Parts of Arkansas were under a tornado watch until early Thursday after a series of powerful tornadoes ripped through dozens of homes, critically injuring two people.

A divided Kansas City School Board voted Wednesday to close almost half of the city's public schools. And many Missouri residents say it's plain wrong.

Federal authorities have charged a trendy Santa Monica sushi restaurant with serving whale meat -- an investigation that was spurred by the team behind the Oscar-winning documentary, "The Cove."

Simmering tension spilled into public this week when Chief Justice John Roberts labeled the political atmosphere at the State of the Union address "very troubling."

When in-house defense attorney Dimitrios Biller resigned from Toyota, he walked out with something potentially more valuable than his $4 million severance package.

A background check conducted in 2009 on an Ohio State University employee suspected of opening fire Tuesday on his co-workers turned up no criminal record, even though he apparently served five years in prison.

Former 1980s teen movie actor and heartthrob Corey Haim died early Wednesday, authorities said.

The Pentagon is training people to hack into its own computer networks.

House Democrats said Wednesday that they will ban earmarks directed to for-profit companies.

Forbes magazine released its annual list of the world's richest people Wednesday, and for only the second time since 1995, Microsoft founder Bill Gates' name was not at the top.

Wayne Rooney (right) scores twice as Manchester United crush AC Milan 4-0 to reach the quarterfinals of the Champions League and ruin David Beckham's return to Old Trafford.

Myanmar's ruling junta has announced a new election law that disqualifies pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi from participating in upcoming national elections.

President Obama is turning up the heat on private health insurers again, taking his increasingly populist health care overhaul pitch on the road to Missouri.

Colleen LaRose, the U.S. woman indicted for allegedly conspiring to support terrorists and kill a person in a foreign country, attempted suicide in 2005, police said.

The United States will hold both Israel and the Palestinians responsible for any steps that make peace between them more difficult, Vice President Joe Biden said Wednesday.

American Rachel Corrie was crushed by an Israeli bulldozer in 2003 as it razed homes in a Palestinian camp. On Wednesday, her parents seek answers in an Israeli court.

President Obama met Wednesday with Haitian President Rene Preval to discuss relief, recovery and reconstruction efforts in Haiti.

New York state's top police official announced Wednesday he was quitting, the second acting superintendent to step down in as many weeks.

The blonde woman who dubbed herself Jihad Jane is an American who lived literally on Main Street and said she was "desperate to do something" to help Muslims.

Royal Dutch Shell has stopped selling gasoline to Iran, the company confirmed Wednesday, adding to a list of oil giants that have stopped sales after a threat of future U.S. sanctions.