Ryan: Shocked at loss, says Obama won fair and square

WASHINGTON (AP) - The polling and other data and all the smart people watching the election gave Rep. Paul Ryan an optimistic view on the night of last week's election. When Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney lost, his running mate felt "a bit of a shock."

Boat needed in one Minneapolis voting precinct

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Not one voter cast a ballot in one Minneapolis precinct on Election Day. That's because the only living species in Ward 10, Precinct 3B, is of the aquatic variety.

Charter school enrollment now tops 2 million

WASHINGTON (AP) - Enrollment in charter schools increased by 200,000 students last year and now tops 2 million, according to a report being released Wednesday.

General demoted for lavish travel, spending

Scandal widens; General's emails 'flirtatious'

Oxford Dictionaries chooses omnishambles' as word of year

LONDON (AP) - Britain's media are in a meltdown and its government is gaffe-prone, so Oxford Dictionaries has chosen an apt Word of the Year: "omnishambles." <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; background: white; ...

LatAm leaders call for review of US legal pot vote

Petraeus said to be shocked by girlfriend's emails that threatened another woman

Deficit talk test GOP focus on tax rates

Tulsa dad arrested after toddler found in cage

Many on NY's Long Island still dark after Sandy

Major hurdles remain to end veteran homelessness

CHULA VISTA (AP) - Arthur Lute's arduous journey from his days as a U.S. Marine to his nights sleeping on the streets illustrates the challenge for the Obama administration to fulfill its promise to end homelessness among veterans by 2015.

Nation pays tribute to sacrifices of veterans

LOS ANGELES (AP) - From sea to shining sea, the nation paid tribute to its members of the armed services Sunday, both with somber traditions such as a Virginia wreath-laying ceremony attended by President Barack Obama to honor those who didn't make it back from active duty, and more lighthearted perks including red-carpet treatment at Las Vegas casinos for those who did.

As days without power drag on, frustration simmers among those left in Sandy’s wake

NEW YORK (AP) - New Yorkers railed Sunday against a utility that has lagged behind others in restoring power two weeks after the superstorm that socked the region, criticizing its slow pace as well as a dearth of information.

US colleges look to foreign students

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) - Want to see how quickly the look and business model of American public universities are changing? Visit a place like Indiana University. Five years ago, there were 87 undergraduates from China on its idyllic, All-American campus in Bloomington. This year: 2,224.

Woman accused of fatally pinning ex with car

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (AP) - A Connecticut woman has been charged with murder after police said she ran down her ex-boyfriend with her car and crushed him against a cinder-block garage wall. Cherelle Baldwin of Bridgeport was arraigned on a murder charge in state court in the death of 24-year-old Jeffrey Brown, the father of her toddler son. Baldwin, 21, was detained on $1 million bail. She was arrested Monday after a three-week investigation. Baldwin's relatives ...

27-car I-80 sandstorm pileup kills 1

NC health dept.: Poison gas not in pool inspection

BOONE, N.C. (AP) - Inspectors checked a motel where three people were presumed killed by carbon monoxide fumes six weeks before anyone died, but their review didn't include investigating for the poisonous gas, the local health agency said Tuesday. The Appalachian District Health Department said it inspected the swimming pool at the Best Western Blue Ridge Plaza in Boone six weeks before a Longview, Wash., couple were found dead of carbon monoxide poisoning in their ...

Woman ordered to get help after 396 arrests

NYC bomb plot details settle little in NSA debate

ACLU sues over NSA phone records

NEW YORK (AP) - The American Civil Liberties Union sued the Obama administration Tuesday, asking the government to halt a phone-tracking program that collects the telephone records of millions of Americans and that it says is unconstitutional. The lawsuit was filed in federal court in New York by the American Civil Liberties Union, along with the New York Civil Liberties Union. "The practice is akin to snatching every American's address book - with annotations detailing ...

NJ town to restrict baggy pants

Nation news briefs

CLEVELAND PUNISHES 12 OFFICERS IN DEADLY CHASE: CLEVELAND (AP) - Cleveland police fired a sergeant and meted out demotions and suspensions Tuesday for a car chase last year that involved five dozen cruisers, 137 rounds of ammunition fired by 13 officers, and the death of two people who, it turned out, were probably unarmed.

AT&T launches push-to-talk service for iPhone

Deal reached in case against Pa. nude 'pope'

Big Apple’s future: A lot of water?

Jury selection begins in Zimmerman's trial

Transplant group rejects lung rule changes

Rear slap gets ex-NFL player 30 days jail

Spy programs raise ire both home, abroad