Scott Neuman

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has ordered a unilateral weeklong cease-fire against pro-Russia separatists in the country's east, in hopes the move will lead to a broader de-escalation of a conflict that has threatened to bisect the former Soviet satellite.

Poroshenko's move is a first step aimed at ending the conflict. ...

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta says that as many as 75 of its workers may have been accidentally exposed to live anthrax bacteria this month because of a safety problem at one of its labs.

Member station WABE's Michell Eloy reports from Atlanta that the CDC ...

Lyricist Gerry Goffin, who along with Carole King authored such Top 40 hits as "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" and "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman," has died at age 75.

NPR's Neda Ulaby says Goffin died this morning in Los Angeles. She says "as soon as Gary ...

The nation's largest Presbyterian denomination has voted to allow its pastors to perform same-sex marriages in states where such unions are legal.

The top legislative body of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) voted at its 221st General Assembly in Detroit to change the way it defines Christian marriage in its ...

An injured German cave explorer, who spent two weeks trapped underground in the Alps, has reached the surface after an operation involving hundreds of rescuers workers.

Johann Westhauser, 52, a researcher who was taking measurements of Germany's deepest cave system, hit his head during a fall more than 3,000 feet ...

The driver of a semitrailer that hit a limousine carrying comedian Tracy Morgan, seriously injuring him and killing a fellow passenger, was speeding moments before the crash, the National Transportation Safety Board says in a preliminary report.

NTSB says Wal-Mart driver Kevin Roper was going 65 mph in a ...

This post was updated at 4:20 p.m. ET.

Calif. Rep. Kevin McCarthy has been chosen by House Republicans to be their next majority leader, taking the place of Rep. Eric Cantor, who was defeated in a stunning primary upset earlier this month. Louisiana's Rep. Steve Scalise has been selected to ...

If you live in New York, you might want to cancel that appointment to get your dog tattooed: On Wednesday, a bill prohibiting pet tattooing passed the state legislature and Gov. Andrew Cuomo is expected to ink it.

The soon-to-be-law, which gained bipartisan support and was endorsed by the ...

Federal prosecutors charge that Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker was at the center of a "criminal scheme" to illegally coordinate fundraising with outside conservative groups in violation of state law.

The Associated Press reports that "documents were filed as part of an ongoing lawsuit challenging the probe by the conservative group ...

John Ruthell Henry has received a lethal injection at Florida State Prison, becoming the third inmate to be put to death since the botched execution of an Oklahoma prisoner in April set off a flurry of legal challenges.

The Florida governor's office says Henry, 63, was pronounced dead at 7:43 ...

An 89-year-old man accused of aiding and abetting the killing of 216,000 Jews as a Nazi camp guard at the concentration camp located in Auschwitz, Poland, during World War II, has been arrested in Philadelphia.

Johann "Hans" Breyer, who immigrated to the U.S. in 1952, was arrested by U.S. authorities ...

Although the results of Afghanistan's elections aren't due until next month, already one of the two presidential candidates is calling foul.

Abdullah Abdullah says the vote counting must stop immediately because the head electoral official has allowed fraud and must be suspended.

He says election monitors from his campaign witnessed ...

This post was updated at 5:40 p.m. ET.

Pianist and composer Horace Silver, who created a rhythmic jazz known as "hard bop" that combined R&B and gospel to go along with his eclectic style of piano playing, has died at age 85, his son confirms.

Silver began as a ...

This post was updated at 5:30 p.m. ET.

The Federal Reserve said today it will further curtail its bond purchases because of an improving U.S. job market, but it offered no hint as to when it might start raising short-term interest rates.

A statement from the Federal Reserve Open ...

This post updated at 5:20 p.m. ET.

It's called the Fire Phone, and Amazon is hoping that its entry into the mobile arena will prove a hot seller that puts the iconic brand at everyone's fingertips.

CEO Jeff Bezos introduced the Fire Phone at an event Wednesday in Seattle.

In ...

An explosion has rocked a northeastern Nigeria town where people had gathered to watch World Cup soccer on television, security officials say.

There were reports of casualties, but it was not immediately clear how many or whether anyone had been killed. Reuters quotes witnesses to the blast at the town ...

SunTrust has agreed to pay $968 million as part of a settlement with the government over charges that it failed to comply with standards required for federally backed mortgages.

The settlement between SunTrust Mortgage and the Justice Department and other agencies includes money for homeowners and a requirement that the ...

The Hubble Space Telescope is being pressed into service to search for a post-Pluto "icy body" as a last stop for NASA's New Horizons probe.

The Baltimore-based committee that metes out observing time for the HST announced today that it is allotting time to look for a suitable Kuiper ...

Ukraine says an explosion along the main pipeline that carries Russian natural gas across its soil to Europe is being treated as an "act of terrorism."

The explosion occurred just a day after Russia halted gas shipments to Ukraine in a dispute over payments.

The BBC says:

...

A pair of large tornadoes ripped through rural northeastern Nebraska, devastating one small town, causing damage to two others and killing at least one person, reports say.

Reuters says: "The tornadoes, part of a supercell thunderstorm system, cut a swath across northeastern Nebraska, uprooting trees and leveling homes, officials said. ...