Ring of Fire’ solar eclipse visible from China to Texas on Sunday

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Sunrises and sunsets often dazzle, but they'll have a special ring to them in a few days for people in the western United States and eastern Asia: The moon will slide across the sun, blocking everything but a blazing halo of light.

House OKs continued war in Afghanistan

Kentucky weighed politics, medicine in whether to OK death row inmate's surgery

Documents: Trayvon Martin was shot through the heart at close range

Nation news briefs

CUBAN PRESIDENT'S DAUGHTER GETS US VISA: HAVANA (AP) - Cuban first daughter Mariela Castro has been granted a U.S. visa to attend events in San Francisco and New York, sparking a firestorm of criticism from Cuban-American politicians who called her an enemy of democracy and a shill for the Communist government her family has led for decades.

Romney's April money suggests GOP rallying

Reno air race organizers get OK to continue

Nation news briefs

HOUSE OKS GOP'S ANTI-VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN BILL: WASHINGTON (AP) - House Republicans set up a showdown Wednesday with the Senate and President Barack Obama over legislation to protect women from domestic violence, a fight that's become as much about female voters this election year as cracking down on abuse.

GI killed in Cambodia clash awarded Medal of Honor

Scientists hunt ways to stall Alzheimer’s

WASHINGTON (AP) - Look for a fundamental shift in how scientists hunt ways to ward off the devastation of Alzheimer's disease - by testing possible therapies in people who don't yet show many symptoms, before too much of the brain is destroyed.

Obama assets valued between $2.6M and $8.3M

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama hold assets worth between nearly $2.6 million and nearly $8.3 million, according to financial disclosure reports released Tuesday by the White House.

NY boy can play on girls field hockey team

SMITHTOWN, N.Y. (AP) - The biggest goal of Keeling Pilaro's field hockey career happened far from an athletic field on Tuesday.

Report: Female farmworkers suffer sex abuse , don’t report due to being illegals

Deputies: Fla. mom killed 4 kids, then herself

Nation news briefs

RECORDS DETAIL GEORGE ZIMMERMAN'S MEDICAL INJURIES: MIAMI (AP) - Court records show George Zimmerman had a pair of black eyes, a nose fracture and two cuts to the back of his head after the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.

Judge says he broke ethics code

Obama’s uncle allowed to stay in U.S.

BOSTON (AP) - President Barack Obama's Kenyan-born uncle, who ignored a deportation order more than two decades ago, was granted permission to stay in the U.S. on Tuesday.

Worker presumed dead after silo collapse

Asian nations dominate international test

WASHINGTON (AP) - American students once again lag behind many of their Asian and European peers on a global exam, a continuing trend that often is blamed on child poverty and a diverse population in U.S. schools.

Gay weddings become reality in Hawaii with new law

HONOLULU (AP) - Retired professors Rod Powell and Bob Eddinger have been partners in life since they met at the University of Hawaii in 1977. On Monday, they joined in marriage on the first day their home state allowed same-sex couples to form such unions.

NYC train was going too fast at curve

YONKERS, N.Y. (AP) - A commuter train that derailed over the weekend, killing four passengers, was hurtling at 82 mph as it entered a 30 mph curve, a federal investigator said Monday. But whether the wreck was the result of human error or mechanical trouble was unclear, he said.

Sister: Deadly shooting was over Alabama loss

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) - A woman charged with killing a fellow Alabama fan after the end of last weekend's Iron Bowl football game was angry that the victim and others didn't seem upset over the Crimson Tide's loss to archrival Auburn, said the sister of the slain woman.

Oklahoma adopts California-style quake precautions

PRAGUE, Okla. (AP) - It's become a predictable routine at Matt Pryor's insurance agency: An earthquake rumbles through Oklahoma, rattling dishes and nerves. Then the phones light up with calls and text messages from desperate residents asking if it's too late to buy a policy to cover any damage.

Amazon’s delivery drones: An idea that may not fly

NEW YORK (AP) - Jeff Bezos' idea to let self-guided drones deliver packages may be too futuristic for Washington to handle.

UN in Iraq worried about uptick in bodies found

BAGHDAD (AP) - An alarming number of Iraqis killed "execution-style" last month signaled an increase in targeted killings as the overall death toll in Iraq so far this year rose above 8,000, the U.N. said Sunday. The bodies, usually dumped on the street and mutilated, have heightened fears that the country is sliding back toward all-out warfare between Sunni and Shiite factions.

Worst tech bugs over for Healthcare.gov

WASHINGTON (AP) - The worst of the online glitches, crashes and delays may be over for the problem-plagued government health care website, the Department of Health and Human Services said Sunday.

NY train derailment kills 4

NEW YORK (AP) - A New York City commuter train rounding a riverside curve derailed Sunday, killing four people, injuring more than 60 and sending a chain of toppled cars trailing off the track just inches from the water, authorities said.

The holiday shopping season started as a marathon, not a sprint.

More than a dozen major U.S. retailers stayed open for 24 hours or more on Thanksgiving Day through Black Friday, and crowds formed early and often over the two days.

Decision set for Monday for election recount

SACRAMENTO (AP) - A candidate who narrowly lost a special legislative election said Friday that she is analyzing the final tally and will decide Monday whether to seek a recount.

Balloons steal the show

NEW YORK (AP) - Revelers at this year's Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade gave thanks for the giant balloons that flew above the city streets Thursday after a blustery storm accompanied by high winds nearly grounded them for only the second time in the parade's 87-year history.