WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Chuck Hagel, President Barack Obama’s nominee for defense secretary, is facing GOP critics who have challenged his past comments on Israel, Iran and nuclear weapons. The former two-term senator from Nebraska is the lone witness at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing today that could be crucial in determining whether he […]

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans seeking unemployment aid rose sharply last week but remained at a level consistent with moderate hiring. The Labor Department says weekly applications for unemployment benefits leapt 38,000 to a seasonally adjusted 368,000. The increase comes after applications plummeted in the previous two weeks to five-year lows. The volatility […]

PHOENIX (AP) — Police are hunting for an “armed and dangerous” 70-year-old man suspected in a Phoenix office complex shooting that left one person dead and two wounded. Arthur Douglas Harmon allegedly opened fire at the end of a mediation session Wednesday morning at a three-story office complex in north-central Phoenix, police said. One man […]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Severely wounded and still recovering, former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords begged lawmakers at an emotional hearing Wednesday to act quickly to curb firearms because “Americans are counting on you.” Not everyone agreed, underscoring the national political divide over gun control. Giffords’ 80-word plea was the day’s most riveting moment, delivered in a hushed, […]

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A strong earthquake shook southeastern Alaska early today, but there was no danger of a tsunami and no early reports of any damage, officials said. The magnitude 6.0 quake struck shortly before 1 a.m. and was centered in the ocean, about 200 miles south of the capital, Juneau, the U.S. Geological […]

CHICAGO (AP) — A 15-year-old girl who had performed in President Barack Obama’s inauguration festivities is the latest face on the ever-increasing homicide toll in the president’s hometown, killed in a Chicago park as she talked with friends by a gunman who apparently was not even aiming at her. Chicago police said Hadiya Pendleton was […]

SAN DIEGO (AP) — An explosion tore through a hotel near SeaWorld San Diego where a couple was allegedly extracting hash oil, sending guests fleeing for safety and putting three people in the hospital, authorities said. A 22-year-old man in the room suffered life-threatening injuries in the Wednesday explosion at the three-story Heritage Inn Sea […]

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Water vessels were moving cautiously today through a section of the Mississippi River where a barge was leaking oil as Coast Guard officials attempted to ease the economic impact of shutting down one of the nation’s vital commerce routes. Crews on Wednesday began pumping oil from the leaking barge onto another […]