Krishnadev Calamur

Iraq's most-revered Shiite cleric called on the country's political blocs to agree on a prime minister in the next four days, putting pressure on a government that is struggling to address the growing security crisis.

The call Friday by Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani came as Human Rights Watch said the ...

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday that three appointments President Obama made in 2012 to the National Labor Relations Board are not valid because they were not approved by the Senate, which was in pro forma session at the time.

In a unanimous decision, the justices said the Constitution's ...

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously Wednesday that unless police have a warrant, they generally cannot search data on a cellphone seized from someone who has been arrested.

The decision is seen as a sweeping win for privacy advocates.

"Modern cell phones are not just another technological convenience," Chief ...

In one of the last steps before a possible trial, a Spanish judge has formally charged Princess Cristina, the sister of King Felipe VI, on tax fraud and money laundering charges.

As Lauren Frayer reported in February, Cristina and her husband, Inaki Urdangarin, have been under investigation for ...

Lt. Giuseppe Petrosino is the only New York police officer to be killed in the line of duty outside the United States. It happened in March 1909 when Petrosino, one of the most celebrated officers in the department's history, was sent to Italy to investigate the Mafia.

The New ...

Malaysia's highest court has upheld a ruling by a lower court that non-Muslims cannot use the word "Allah" as a synonym for God. But the scope of Monday's decision by the Federal Court of Malaysia was unclear because the government issued a statement that said the ruling applied only ...

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously Thursday that using a computer to implement an abstract idea does not make that invention eligible for a patent.

At issue in the case, Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank International: Do software inventions get the same kind of patent protections as other ...

The board of clothing chain American Apparel voted Wednesday to replace founder Dov Charney in the wake of allegations of misconduct against him.

In a statement on its website, the board said that it notified Charney of its intent to terminate his employment as president and CEO. He is ...

Japan has banned the possession of child pornography, with some notable exceptions: manga, animation and computer graphics.

Parliament's upper house approved the measure Wednesday; the lower house passed the bill last month.

The move expands a 15-year-old law that bans the production and distribution of child pornography. The new ...

The garage where Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward met Deep Throat, his secret Watergate source, will be demolished to make way for residential and commercial buildings.

The five members of the Arlington County, Va., board voted unanimously over the weekend to approve the plan in the Rosslyn neighborhood. A ...

Suppose you spent five years in prison for a crime you didn't commit. How much does the government owe you?

Over the past few decades, the rise of DNA exonerations has made this a more pressing question. And many states have created explicit policies to answer it.

But those policies ...

The Sunni militant group ISIS, known for its brutal tactics and harsh interpretation of Shariah law, is pushing farther into Iraq. The organization is considered so extreme that even al-Qaida leaders want nothing to do with it.

In February, as we reported at the time, ...

Updated at 12:46 p.m. ET

President Obama has ruled out the use of ground troops in Iraq, saying any action will be "targeted and precise" but must be accompanied by political action by Iraqis to end sectarian divisions.

"We will not be sending U.S. troops back into combat in ...

Today is a bad day for those with paraskevidekatriaphobia. It's also a bad day for those with selenophobia. For those with both, don't look at the calendar or the sky.

Paraskevidekatriaphobia, for those of you who haven't had a chance to Google the term (like your blogger did), is the ...

Some stories tell themselves — like New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie appearing on The Tonight Show and doing the Evolution of Dad Dancing with Jimmy Fallon.

The video follows first lady Michelle Obama's appearance on the show last year in which she — and Fallon — performed the Evolution of ...

This post was updated at 4:20 p.m. ET

Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl is back in the U.S.

As we told you early this morning, Bergdahl, who was freed May 31 by his Taliban captors in exchange for five of the group's members in Guantanamo Bay, arrived at Brooke ...

Updated at 9:38 a.m. ET

Al-Qaida-linked Sunni militants continued their march across the country, and a representative of the country's most revered Shiite cleric urged Iraqis to defend their nation, increasing the possibility of sectarian strife in Iraq.

Meanwhile, Kurdish fighters filled the vacuum created by fleeing Iraqi ...

Jill Abramson, the former executive editor of The New York Times whose sudden dismissal last month sent shock waves through the media world, will teach at Harvard University this fall.

Abramson will teach undergraduate courses on narrative nonfiction at Harvard's English Department in the fall and spring ...

The U.S. resumed its drone strikes inside Pakistan, killing at least 13 people in two separate attacks on militant areas late Wednesday and early Thursday.

At least 10 people were killed in the CIA drone strike on Thursday when, according to The Associated Press, two drones "dropped three missiles ...