Jackie Northam

President Obama is defending his decision not to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during Netanyahu's upcoming visit to Washington. The prime minister was invited by House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) to address a joint meeting of Congress on March 3.

The White House was not told of the ...

It took just one newspaper article to change James Robertson's life.

Last Sunday, the Detroit Free Press ran a front page story about the 56-year-old factory worker. It said every weekday for a decade, Robertson has left his house and walked more than 20 miles to and from his ...

It is considered legitimate for a girl to be married at the age of nine, most "pure" girls will be married by 16 or 17, and there is no greater responsibility for a woman than being a wife to her husband.

Those are just some of the statements laid out ...

Vietnamese authorities have buried thousands of cats, many of them apparently still alive, that were destined for restaurant tables. The Associated Press says the felines were culled because they posed an environmental and health risk.

The cats were being smuggled into northern Vietnam from China. The AP says the ...

Jim Prentice, the premier of Alberta, Canada, says the fight over the Keystone XL pipeline has been a long and tortured process. But, he adds, if President Obama vetoes a bill that would approve construction, the issue would not necessarily go away.

There is enormous opposition among environmentalists to the ...

If you are looking to herbal supplements to help improve your memory or vitality or help you to sleep, you may want to save your money. The New York State attorney general's office is asking four major retailers — GNC, Target, Walmart and Walgreens — to stop selling herbal ...

In many U.S. cities, a 21-mile round-trip commute can take a long time. Imagine if you were making the journey on foot. The Detroit Free Press says that exactly what James Robertson does every day.

The newspaper says when the 56-year-old James' aging Honda Accord quit on him in ...

An Egyptian court on Monday sentenced 183 people to death on charges of killing policemen during an uprising in 2013. The convictions were handed down as part of a mass death sentence, as the Egyptian government cracks down on supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood, which it considers a terrorist organization.

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Oil prices are low because there's too much on the market. That extra oil has to be stored somewhere. A lot of it is sitting on ships at sea, with traders hoping the price will go up soon.

A proposed U.S.-Asia trade pact calls for incorporating the issue wildlife trafficking. The goal is to slow the poaching of endangered animals such as elephants, tigers and rhinos.

Two U.S. citizens are charged with trying to overthrow the government of the tiny West African nation of Gambia. The charges stem from a December 30 coup attempt.

At least 60 journalists died in 2014, reports the Committee to Protect Journalists. Nearly half those killed were targeted for murder.

The Obama administration is weighing options for a response to North Korea's alleged cyber attack on Sony Pictures. The move comes after the FBI said it had evidence the Pyongyang government was involved.

Two-thirds of the food Cubans eat is imported — but the reestablishment of ties with the U.S. could open opportunities for American farmers.

It's been a rough ride for the Russian economy and it keeps getting worse. Low oil prices helped push the ruble to another record low on Friday. This spate of bad economic news is probably just accelerating an existing trend: Russia's purchase of gold at an astounding rate.

Russia's central ...

Falling oil prices have been good news for the U.S. But they're causing multiple problems for some exporters. Government budgets are strained. Economies are struggling. Currencies are crashing.

Normally, the "central banker of oil" would slow production to push up prices. Not so now. Some say it's a geopolitical tactic aimed at Russia and Iran; others say it's just protecting market share.

A debate has begun in Canada about how to respond to this week's murders of two Canadian soldiers, and the government plans to introduce new measures to strengthen the powers of the security services.

The Canadian government says it will increase surveillance and provide the security forces with more authority to detain suspects after Wednesday's shooting in the capital, Ottawa. NP...

Canadian police have identified the man who went on a shooting spree in the Canadian capital on Monday. The shooter killed a soldier before entering Parliament where he was shot dead by an official.