Bill Chappell

The police chief of Ferguson, Mo., says his department has made race relations a "top priority," after a shooting of an unarmed black teen sparked days of protests.

Another man (this time armed) was reportedly shot by a St. Louis County police officer early Wednesday after police responded to reports ...

Citing the persecution of religious minorities in Iraq, France says it will deliver weapons to Kurds fighting the extremists of the Islamic State. The news comes as thousands of Yazidi refugees have escaped their plight on Mount Sinjar, crossing into a Kurdish-controlled portion of Syria.

Here are the developments we're ...

Citing safety concerns, police in Ferguson, the St. Louis suburb where an officer shot and killed an unarmed black teenager Saturday, say they won't release the name of the officer who fired the shots. The department reportedly received threats against the officer.

"If we come out and say, 'it was ...

Several people were reportedly injured when an Iraqi aid helicopter crashed while trying to take people off of a mountain where they had been trapped by fighters loyal to extremist group the Islamic State. Children are believed to be among the helicopter's passengers, according to Iraqi state TV.

Initial reports ...

The piano wasn't fancy, and the acoustics were bad. But a performance of Beethoven's "Für Elise" at a Prague airport is drawing rave reviews. The impromptu concert was put on by a traveler who brightened the mood in a departure lounge and earned applause by taking on the classic in ...

A convoy of 280 white-painted trucks headed from Russia toward Ukraine is being met with suspicion. Russia says the trucks are bringing 2,000 tons of humanitarian aid to an area that's been torn by fighting. But Ukrainian leaders worry the convoy might conceal a military operation.

The trucks are due ...

Ebola continues to spread in West Africa. The latest figures from the World Health Organization cite 1,848 cases of the disease across the region, and 1,013 deaths. Ebola's victims also include a missionary priest who has died in Spain after being evacuated from Liberia last week.

The missionary, Miguel Pajares, ...

Iraq's Nouri al-Maliki is refusing to give up his position as prime minister, sending military vehicles into Baghdad's streets Monday after Iraqi President Fuad Masum asked Maliki's fellow Shiite, Haider al-Abadi, to form a government and become the country's new leader.

"Preserving the unity of Iraq is one ...

The use of different photos to portray shooting victim Michael Brown, who was killed by a police officer Saturday, prompted an interesting phenomenon on Twitter Monday: Users are posting "dueling" photos of themselves – one where the subject looks wholesome, and another where the same person might look like a ...

The NCAA is moving to appeal a federal judge's ruling that would require the organization to allow colleges to compensate students who play football and basketball. Current and former students had sued on antitrust grounds over the use of their names and images for video games, TV programs and other ...

Questions about how Tony Stewart's race car came to strike and kill another driver in a sprint car race Saturday include what prompted the other driver to stand on the track — and why Stewart, an elite NASCAR driver, was racing in the lower-level event. Police who are looking into ...

Iraq's president has asked the parliament's deputy speaker to form a new government, after members of the Shiite coalition that had backed Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki nominated the deputy, Haider al-Abadi, to the post Monday.

The move adds more uncertainty to a country beset by extremist militants in the ...

This post was updated at 6:40 p.m. ET.

In suburban St. Louis, business owners are cleaning up after a prayer vigil turned violent over the weekend. Meanwhile, protests continue over the death of an unarmed teenager who was shot by police on Saturday.

Reporter Rachel Lippmann of St. Louis Public ...

The NCAA violated antitrust laws when it said college athletes couldn't be compensated for the use of their names and likenesses, a federal judge ruled Friday.

U.S. District Court Judge Claudia Wilken sided with a group of current and former college football and basketball players who say they're being used ...

His wounds were inflicted 33 years ago, but James Brady died from John Hinckley Jr.'s attack on President Reagan, according to Washington, D.C., police who cite a Virginia medical examiner's report. The finding could lead to murder charges against Hinckley.

Update at 6:55 p.m. ET. Cause Of Death: Gunshot

From ...

The chances that an El Niño weather pattern will bring much-needed rains to parched areas of the West have fallen from 80 percent to 65 percent, according to a new analysis by weather experts. They add that if the warm-water system does appear, it would likely be a weak one.

An argument is brewing between British photographer David Slater and the folks at Wikimedia over who owns the rights to a photo a monkey took with Slater's equipment. The website says the famous photo should be freely distributed, because it believes the animal's self-portrait isn't bound by copyright law.

President Obama signed legislation Thursday that tries to mend the broken Veterans Affairs system, providing money to improve facilities and hire more medical staff, along with allowing more veterans to use private facilities. The bill is aimed at cutting veterans' long wait times for health care.

The president signed the ...

Elite college sports conferences can set their own rules about sharing profits with student-athletes and other matters, under a new policy adopted by the NCAA's Division I Board of Directors on Thursday.

The new rules would allow the most powerful athletic conferences to offer enhanced benefits to student-athletes, a ...

This post was updated at 9:45 p.m. ET.

President Obama has authorized targeted airstrikes against Islamic militants where needed and if militants advance toward American personnel in northern Iraq, he said Thursday night.

The president also said American planes have dropped aid and supplies to religious minorities in Iraq who ...