Alan Greenblatt

An appeals court in Italy has overturned the conviction of former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on charges that he paid for sex with an underage prostitute and then abused his power to cover up the crime.

The Milan court unexpectedly threw out last year's verdict against the billionaire politician, ...

Libyan Foreign Minister Mohamed Abdelaziz asked the United Nations Security Council for help protecting the country's ports, airports and oil installations on Thursday, warning that the country could become a failed state.

He pleaded with the council "to take the case of Libya seriously before it is too late,"

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the army to send ground forces into Gaza Thursday night.

"We are hearing reports that so far the operation has been concentrated in the north," reports NPR's Emily Harris, who is in Gaza.

Fawzi Barhoum, a spokesman for Hamas, called the invasion "a dangerous ...

A judge in Florida overturned the state's ban on same-sex marriage on Thursday.

The ban had been approved by 62 percent of voters in 2008.

"The court is aware that the majority of voters oppose same-sex marriage, but it is our country's proud history to protect the rights of the ...

Residents of roughly 1,700 homes have been told they should evacuate as a wildfire burns out of control in central Washington state.

Few have heeded the warnings, however. Only a handful of people have shown up at emergency shelters.

"People in this area are very self-sufficient," Eileen Ervin, spokeswoman for ...

A tentative agreement has headed off a strike at the nation's largest commuter railroad.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who became personally involved in talks between the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and unions representing Long Island Rail Road workers, announced Thursday that a deal had been reached, three days ahead of ...

A federal judge has ruled that California's use of the death penalty is dysfunctional and violates the constitutional prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment.

U.S. District Judge Cormac Carney's ruling came in response to an appeal by Ernest Dewayne Jones, who was sentenced to death in Los Angeles ...

President Obama outlined a new package of sanctions against Russian firms and individuals on Wednesday.

"These sanctions are significant but also targeted," Obama said. "Russia will see that its actions in Ukraine have consequences."

The administration targeted large banks, as well as energy and defense firms. The sanctions stopped short ...

The control tower and 20 aircraft have been damaged by shelling at Libya's main airport in Tripoli as fighting continued there for a fourth day.

"It's a disaster for the country at large," says Dirk Vandewalle, an expert on Libya at Dartmouth College.

Since the revolution that deposed longtime leader ...

A Democratic effort to override the Supreme Court's recent ruling on contraceptive coverage failed in the Senate on Wednesday.

Bill sponsors fell four votes short of the 60 votes needed to cut off debate on the measure.

But the purpose of the vote may have been less about trying to ...

This post was updated at 10:35 p.m. ET.

The Coast Guard has evacuated passengers from the Escapade, a casino boat that ran around off the Georgia coast after midnight on Wednesday. The boat remains lodged on a sandbar.

Passengers were shuttled to a Coast Guard cutter via small rubber zodiacs, ...

At least a dozen people were killed as the Philippines was battered by its first typhoon of the season on Wednesday. Since the storm passed through major population centers, officials were relieved that the death toll wasn't higher.

The storm, known as Rammasun but called Glenda locally, sideswiped Manila but ...

A federal appellate court in Texas has ruled that the state's flagship university can continue to use race as a factor in admissions.

"To deny UT Austin its limited use of race in its search for holistic diversity would hobble the richness of the educational experience," Judge Patrick Higginbotham

All politicians are crooks, right?

Not really. Sometimes, elected officials will surprise you by being genuinely self-sacrificing when it comes to compensation.

Steve Novick, a city commissioner in Portland, Ore., just refused a $7,280 cost-of-living increase. He told The Oregonian accepting the raise "doesn't feel right."

He'll continue to ...

Two former Utah state attorneys general were arrested Tuesday. Both face numerous charges, including receiving and soliciting bribes.

Mark Shurtleff served as attorney general for a dozen years before completing his third term at the beginning of 2013. John Swallow was elected to succeed him but resigned in ...

In a bid to shore up sagging numbers, the Peace Corps on Tuesday announced significant changes to its application process.

Sixty-page forms that used to take more than eight hours to fill out have now been shortened and streamlined and can be completed online in less than an hour, Peace ...

At least 89 people were killed Tuesday by a suicide bomber in Afghanistan. It was the deadliest attack on civilians in that country for several years.

The attack occurred near a busy market and mosque in Urgun, a town in the eastern province of Paktika. In addition to the dead, ...

Post updated: 2:15 a.m. ET Tuesday:

Israel's Security Cabinet has accepted Egypt's proposal for a cease-fire with Hamas in Gaza. Hamas has not yet formally accepted the proposal. According to The Associated Press: The plan calls for a cease-fire to begin within 12 hours of "unconditional acceptance" by the sides, ...

The accounting firm of Ernst & Young has agreed to pay $4 million to settle civil charges that it violated federal rules when a subsidiary lobbied Congress on behalf of audit clients.

"Ernst & Young engaged in lobbying activities that constituted improper advocacy and clearly violated the rules," said Scott ...

The Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino is expected to close on Sept. 16, making it the latest in a series of Atlantic City casinos to go under.

As required by federal law in advance of mass layoffs, the hotel sent out warnings about the planned closure to employees on Monday. ...