a bomb threat but no explosives were found.

A report from the World Health Organization says the fight against malaria is slowing down amid a dramatic drop in efforts to reverse the epidemic.

A western Ohio judge has sentenced an adoptive father accused of raping three boys in his care to 60 years to life in prison.

A White House official says President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner (BAY'-nur) are meeting at the White House to discuss the pending fiscal cliff and deficit reduction.

Richard Cantlupe is bracing himself for his students' return to class.

If that can of Diet Pepsi tastes sweeter than normal, there's a reason.

Democrats say meaningful action in the wake of last week's elementary school shooting must include a ban on military-style assault weapons and a look at how the nation deals with individuals suffering from serious mental illness.

While much of Washington is consumed by the debate over tax increases scheduled to take effect next year, big tax hikes have already gone into effect for millions of families and businesses this year.

Even in retirement, Barney Frank plans to antagonize conservatives.

Pres. Obama is expected to nominate Sen. John Kerry to succeed Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. And Mr. Obama's top candidate for defense secretary is Former Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel.

Peter Jackson's "The Hobbit" led the box office with an opening of $84.8 million, a start better than the three previous "Lord of the Rings" films.

Police in central Pennsylvania have taken one person into custody following a home invasion attack on three elderly Mennonite women.

Authorities say an Indiana man who had 47 guns and ammunition in his home has been arrested after allegedly threatening to kill people at an elementary school near his home.

Two senators are calling for a national commission to examine mass shootings in the United States, while a colleague says she's pushing to ban the sale of military-style assault weapons.

A half-day before a young gunman committed one of the deadliest school attacks in U.S. history, a Chinese farmer took a kitchen knife and hacked at more than 20 children as they entered their rural elementary school.

Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra walked off the court following his team's practice Saturday morning, took a seat behind a microphone and started speaking his mind.

The founder of Domino's Pizza is suing the federal government over mandatory contraception coverage in the health care law.

Authorities in Alabama say a man opened fire in a hospital, wounding an officer and two employees before he was fatally shot by police.

A Bartlesville High School student is in custody on charges he plotted to bomb and shoot students at the campus auditorium on the same day that 28 people were shot and killed at an elementary school in Connecticut.

Medical marijuana advocates are taking some solace from President Obama's statement that prosecuting individual users in Colorado and Washington is not a priority.

A conservative legal group and some north Florida business owners are asking the federal government to strip the manatee of its endangered species status.