Melisa Goh

America's top military leader landed in Iraq today. Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, goes to Iraq as the American military presence there ramps up once more.

NPR's Alice Fordham has more:

"The general is welcome in Baghdad, says ...

Actor James Garner, whose wise-cracking but affable character made hits out of the TV shows Maverick and The Rockford Files, has died. He was 86.

Los Angeles Police confirm that Garner was found dead of natural causes at his home in Brentwood on Saturday.

Garner had a long career and ...

A senior official in South Sudan said Saturday that government troops will attack the main rebel stronghold if rebels turn down a proposed cease-fire.

The government had offered the truce on Friday to end two weeks of ethnic violence that has killed more than a thousand people.

Those rebel forces ...

Russia has invited the U.S. to participate in a tank biathlon so that both nations may learn to play nice — with heavy artillery.

The invitation was apparently extended while Secretary of State John Kerry and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel met with their Russian counterparts Sergei Lavrov and Sergei ...

The bookies called it; the 12th Doctor Who is Peter Capaldi.

The actor was introduced during a live broadcast on the BBC Sunday. He'll be the next in a long line of actors to play the quirky Doctor since the beloved British sci-fi show began back in the ...

The death toll is now five after a runaway train carrying crude oil derailed in Quebec early Saturday morning. The blistering explosion destroyed a town center, and officials say the ongoing fires are keeping rescuers from searching the rest of the area.

Police aren't saying how many other ...

(This story was last updated at 4:16 p.m. ET)

Egyptians remain deeply divided about which direction their country should go as supporters and opponents of ousted Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi are turning out Sunday to voice their opinions in separate rallies.

NPR's Greg Dixon filed this story for our Newscast ...

(Click here for updates.)

With President Mohammed Morsi out of sight and reportedly in military custody, Egypt has begun yet another dangerous new phase in its fitful transition to democracy. The nation is under the temporary leadership of interim President Adly Mansour. He and the military leaders who ...

Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer is recovering in a Georgetown hospital Saturday, following surgery for a fractured right shoulder.

The 74-year-old justice fell while riding his bike along Washington's National Mall on Friday afternoon, NPR's Nina Totenberg tells our Newscast unit.

This makes the third time Breyer has sustained a ...

A Cairo courtroom burst into chants of "The people want the execution of the president" on Saturday after the judge overseeing former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's retrial withdrew from the case on opening day. NPR's Leila Fadel reports:

"The session lasted only seconds. Judge Mustafa Hassan Abdullah opened the ...

After nearly five hours of questioning, the satirist known as the "Egyptian Jon Stewart" was released on bail Sunday.

Bassem Youssef is charged with insulting Islam and President Mohammed Morsi. He's among the most prominent critics of Egypt's Islamist president to be called in for questioning recently, prompting concerns that ...

Music producer Phil Ramone, who worked with top artists to create some of the most unforgettable music of our era, has died. He was 79.

Once dubbed "The Pope of Pop," Ramone was hospitalized in late February with an aortic aneurysm, Billboard reports. His son, Matt, confirmed the ...

After four years of self-imposed exile, Pakistan's former military ruler Pervez Musharraf has come home. His plan is to run for office and reclaim political influence, but death threats and legal battles complicate his return.

Security at Karachi airport was unusually tight as he arrived Sunday, NPR's Julie ...

Update at 3:52 p.m. ET.: Kerry Reacts

Speaking in Baghdad, Secretary of State John Kerry responded to news of Khatib's resignation, saying it "is not a surprise."

"It's almost inevitable, in the transition of a group such as the opposition, for these kinds of changes to take place as it ...

Two Ohio high school football players accused of raping a 16-year-old girl on an alcohol-fueled night last August have been found guilty and sentenced to jail.

On Sunday, the fifth day of trial in the Steubenville courtroom, Judge Thomas Lipps called the boys "delinquent" on all three counts against them ...

A Swiss woman cycling with her husband in India was allegedly beaten and gang-raped, police say. It's the latest high-profile sexual assault in a nation that's facing intense pressure to increase its protections for women.

The couple was on a cycling tour from Mumbai to New Delhi when they were ...

Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai claims the U.S. is holding talks outside Afghanistan with the Afghan Taliban.

The allegations come as Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel continues his first visit to the nation as Pentagon Chief – and after a deadly explosion in Kabul on Saturday that the Taliban called a message ...

With a stroke of her pen, Queen Elizabeth II is giving royal support to equal rights.

Her majesty is expected to sign a new charter for the Commonwealth on Monday. The charter declares the core values for the 54 member states, most of which were once under British rule. ...

President Obama went on air to levy pressure on Congress Sunday as Senate leaders worked to negotiate a deal to avert the "fiscal cliff." Graham said the odds of a last-minute deal are "exceedingly good."

After shooting his girlfriend multiple times early Saturday morning, linebacker Jovan Belcher drove to Arrowhead Stadium and killed himself in front of coaches and police.