U.S.-backed Syrian forces clear Raqqa after driving out IS

BEIRUT – U.S.-backed Syrian forces were removing land mines and clearing roads in the northern city of Raqqa on Wednesday, a day after commanders said they had driven the Islamic State group...

Texts: Sheriff, lawmaker pushed to stop cheerleader protest

ATLANTA – A powerful lawmaker texted a Georgia sheriff and recounted with pride how the two pressured a university president to take action after black cheerleaders knelt during the national...

Trump says Comey knew he was going to exonerate Clinton

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump took to Twitter on Wednesday to revive his long-standing complaint about the FBI’s handling of the Hillary Clinton email server investigation, alleging th...

Man convicted in plot to behead blogger over cartoon contest

BOSTON – A man who authorities say fell under the influence of the Islamic State group was convicted Wednesday of plotting to behead a conservative American blogger for organizing a Prophet ...

Suspect in Maryland office park shooting is apprehended

EDGEWOOD, Md. – A man with a lengthy criminal past who showed up for work at a countertop company on Wednesday and shot five of his co-workers has been arrested, authorities said. Three of t...

Sessions defends Comey firing, dodges questions on Trump

WASHINGTON – Attorney General Jeff Sessions strongly defended President Donald Trump’s firing of James Comey, but at a Senate hearing Wednesday repeatedly declined to discuss private convers...

IRS still enforcing Obama-era insurance mandate

WASHINGTON – Contrary to widespread perceptions, the IRS still appears to be enforcing the unpopular Obama-era requirement that most people carry health insurance or risk a fine. ...

New Mexico’s rate of women killed by men among nation’s worst

SANTA FE (AP) – Peggy Sue Padilla lay dead in her driveway during a night of rainfall, and it was morning before anyone found her. Leonard Coriz, the boyfriend prosecutors say kil...

As congressional investigations wear on about Russia, some eye a finish

WASHINGTON – As congressional investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 elections wear on in the Capitol, some lawmakers are starting to wonder when – and how – the probes will en...

Lawmaker: Mascot wrong to rally for kneeling cheerleaders

KENNESAW, Ga. – The student who wears the owl mascot costume at a Georgia public university where five cheerleaders knelt during the national anthem had no business leading a cross-campus ma...

Cochran’s illness shows risks to GOP leaders of aging Senate

WASHINGTON – Top Republicans coping with a razor-thin majority in the Senate as they try pushing a partisan agenda are running smack into another complication – the sheer age and health issu...

Celebrity-named seal pups rehabilitated, set free on beach

SANDWICH, Mass. – Two celebrity-named harbor seal pups rescued in Maine earlier this year have been rehabilitated and set free on a Massachusetts beach. “Giseal Bündchen” and “Sea...