Eric Linton

The Boy Scouts of America reaffirmed Tuesday its policy to exclude gays from joining or being leaders.

Asian shares paused Tuesday as investors awaited Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's view on the U.S. economy later in the day, after weak U.S. retail sales and a lower International Monetary Fund global growth forecast raised hopes of more stimulus from the Fed.

Moody's Investors Service is downgrading the credit ratings for 13 Italian banks three days after cutting the Italian government's bond rating.

More than 200 Syrians, mostly civilians, were massacred in a village when it was blasted by helicopters and tanks and then stormed by Assad regime militia, opposition activists said.

Penn State Board of Trustees Chairman Karen Peetz, responding to a damning report on the Jerry Sandusky scandal, said Thursday the board accepts full responsibility for the failures that occurred.

More than six dozen homes or vehicles belonging to evacuees who fled Colorado's most destructive wildfire were plundered by thieves, Colorado Springs police said.

Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., D-Ill., whose mysterious monthlong leave of absence has perplexed Chicago and Capitol Hill, is at a residential treatment facility for a mood disorder, his doctor said in a statement released by the congressman's office Wednesday evening.

Asian shares barely budged Thursday as the U.S. Federal Reserve appeared to put off taking more aggressive stimulus steps until economic conditions worsen, offering investors few reasons to take risks with second-quarter earnings painting a globally gloomy picture.

More than $200 million in customer funds appears to be missing from the accounts of futures broker PFGBest, regulators said Monday just hours after the firm's founder attempted suicide outside the company's Iowa headquarters.

U.N. envoy Kofi Annan said he and President Bashar al-Assad agreed on Monday on an approach to Syria's conflict that he would now take to the opposition, as Russia, Assad's main protector, distanced itself further from him.

Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez declared himself fully recovered from cancer Monday, three months before an election in which he is seeking another six-year term.

Roger Federer outgunned Andy Murray 4-6 7-5 6-3 6-4 on Sunday to win a record-equaling seventh Wimbledon title and 17th grand slam crown.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao warned Sunday of huge downward pressure on the Chinese economy, in the clearest expression yet of concern at the top of the country's leadership about a sharp slowdown in recent months.

Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi ordered Parliament to reconvene Sunday, in defiance of the military and a court that dissolved it.

As Libyans celebrated their first free national election in 60 years on Sunday, a liberal alliance led by a former rebel leader said its unofficial preliminary returns showed it was in the lead.

The U.N. drugs watchdog chief voiced dismay and serious concern in talks with an Iranian envoy Tuesday over claims by the Islamic Republic's vice president that Jews were behind global narcotics trafficking.

The leaders of Mammoth Lakes, Calif., voted Monday to approve a bankruptcy filing for the ski resort town, just days after Stockton, Calif., became the most populous U.S. city to turn to bankruptcy court for protection from its creditors.

Eighty-five Syrian soldiers, including one general and at least 14 other officers, fled into southern Turkey?s Hatay Province Monday, Turkish news agencies reported. It was one of the largest mass military defections since the Syrian conflict began 16 months ago.

Iran announced missile tests Sunday and threatened to wipe Israel off the face of the earth if the Jewish state attacked it, brandishing some of its starkest threats on the day Europe began enforcing an oil embargo and harsh new sanctions

Mexicans voted in presidential, congressional and state elections Sunday, with the party that ruled for most of the past century poised for comeback after 12 years out power.

U.S. trade officials on Thursday told a Republican lawmaker at the center of a legal fight with the Obama administration he cannot sit in on trade talks next week in San Diego between the United States and other countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

The Colorado Springs wildfire has forced the evacuation of some 35,000 people and destroyed 346 homes, Mayor Steve Bach said Thursday, citing preliminary damage reports.

Russia and other big powers have told mediator Kofi Annan they support his idea of a Syrian national unity cabinet, diplomats told Reuters Wednesday.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel held two hours of talks with French President Francois Hollande in Paris before departing for the European summit in Brussels Thursday night.

The House will decide Thursday whether to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt for refusing to turn over all documents demanded by lawmakers investigating a botched U.S.-Mexico gun running sting, a highly placed staff member said Monday night.

Paraguay's ousted President Fernando Lugo declared the country's new government illegitimate on Sunday and said he would not collaborate with a false administration.

Asian shares fell Friday and the safe-haven dollar hovered near its highest in a week-and-a-half after weak manufacturing data from the United States, Europe and China heightened fears over the outlook for global growth.

Afghan forces have freed 18 civilians and two militants after a Taliban attack on a popular lakeside hotel outside Kabul, but the siege continues and more hostages may be held, the city police chief said Friday.

Ecuador is reviewing Wikileaks founder Julian Assange's asylum plea, President Rafael Correa said Thursday.