SOCIETY

Five years ago today, Pluto ceased to be a planet, when the International Astronomical Union demoted it to a newly created category of dwarf planet.The decision to redefine the long-known ninth planet of the solar system remains controversial today, with some disagreements among scientists as well as confusion among the public.

Hurricane Irene has been upgraded to a Category 3 storm and could even grow stronger as it approaches the Carolinas and Northeast this week.

Hurricane Irene strengthened to a major Category 3 hurricane over the Bahamas on Wednesday as it roared up from the Caribbean on a path expected to swipe the East Coast from the Carolinas upward at the weekend.

You can be rest assured that the earthquake-hit Washington Monument is not tilting. However, a closer look at the world's tallest obelisk brought National Park Service officials to discover some cracks near the top of the 555-foot monument.

A strong earthquake rattled the East Coast on Tuesday, sending tremors as far as Canada, damaging well-known buildings in the nation's capital and sending scared office workers into the streets.

The list consists of 21 names and us recycled every six years.

The United States put its eastern seaboard on alert for Hurricane Irene on Tuesday as the powerful storm barreled up from the Caribbean on a path that could hit the U.S. coast on the weekend.

The earthquake that shook much of the East Coast cracked one of the stones at the top of the Washington Monument, a National Park Service spokesman said on Wednesday.

The Hurricane Irene path was a Category 2 hurricane Tuesday morning with about 100 mph winds, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami.

Tuesday's unusual East Coast earthquake sent tremors from Georgia to New York, surprising residents who were not expecting such an event.

Google Doodle honors Argentine Jorge Luis Borges, a Virginia earthquake rocks the entire East Coast, Hurricane Irene is upgraded to a Category 3 storm as it approached the United States, and more in today's Daily Scoop

A Southern California woman was arrested on Monday for tossing her 7-month-old son from the fourth floor of a Southern California hospital over a parking structure railing.

Casey Anthony, the Orlando mother who was acquitted of killing her two-year-old daughter must serve a year's probation in Florida, after being convicted of check fraud charges, a Florida court appeals ruled on Tuesday.

U.S. East Coast was struck by an earthquake of magnitude 5.8 on Tuesday that some in New York and Washington briefly mistook for a terrorist attack.

Hurricane Irene has regained its strength and is expected to strike southeastern and central Bahamas Wednesday, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center.

A California woman tossed her 7-month-old baby from the fourth floor of a hospital parking garage, police say.

The Washington Monument will be closed indefinitely to the public after engineers found cracks in the stones at the top of the structure.

Knowing the number of species on Earth is one of the most basic yet elusive puzzles in science. But a team of researchers may have found an answer to this mysterious question.

A truck driver featured on the America's Most Wanted TV show has been arrested in California over the 1999 killing of his ex-girlfriend in Canada, U.S. authorities said on Tuesday.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) has confirmed that a 5.9 magnitude earthquake struck central Virginia at 1:51 pm EDT. It is the strongest quake to hit the Virginia area since 1897.

Tuesday's unusual East Coast earthquake sent tremors from Georgia to New York, surprising residents who were not expecting such an event.

A strong earthquake rattled the U.S. East Coast on Tuesday, sending tremors as far as Canada, shaking the nation's capital and scaring thousands of office workers who fled onto the streets.

An Alaska woman who punished her adopted son with hot sauce and cold shower was convicted of one misdemeanor count of child abuse Tuesday.

Though Hurricane Irene has weakened to a Category 1 hurricane, it is expected to hit along the North Carolina coast, heading north into Virginia and up the Chesapeake Bay by Sunday morning.

Hurricane Irene weakened to a Category 1 hurricane and is bearing down on parts of the Bahamas as it inches away from the Caribbean and proceeds toward the East Coast of the United States.

The 2011 east coast earthquake shook unsuspecting residents from Georgia to New York.

Hours after the initial quake, an aftershock measuring 4.2 on the Richter scale struck the region of Mineral, Virginia, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

In an unprecedented several hours, earthquake struck the East Coast, sending tremors from Virginia to Canada, just hours after a separate earthquake rattled Colorado.

A 32-year-old man who allegedly drowned his two sons on the first day of school and led police on a manhunt has been apprehended. Naim Mohammed was caught after a foot pursuit near a neighborhood creek. Helicopters, the SWAT team and dogs were on the ground pursuing the suspect.