The Associated Press

Sales of previously owned U.S. homes in May posted the best monthly gain in nearly three years, providing hope that housing is beginning to regain momentum lost over the past year.

The National Association of Realtors says that sales of existing homes increased 4.9 percent last month to a seasonally ...

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says the fate of Iraq may be decided over the next week and is largely dependent on whether its leaders meet a deadline for starting to build a new government.

Kerry on Monday met with top officials from Iraq’s bitterly divided Shiite, Sunni and ...

Note: Here & Now is providing special coverage of the president’s remarks

President Barack Obama is sending up to 300 military advisers to help Iraqi forces stem violent sectarian fighting.

The president announced the deployment from the White House Thursday after meeting with his national security team.

Obama said ...

General Motors says it needs to change or replace the keys for about 3.4 million cars because they could cause the ignition switch to move out of position if they’re carrying too much weight.

GM said in a statement Monday that the switches can rotate out of “run” if the ...

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has ordered the amphibious transport dock ship USS Mesa Verde into the Persian Gulf as concern grows over a militant group’s advancement toward Iraq’s capital. It’s joining the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush and other U.S. naval ships.

A Pentagon spokesman says the ships’ presence ...

This Week's Tracklist

• Watermat, "Bullitt" (Promo)
• Banks, "Drowning (Lido Remix)" (Harvest)
• Rufus Du Sol, "Sundream (Classixx Remix)" (Sweat It Out!)
• Digitalism, "Wolves feat. Youngblood Hawke (RAC Mix)" (Pias)
• Kiesza, "Hideaway (Bixel Boys Remix)" (Lokal Legend)
• Lxury, "J.A.W.S." (Method Records)
• Julian Gomes, "Love Song 28 Feat. Bobby (Atjazz Galaxy Aart ...

President Barack Obama says Iraq’s government must make a sincere effort to address sectarian differences, or else U.S. military help won’t succeed in curbing the insurgency there.

He says, quote, “We can’t do it for them.”

Obama says the U.S. won’t send troops back into Iraq. But he says he’s ...

The Library of Congress has chosen Southern writer Charles Wright to serve as the nation’s next poet laureate beginning this fall.

Wright hails from Pickwick Dam, Tennessee. For years, he was a professor at the University of Virginia.

He began writing poetry while he was stationed in Italy with the ...

Police in Oregon say a gunman fatally shot a student at a high school near Portland.

Authorities said Tuesday the suspect also was dead and the situation is stabilized.

The Multnomah County sheriff’s office said there were reports of shots fired about 8 a.m. at Reynolds High School in Troutdale.

Robert Schenkkan’s “All The Way” has won the Tony Award for best play.

Starring Bryan Cranston, the play focuses on President Lyndon B. Johnson’s first year in office and explores both his fight for re-election and the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Cranston, the former “Breaking Bad” ...

North Korea said Friday it has detained an American tourist for committing an unspecified crime, the third U.S. citizen being held there.

The Korean Central News Agency said authorities were investigating him for committing acts inconsistent with the purpose of a tourist visit. It did not give details.

“American citizen ...

Apple’s Mac operating system is getting a new design and better ways to exchange files, while new features in the software for iPhones and iPads include one for keeping tabs on your health.

Apple executive Craig Federighi pointed out that data from various fitness-related devices now live in silos, so ...

Apple CEO Tim Cook is promising new features for phones, tablets and Mac computers as he opened the company’s 25th annual conference for software developers. Cook says the separate systems for mobile and Mac devices have been engineered to work seamlessly together.

Apple says the next version of the Mac ...

Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki has resigned amid widespread troubles in the VA health care system.

President Barack Obama says he accepted the resignation with “considerable regret.” He and Shinseki met in the Oval Office on Friday morning.

Shinseki had faced mounting calls to step down from lawmakers in both ...

In a broad defense of his foreign policy, President Barack Obama declared Wednesday that the U.S. remains the world’s most indispensable nation, even after a “long season of war,” but argued for restraint before embarking on more military adventures.

Standing before the newest class of officers graduating from the U.S. ...

Hundreds of firefighters are working to protect communities from a wildfire chewing up a scenic Arizona canyon, but some business owners worry that the blaze will keep customers away from the premier tourist area over the important holiday weekend.

The human-caused Slide Fire started Tuesday and by Thursday night had ...

New York's governor has picked former Buffalo Congresswoman Kathy Hochul as his choice to be the next lieutenant governor.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Political committees and groups offered clues to their influence as campaign finance filings dribbled out Tuesday and nomination fights morphed into an all-out battle for control of the Senate.

Deep-pocketed donors helped the parties' campaign committees build a cash reserve that easily topped $146 million, according to ...

JOS, Nigeria (AP) — Two car bombs exploded at a bustling bus terminal and market in Nigeria's central city of Jos on Tuesday, killing at least 118 people, wounding dozens and leaving bloodied bodies amid the flaming debris.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the twin car bombs. ...

The James Beard Foundation on Tuesday announced that its awards ceremony honoring the best chefs and restaurants is moving to Chicago after 24 years in New York City. It's more proof that Chicago is home to one of the country's hottest restaurant scenes. But who's got the better eats?

Here's ...