Krishnadev Calamur

Don't pay too much attention to the shifty eyes in the old portrait. Same goes for the mysterious tapping down the hall of the vast family manor — and, for that matter, the secrets lurking in its attic. Don't even be fooled by the ghost.

The Hundred-Year House may be ...

Update at 6:08 p.m. ET

Germany steamrolled over host Brazil 7-1 on Tuesday in their semifinal game to enter the final of the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Five of Germany's goals came in the first half.

Thomas Muller scored in the 11th minute, Toni Kroos scored in the 24th and ...

Update at 3:33 p.m. ET

The White House said it's asking Congress for $3.7 billion to address the humanitarian crisis along the border with Mexico.

The statement said the funds would cover domestic enforcement, repatriation and reintegration of migrants, transportation costs, additional immigration judges, prosecutors and litigation attorneys to "ensure ...

Updates at 5:32 p.m. ET

Israel said Tuesday it is expanding its operations against Hamas "and other terrorist organizations" in the Gaza Strip amid an escalation of violence that saw a barrage of rockets fired from the enclave toward Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and other parts of the country.

"No other ...

Legal marijuana sales are set to begin in Washington state as early as Tuesday after authorities began issuing retail licenses to stores.

The state's Liquor Control Board issued Monday the first 24 marijuana retailer licenses, the board said in a statement. The stores can now stock up on ...

Bahrain's Foreign Ministry has said a top U.S. diplomat "is unwelcome and should immediately leave the country."

Assistant Secretary of State Tom Malinowski oversees democracy, human rights and labor issues. On Sunday, he met with Al Wifaq, a Shiite opposition group. Bahrain's Foreign Ministry said the meeting was "indicative ...

At least 50 people were shot in Chicago, 12 of them fatally, in a wave of violence over the long Fourth of July holiday weekend.

The Chicago Tribune called it "the greatest burst of gun violence Chicago has seen this year."

The numbers came from The Associated ...

Australia has acknowledged that it handed over 41 asylum seekers to Sri Lankan authorities in a transfer at sea — amid criticism the move could imperil those possibly facing persecution in their home country.

Immigration Minister Scott Morrison said in a statement on the ministry's website that the 41 Sri ...

Former Afghan Finance Minister Ashraf Ghani is in the lead to succeed Hamid Karzai as the country's next president, according to preliminary results Monday from the disputed vote.

The country's Independent Election Commission said Ghani had 56.44 percent of the vote. His main rival, Abdullah Abdullah, received 43.56 percent. ...

Joey "Jaws" Chestnut ate eight fewer hot dogs than last year, but that didn't prevent him from defending his title at Nathan's Famous hot dog eating contest in New York.

Chestnut of San Jose, Calif., devoured 61 hot dogs and buns in the allotted 10 minutes. He ate 69 last ...

After the first round of World Cup quarterfinal matches, Brazil and Germany will advance and face each other on Tuesday.

Brazil vs. Colombia

It had been an impressive World Cup for Colombia, going further than many expected, but they couldn't hold off the assault from World Cup host Brazil, ...

Anthony Cumia, co-host of SiriusXM's Opie & Anthony, was fired by the satellite radio network for what the company called his "racially-charged and hate-filled remarks on social media."

Cumia tweeted Tuesday that he had been punched in the face by a woman in New York's Times Square when she ...

German authorities have arrested a man, who media reports say worked for the country's spy agency, for allegedly passing intelligence to the United States.

Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman, Steffen Seibert, said Merkel had been notified of the arrest Wednesday. He said Merkel spoke to President Obama late Thursday, but would ...

The Pentagon has grounded all of its F-35s while it investigates the cause of a fire last month involving one of the jets.

In a statement late Thursday, the Defense Department said the decision was made based on initial findings from a runway fire incident June 23 at ...

Richard Mellon Scaife, the billionaire philanthropist and conservative donor from Pittsburgh who was heir to the Mellon banking and oil fortune, has died. He was 82.

His death was reported by the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, the newspaper he owned.

NPR's Hansi Lo Wang is reporting on the story, and says:

Update at 3:36 p.m ET

Israeli police clashed Friday with Palestinians in East Jerusalem, as Palestinians buried an Arab teenager they say was killed by Israeli extremists.

Protesters threw rocks at police who responded with stun grenades, The Associated Press reports. About 30 Palestinians and 13 Israeli officers were ...

Updated at 9:34 a.m.

Hurricane Arthur weakened to a Category 1 storm on Independence Day after hitting the coast of North Carolina.

The National Hurricane Center said Arthur packed maximum sustained winds of nearly 90 mph as it moved offshore. The center predicted the storm would weaken in the next ...

Former News of the World editor Andy Coulson, who was found guilty last week of conspiracy to hack personal voicemails, was jailed Friday for 18 months.

NPR's Ari Shapiro is reporting on the case for our Newscast unit. Here's what he said:

"During sentencing, the judge said phone ...

The European Court of Human Rights has upheld France's ban on face-covering veils, in a closely watched case that was brought by a Muslim woman who said the law violated her freedom of religion.

The French-born woman, who is in her mid-20s, was not named. She said she wore the ...

Updated at 2:14 p.m. ET

Controversial Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez apologized Monday for biting Italian player Giorgio Chiellini in last week's World Cup soccer game between their two countries.

FIFA, soccer's governing body, suspended Suarez for nine games and fined him 100,000 Swiss francs (about $112,000) for the ...