WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. will deploy a new special operations force to the Middle East to help fight Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Tuesday.... READ MORE »

WELCH, W.Va. (AP) — The seams of coal in some of Eddie Asbury's mines in McDowell County are so thin workers can barely squeeze down them. They enter on carts nearly flat on their backs,... READ MORE »

WASHINGTON (AP) — It's December, when Congress typically passes a last-minute package of temporary tax breaks, sparing millions of businesses and individuals from unwanted tax increases... READ MORE »

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — The conviction of former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver has shaken New York politics down to the granite foundations of the state Capitol, provoking fresh calls to... READ MORE »

BALTIMORE (AP) — In Baltimore, this year can be divided into two parts: what came before Freddie Gray died and what happened afterward. Gray, 25, suffered a mysterious injury in the back of... READ MORE »

GETTYSBURG, Pa. (AP) — A bust of Abraham Lincoln that was stolen from outside a museum near where he delivered the Gettysburg Address has been found. Hall of Presidents and First Ladies... READ MORE »

LE BOURGET, France (AP) — Addressing the twin threats of global warming and extremist violence, 151 world leaders kicked off two weeks of high-stakes climate talks outside Paris on Monday,... READ MORE »

GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — Ever wonder what you could do to get a room in a AAA four-diamond hotel, in downtown Greenville, for less than $10 a night? You might do what the Rev. Charles and... READ MORE »

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — Heidi Krieger didn't ask questions when her coaches added a regimen of blue pills to the handful of vitamins she was already taking every day. She didn't... READ MORE »

EGGVILLE, Miss. (AP) — Tina Wilburn made her first batch of chocolate gravy when she was 11. "My mom worked in medical records and she worked at night, so I learned to cook if I wanted to... READ MORE »