Closing arguments began Tuesday in a US government lawsuit filed against tobacco companies over five years ago. The suit went to trial eight months ago and is expected to wrap up this week. Federal prosecutors filed suit ...

Washington state GOP gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi announced late Monday that he would not appeal the ruling of a Washington state judge upholding the heavily disputed 2004 gubernatorial election of Democratic Governor Christine Gregoire [official...

Speaking at a UN press conference Monday Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) said that the US Senate would confirm John Bolton as the new US ambassador to the UN by the "tiniest" of margins. Bolton,...

Bolivian President Carlos Mesa tendered his resignation late Monday for the second time in four months following weeks of protests throughout the country. The Bolivian Congress rejected his first attempt to...

The US Senate is expected next week to approve a resolution apologizing for its historical failure to pass anti-lynching legislation. Senate filibusters blocked over 200 such bills in the first half of the 20th century. The resolution expresses...

The FBI Monday issued a preliminary report showing that the nation's murder rate dropped 3.6 percent in 2004, while violent crimes were down 1.7 percent. Property crimes also fell 1.8 percent. The murder rate had previously...

A treaty designed to encourage regional cooperation among Balkan states in war crimes trials appeared unlikely to materialize after Croatia on Tuesday ruled out allowing extraditions of suspects. The treaty, drafted by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in...

Following the UK's lead , Poland announced Tuesday that it may delay a scheduled October vote on the embattled European Constitution . Although France and the Netherlands had already voted agains ratifying the document, French President...

Majority Shiite members of the special parlimentary committee mandated to draft the charter for Iraq's constitution have balked at Sunni calls for greater representation in the constitutional process, with some urging that the body simply get on...

A former top executive in Berkshire Hathaway's Gen Re insurance group, will plead guilty later this week to one count of conspiracy, according to his lawyer. John Houldsworth is charged with conspiring to misstate the...