Eyder Peralta

The number of first-time claims for unemployment insurance dropped by 24,000 last week, the Employment and Training Administration says. At 334,000, the number is at a 10-week low.

The Associated Press reports that the drop may be due to seasonal factors. The wire service adds:

"Still, the broader ...

The military judge presiding over the court-martial of leaker Bradley Manning has declined to drop the most serious charge against him.

The Associated Press reports that the judge, Col. Denise Lind, said she would allow the government to proceed with a case accusing Manning of aiding the enemy, a ...

Good morning! Here are our early headlines:

-- Thousands Flee Calif. Wildfire Moving Toward Populated Area

-- WATCH: South Africa Celebrates Mandela's 95th Birthday

-- Trayvon Martin's Mom: Jury Should Have Blamed 'Responsible Adult'

Here are some other stories making news today:

-- Relief may be in ...

"How can you let the killer of an unarmed teen go free? What would your verdict ... have been had it been your child?"

That's what Trayvon Martin's father said when asked by Matt Lauer to address the jury that acquitted George Zimmerman in the shooting death of their 17-year-old ...

It's a bittersweet day in South Africa today: Nelson Mandela, the anti-apartheid icon who many consider the country's father, is celebrating his 95th birthday. But he is doing so from a hospital bed in Pretoria.

There is good news, however: As Mark reported yesterday, Mandela's daughter Zindzi says he's ...

About 6,000 people in California have been ordered out of their homes by authorities worried that a wildfire is quickly moving toward a more populous area southeast of Los Angeles.

The Los Angeles Times reports:

"Fire commanders leading the battle to stop the 19,600-acre Mountain fire were concerned ...

Asiana Airlines has decided not sue the San Francisco television station that aired the bogus names of the flight crew piloting Flight 214, a Boeing 777 that crash-landed at San Francisco International Airport earlier this month.

As we reported on Monday, the airline said it would sue the ...

In testimony before the House Committee on Financial Services, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said that when and how the Fed winds down its stimulus programs will depend on economic conditions.

Here's the key passage from Bernanke's prepared remarks:

"I emphasize that, because our asset purchases depend on ...

Four women who served on the jury that acquitted George Zimmerman are distancing themselves from Juror B37, the anonymous woman who gave an extensive interview to CNN about the case.

As Mark reported, Juror B37 said she believed it was Zimmerman screaming for help the night he shot ...

A day after submitting an application for temporary asylum in Russia, the lawyer representing Edward Snowden tells Russia's Interfax news agency that the NSA leaker could leave the transit zone of Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport within a week.

Reuters reports:

"Anatoly Kucherena, who is helping Snowden with his request ...

At least 22 children are dead in India after they ate a poisoned school lunch Tuesday at a school in the eastern state of Bihar.

The images are horrific. The AFP reports:

"There were emotional scenes as children, their limbs dangling and heads lolling to one side, were ...

(Updated 9:40 p.m. ET)

A statement from Cuba's foreign ministry says weapons that Panama seized in a North Korean ship were mid-20^th Century models that Cuba was sending to North Korea for repair, according to reports from the BBC and Reuters.

The statement termed the cache as "obsolete defensive weaponry." ...

In the shadow of a dramatic showdown over the filibuster of White House nominations, the Senate voted to advance the nomination of Richard Cordray to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

The 71-29 cloture vote means the nomination overcame the 60-vote threshold needed to break a filibuster and bring the ...

It's not exactly the birth the whole world is waiting for. But something pretty spectacular — and surprising — happened at Zoo Atlanta last night: Lun Lun, a 15-year-old giant panda, gave birth to twins.

As the zoo reports, "the cubs are the first giant pandas to be ...

Former CIA Director Gen. David Petraeus has decided to take a huge pay cut. The former commander of the allied forces in Iraq and Afghanistan will now make $1 to teach a course at City University of New York's honors college.

As you might expect, the concession comes after a ...

Edward Snowden, the former NSA contractor who leaked a cache of classified documents about U.S. surveillance programs, officially filed for temporary asylum in Russia on Tuesday, a human rights lawyer and WikiLeaks say.

According to Russia Today, a state-funded English-language news outlet, Russian human rights lawyer Anatoly ...

Late into the night on Monday, after a round of violent protests ripped through Los Angeles in response to the acquittal of George Zimmerman, Mayor Eric Garcetti called for calm.

The Los Angeles Times reports that by the time the sun came up, at least 13 people had been ...

After what had been a week of calm, violence returned to the streets of Cairo late Monday into early Tuesday.

NPR's Leila Fadel reports that Egypt's health ministry said seven people were killed and more than 200 were injured as supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi clashed with police. ...

Speaking at a luncheon for the Delta Sigma Theta sorority in Washington, D.C., Attorney General Eric Holder said he shared concerns about the "tragic, unnecessary shooting death of Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Fla., last year."

The comments mark his first public statements since a jury acquitted George Zimmerman of all ...

Back in May of 2009, Howard Stern called his producer's ceremonial first pitch at a Mets game "the most embarrasing ceremonial first pitch in baseball history."

And, yeah, Gary "Baba Booey" Dell'Abate's pitch was pretty terrible. (It hit the ump!) But his reign may have come to an end yesterday, ...