Scott Neuman

This post was updated at 5:45 p.m. ET.

Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki says he has accepted the resignation of the department's undersecretary for health, a day after both men testified before Congress about a growing controversy over delays in treatment.

"Today, I accepted the resignation of Dr. ...

Patrols carried out by miners and steelworkers have forced pro-Russian separatists to abandon government buildings in parts of eastern Ukraine after some regions declared independence earlier this week.

The Washington Post reports:

"The unarmed patrols in the cities of Mariupol and Makeyevka by employees of companies controlled by ...

This post was updated at 8:45 p.m. ET

A 57-year-old man was charged with arson in one of 10 wildfires that have swept through San Diego County this week, burning more than 30 square miles and causing millions of dollars in damage.

The Associated Press reports that Alberto Serrato pleaded ...

Minnesota has approved the sale and use of medical marijuana and Gov. Mark Dayton has said he will sign the legislation.

The state is poised to become the 22nd to legalize the drug for medical purposes.

Minnesota Public Radio says, "Under the agreement, the state will authorize two medical ...

Jupiter's Great Red Spot might be, quite literally, the perfect storm: It's a swirling, anti-cyclonic vortex that's big enough to engulf three Earths and has been raging in the atmosphere of the solar system's largest planet for at least 400 years.

Even in a backyard telescope, the Great Red Spot ...

Multiple wildfires in California, fueled by strong Santa Ana winds and scorching temperatures, are so massive that they can easily be seen from space.

As NPR's Alan Greenblatt reports, the fires have affected thousands of acres and put lives and property in jeopardy.

"California fire officials were hoping ...

More legal wrangling over gay marriage in two states on Thursday:

In Arkansas, Pulaski County Judge Chris Piazza expanded the ruling he issued last week striking down a ban on gay marriage to also eliminate a separate law that prohibited clerks from issuing such marriage licenses.

It comes after ...

A second day of violence in Vietnam has seen mobs singling out Chinese workers for attack, killing at least one and injuring dozens, as hundreds of Chinese nationals fled the country by land and air. A major foreign-owned steel operation was set ablaze in the country's north.

The unrest has ...

An attack on anti-government protesters in Thailand's capital, Bangkok, has left at least two people dead and more than 20 wounded, Thai authorities say.

The incident marks renewed violence between supporters and opponents of ousted Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who was removed from her post last week by the country's ...

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel said Wednesday that the U.S. is using surveillance drones to try to locate more than 270 kidnapped schoolgirls in Nigeria.

"We are now providing unmanned reconnaissance intelligence over Nigeria and we'll continue to do that," Hagel told reporters in Saudi Arabia at a meeting of ...

This post was updated at 11:45 p.m. ET.

Thousands of residents in Southern California were fleeing their homes after being told by authorities to evacuate as nine wind-swept wildfires raged in the region.

In a news conference Wednesday night, officials said they were particularly concerned about the San Marcos fire, ...

Tropical storms are migrating out of the tropics, reaching their peak intensity in higher latitudes, where larger populations are concentrated, a new NOAA-led study published in the journal Nature says.

Each decade for the past 30 years, tropical cyclones — which include hurricanes and typhoons — have become ...

Mobs in southern Vietnam — angered by China's placement of an oil rig in disputed Southeast Asian waters — have torched scores of foreign-owned factories. Meanwhile, Beijing has reportedly begun construction on an airstrip in an island chain also claimed by the Philippines.

The unrest in Vietnam's Ho Chi ...

This post was updated at 4:00 a.m. ET Thursday:

The death toll in Turkey's worst mining disaster has risen to 282. Rescue teams recovered eight more bodies on Thursday. Hope is fading for the estimated 150 miners trapped below ground.

This post was updated at 7:10 p.m. ET.:

Crowds angered ...

Swedish director Malik Bendjelloul, who won an Oscar last year for his 2012 documentary Searching for Sugar Man, has been found dead in Stockholm at age 36, police and family members confirm.

Reuters reports:

"Stockholm police declined to provide any further details about Bendjelloul's death."

"'What I can say ...

Update: 3:30 a.m. EDT Wednesday:

Fire officials say winds have died down and that the threat from two blazes has eased. In and around San Diego, evacuation orders for more than 20,000 residents were lifted. In Santa Barbara County, people have not been allowed to return to a small number ...

President Obama has issued an executive order authorizing sanctions against five people in the Central African Republican in connection with the country's sectarian conflict.

In a statement, the White House cited "[escalating] violence and human rights abuses," and noted that "[communities] that have lived together peacefully for generations are being ...

Rep. John Conyers of Detroit, who's served in the U.S. House for nearly five decades, has failed to collect enough valid signatures to appear on the Aug. 5 Democratic primary ballot, a local election official says.

Quinn Klinefelter of member station WDET reports:

"Wayne County Clerk Cathy Garrett found ...

Some of you might remember the music video rendition of David Bowie's "Space Oddity" that Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield shot aboard the International Space Station. That was a year ago, and the YouTube video he made, which is now approaching 23 million views, is set to come down Tuesday ...

In a tit-for-tat sanctions dispute over the situation in Ukraine, a top Russian official said Tuesday that Moscow would stop supplying the U.S. with rocket engines used in military satellite launches and suspend operation of GPS ground stations in Russian territory.

The moves come after Washington banned some high-tech equipment ...