Bill Chappell

In a sharp revision of Catholic policy, Pope Francis rewrote the process of annulling a marriage within the church on Tuesday, issuing two apostolic letters aimed at speeding and simplifying what has often been a process lasting more than a year.

The Catholic Church still doesn't recognize divorce, but the ...

With thousands of Syrian refugees and other migrants finally reaching havens in Germany and other European countries — and thousands more arriving daily — the Obama administration says it's "actively considering" ways to help, including allowing more refugees into the U.S.

The migrant crisis has placed stress on infrastructure in ...

Actor Martin Milner, whose work as Officer Pete Malloy introduced generations of Americans to a tough and honorable policeman on Adam-12, died on Sunday. Milner, who was 83, died at home in Carlsbad, Calif.

Word of Milner's death came out Monday, via a fan page on Facebook. His former co-star ...

Employees of federal contractors must be allowed to earn up to seven days of paid sick leave each year, under a new executive order that President Obama signed on Labor Day. The leave includes paid time off for family care.

"This will give about 300,000 working Americans access to paid ...

In the biggest find yet in a project to map the landscape near Stonehenge, researchers have found a row of up to 90 standing stones — some of them nearly 15 feet tall. The huge stone assembly is less than 2 miles from Stonehenge; scientists say it could be as ...

After a weekend in which tens of thousands of Syrian war refugees and other migrants reached Austria and Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel says Germany is putting 6 billion euros ($6.7 billion) toward coping with the influx; France has committed to receiving 24,000 migrants.

In Britain, Prime Minister David Cameron announced ...

Hours before it was scheduled to screen at the Telluride Film Festival, the Aretha Franklin documentary Amazing Grace has been pulled, after a federal court granted the singer an injunction. The film centers on footage shot by late director Sydney Pollack at a 1972 Franklin concert.

A trailer for Amazing ...

It was a sad day in Houston, as the family, friends and colleagues of Harris County Sheriff's Deputy Darren Goforth attended his funeral Friday. In an apparent attempt to ease their grief, a couple who were at the gas station where Goforth was killed came forward Friday to tell the ...

After spending the night in jail, Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis tells her lawyers, "All is well," adding that she slept well. She also says she is prepared to stay in jail. And her legal team says the marriage licenses that were issued by the clerk's office today are invalid.

...

Same-sex couples and their supporters are set to celebrate a victory Friday, when it's expected that Rowan County, Ky., officials will issue marriage licenses – something that hasn't happened since the County Clerk Kim Davis refused to go along with a shift in the law.

After Davis was found ...

In a new sign that Iran might consider freeing Jason Rezaian, a powerful Iranian politician tells NPR that there are ways to liberate the Washington Post reporter and other prisoners.

Two days before its football season kicks off, Rutgers University has suspended five current players who are accused of a variety of crimes, from assault to home invasion. Local authorities arrested the players Thursday; two former Rutgers players also face charges.

Many of the allegations stem from robberies this spring, ...

Actor Dean Jones, who starred in The Love Bug, That Darn Cat! and other classic Walt Disney movies, has died at age 84. In addition to his film work, Jones played the role of Bobby in the original Broadway cast of Stephen Sondheim's Company in 1970.

Jones died in Los ...

More than two years after accusations arose that Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's 2004 death was the result of polonium-210 poisoning, French judges say there isn't enough evidence to support the claim that Arafat was murdered.

"At the end of the investigation ... it has not been demonstrated that Mr Yasser ...

He was already serving a lengthy prison sentence; now onetime St. Louis Rams running back Lawrence Phillips is being charged with murder in the death of his cellmate. Phillips was convicted of assaulting his girlfriend and other charges in 2006.

The new charges against Phillips, 40, stem from the death ...

In what reportedly is a first, five ships from China's navy have been spotted in the Bering Sea, operating in international waters off the Alaskan coast, Pentagon officials tell The Wall Street Journal.

The newspaper reports:

"The officials said they have been aware in recent days that three ...

Kentucky's Gov. Steve Beshear says he's powerless to stop Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis from refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples — something she has done for consecutive days, flouting rulings from federal courts that include the Supreme Court and prompting a motion to hold her in ...

Both the Nasdaq and the Dow Jones index were hit by losses Tuesday, as concerns again rose about China's economy. The Dow is now down nearly 10 percent in 2015, after falling 469 points Tuesday to close at 16,058.

Markets in Europe and Asia also suffered, after renewed worries about ...

More than a month after his trial on murder charges ended in a mistrial for the second time, former Eutawville, S.C., police Chief Richard Combs has been sentenced to a year of home detention. Combs agreed to plead guilty to misconduct in office Tuesday.

Combs, who is white, was the ...

In the latest high-profile change for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, organizers withdrew their games' official logo Tuesday, after weeks of heavy criticism. A graphic designer had filed a lawsuit over the resemblance to his own work.

Belgian designer Olivier Debie first complained about the logo soon after ...