By JEFF KAROUB (ROMULUS, Mich., AP) — A Syrian scientist whose harrowing, tragic story spurred supporting words from President Barack Obama and a successful fundraising effort launched by actor Edward… Read more »

(VERONA, Va., AP) — Schools in a Shenandoah Valley county in Virginia were closed Friday and a weekend holiday concert and athletic events were canceled amid an angry backlash about… Read more »

By JAKE PEARSON (NEW YORK, AP) — While big-city jails get most of the attention, lockups in small and medium-sized counties have actually driven the overall explosion in the U.S…. Read more »

By JOSH LEDERMAN (WASHINGTON, AP) — Working to ease public jitters ahead of the holidays, President Barack Obama will use visits to the Pentagon and the National Counterterrorism Center this… Read more »

By KRISTEN DE GROOT (PHILADELPHIA, AP) — Philadelphia police will step up patrols around worship sites as they look for the person who left a severed pig’s head outside a… Read more »

(INDIALANTIC, Fla., AP) — Hundreds of sealed coffee cans and vacuum-packed coffee bricks have washed ashore along Florida’s Space Coast and officials believe they may be from containers that fell… Read more »

By NOMAAN MERCHANT and BRIAN SLODYSKO (DALLAS, AP) — Days before a family of six Syrian refugees was to arrive in Texas, the furniture and supplies for their apartment were ready…. Read more »

By KEN DILANIAN and TED BRIDIS EDITOR’S NOTE: A look at political claims that take shortcuts with the facts or don’t tell the full story. (WASHINGTON, AP) — In the wake… Read more »

By ALICIA A. CALDWELL (WASHINGTON, AP) — The Homeland Security Department is announcing a new terror alert system. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh (JAY) Johnson says details about the new system… Read more »

By KEN THOMAS Associated Press (WASHINGTON, AP) — Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders secured the endorsement of the 200,000-member American Postal Workers Union on Thursday, marking the largest labor union to back his… Read more »