DENVER (AP) - Marijuana for recreational use became legal in Colorado Monday, when the governor took a purposely low-key procedural step of declaring the voter-approved change part of the state constitution.
NEW YORK (AP) - The crowning spire of the World Trade Center's tallest building arrived in New York on Tuesday - in giant steel pieces on a barge that floated in past the Statue of Liberty.
WASHINGTON (AP) - HSBC, the British banking giant, will pay $1.9 billion to settle a money-laundering probe by federal and state authorities in the United States, a law enforcement official said Monday.
LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Gov. Rick Snyder says one reason he supports right-to-work legislation in Michigan is the economic boost a similar law has given Indiana, although officials have provided no conclusive evidence that the policy by itself has drawn new businesses to the state next door.
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's cancer relapse and his sudden announcement that he will undergo a fourth cancer-related surgery in Cuba have thrown the country's future into question, and his designated political heir has begun trying to fill the void.
WASHINGTON (AP) - The government is investigating whether software companies that make cellphone apps violated the privacy rights of children by quietly collecting personal information from mobile devices and sharing it with advertisers and data brokers, the Federal Trade Commission said Monday. Such apps can capture a child's physical location, phone numbers of their friends and more.
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - North Korea is pressing ahead with preparation for a long-range rocket launch after extending its liftoff window by another week until Dec. 29 because of technical problems.
PHOENIX (AP) - The second winner of the $587.5 million Powerball jackpot is a 37-year-old electronics industry professional who grew up in a modest home in Pennsylvania and moved to an affluent Phoenix suburb last year before striking it rich in the lotto.
LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) - It is an unlikely tale: Orthodox Jew from New York City comes to Bolivia to rescue a rice-growing venture, gets thrown in jail on suspicion of money laundering and, aided by actor Sean Penn, winds up triggering perhaps the biggest scandal yet for the country's president.
SYCAMORE, Ill. (AP) - A former Washington state policeman was sentenced Monday to life in prison for kidnapping and killing a 7-year-old girl more than 50 years ago in the small Illinois town where he grew up.
CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) - A Nevada woman who survived six frigid days in the mountains said in an interview aired Monday that she had asked her boyfriend not to venture out for help after their Jeep became mired in mud on a back road.
LOS ANGELES (AP) - A graduate student who was shot to death during a furious struggle with campus police at California State University, San Bernardino, had a long history of mental illness and had stopped taking his medication at least a week earlier but hadn't appeared to be violent, authorities said Monday.
SAN DIEGO (AP) - An acclaimed architect was sentenced Monday to six months in prison for hiding nearly 13 pounds of cocaine in his minivan's battery before he tried to enter the U.S.
MONROEVILLE, Pa. (AP) - The Department of Defense says a Navy SEAL killed during a rescue operation in Afghanistan was a Pittsburgh-area man.
WASHINGTON (AP) - The U.S. and its allies have made only spotty and incremental progress in the Afghan war, with overall violence declining just slightly in the past year and widespread corruption continuing to hamper the shaky government, according to a new Pentagon report. It also noted that the ongoing insider attacks, in which Afghan forces or people dressed in Afghan uniforms turn their weapons on coalition troops, "have the potential to significantly ...
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - After backlash from customers, the producer of Maker's Mark bourbon is reversing a decision to cut the amount of alcohol in bottles of its famous whiskey.
CHICAGO (AP) - An 18-year-old Chicago woman was killed just hours after her sister sat on the stage at President Barack Obama's speech about gun violence at an area school.
WASHINGTON (AP) - Republicans and Democrats alike on Sunday predicted President Barack Obama would fail if he pushed forward with his own effort to overhaul the nation's immigration system and urged the administration to hold off while lawmakers work on a bipartisan measure.
BRYAN, Texas (AP) - Two Central Texas firefighters are in serious but stable condition as investigators try to determine what sparked a lodge hall fire that killed two colleagues.
HOUSTON (AP) - Terrence Ross had to settle his nerves at the start of the All-Star dunk contest. By the end, he was calming down a ball boy he needed as a prop for his winning slam.
AMARILLO, Texas (AP) - Stanley Marsh 3, an eccentric millionaire artist best known for his "Cadillac Ranch" art display along an interstate in the Texas Panhandle, has settled lawsuits from 10 teenagers who allege he paid them for sex acts, attorneys announced Saturday.
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Bruce Willis remains a die-hard at the box office.
BAGHDAD (AP) - Car bombs tore through shopping areas within minutes of each other in mainly Shiite neighborhoods of the Iraqi capital on Sunday, killing at least 37 people and wounding more than 100.
BRYAN, Texas (AP) - Two Texas fire lieutenants have died of burns after battling a lodge hall fire, a city official said Saturday.
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Hyla Merin grew up without a father and for a long time never knew why.
MIAMI (AP) - A byzantine maze of maritime rules and regulations, fragmented oversight and a patchwork quilt of nations that do business with cruise lines make it tough for consumers to assess the health and safety record of the ship they're about to board in what for many is the vacation of a lifetime.
HOUSTON (AP) - Billy Hunter was ousted from his job as executive director of the union in a unanimous vote by NBA players who said Saturday they will "no longer be divided, misled, misinformed."
MOBILE, Ala. (AP) - Passengers of the Carnival Triumph tried to put the memories of their nightmarish cruise behind them Friday, boarding buses and planes for home after five harrowing days aboard a vessel adrift at sea without power or working toilets.
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) - Clayton Kershaw was selected Saturday as the Los Angeles Dodgers' opening day starter and will become the team's first pitcher to start three straight openers since Derek Lowe from 2005-07.
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Dozens of protesters rallied outside Los Angeles police headquarters in support of Christopher Dorner, the ex-LAPD officer and suspected killer of four who died after a shootout and fire this week at a mountain cabin.