Scott Neuman

Apple announced Wednesday that it is acquiring Beats Electronics, agreeing to pay $3 billion for the audio equipment and subscription streaming music service founded by Dr. Dre and producer Jimmy Iovine.

While it is relatively small in comparison with major acquisitions made by other tech companies, the deal represents ...

An internal rift within the Pakistani Taliban over tactics one faction says are "un-Islamic" has erupted into a full split, one of the factional leaders said Wednesday.

The apparent split comes after months of fighting among the factions that killed dozens of fighters from the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP.

The father of one of the children killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary has posted an open letter to Richard Martinez, who tearfully lashed out at "irresponsible politicians and the NRA" after his son Chris was killed on Friday in the shooting rampage in Santa Barbara, Calif.

Mark ...

In a mass trial before thousands of onlookers at a sports stadium, authorities in China's northwestern Xinjiang province convicted and sentenced 55 people on charges of terrorism, separatism and murder, state media report.

The scene, reminiscent of the communist Cultural Revolution of the 1960s and '70s, took place before a ...

The inspector general of the Department of Veterans Affairs has affirmed that some 1,700 patients at the Phoenix VA hospital were put on unofficial wait lists and subjected to treatment delays of up to 115 days.

In an interim report released Wednesday, the inspector general's office reported it had "substantiated ...

The State Department has issued a new travel warning for Libya, saying U.S. citizens should leave the north African country immediately because of the "unpredictable and unstable" security situation and threats of attacks against Americans.

"[Various] groups have called for attacks against U.S. citizens and U.S. interests in Libya," the ...

White House Counsel Neil Eggleston has been asked to investigate what went wrong over the weekend when the name of the CIA's top official in Afghanistan was inadvertently made public.

Administration spokeswoman Caitlyn Hayden said Tuesday that Chief of Staff Denis McDonough has asked Eggleston to examine the matter and ...

It's not exactly a scholarship to Juilliard, but the National Zoo's animal enrichment program has given a family of Asian small-clawed otters a chance to make music.

The zoo's otters got their very own keyboard and appear to have quickly moved beyond standard beginner's pieces, such as "Chopsticks," ...

A massive peat bog the size England has been found in West Africa's Republic of Congo.

The previously undiscovered bog is thought to reach nearly 23 feet beneath the ground and contain billions of tons of peat –- ancient, partially decayed vegetation. It could cover an area 40,000 to 80,000 ...

A 25-year-old pregnant woman has been stoned to death by her relatives outside a courtroom in Lahore, Pakistan — a so-called honor killing meant to punish her for marrying against her family's will.

Farzana Iqbal was preparing to testify in defense of her husband, Mohammad Iqbal, whom her father had ...

The White House has expressed skepticism over Russian leader Vladimir Putin's pledge to respect the results of Sunday's presidential election in Ukraine, instead calling on the Kremlin to ensure that separatists don't disrupt the polling.

Putin, delivering a speech in St. Petersburg, said Moscow "will treat the choice of the ...

It started out as a simple vacation request to the boss. It quickly became an Internet phenomenon.

And, now there's even a T-shirt.

Greg Heaslip, who works as a security guard at U.K.-based fashion retail group Arcadia, emailed his manager asking for some time off.

But the reply, ...

The president nominates Julian Castro as secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, replacing Shaun Donovan, who would become budget director.

California produces most of America's vegetables and nuts. Yet there's little sign the drought there is creating food shortages in the U.S., because farmers are rationing water and draining aquifers.

This post was updated at 4:40 p.m. ET.

A federal judge in Detroit has ruled that Democratic Rep. John Conyers, the second-most-senior member of the U.S. House, will appear on the August primary ballot, overturning a decision by Michigan's secretary of state who said the candidacy was invalid.

Judge Matthew ...

Tennessee's governor has signed a bill that would allow the state to use the electric chair if lethal injection drugs are unavailable.

A spokesman for Republican Gov. Bill Haslam confirmed to The Associated Press that the legislation had been signed after passing the state Senate by a 23-3 vote and ...

As hundreds of protesters loudly demanded higher wages outside McDonald's headquarters in suburban Chicago, the company's CEO told an audience inside that the fast-food giant has a heritage of providing opportunities that lead to "real careers."

"We believe we pay fair and competitive wages," Donald Thompson said at the company's ...

Landon Donovan, the all-time leader in scoring and assists for the U.S. Men's National Soccer Team, will not be part of the 2014 FIFA World Cup roster in Brazil, U.S. Soccer says.

ESPN writes: "Donovan, 32, has played for the U.S. in the past three World Cups dating back ...

Before and after shots taken by a Mars-orbiting satellite have detected a newly created impact crater half the size of a football field near the planet's equator.

NPR's Joe Palca says that while objects are striking Mars all the time (with big chunks surviving until impact, thanks to the Red ...

A California man arrested earlier this week for the alleged 2004 abduction and sexual assault of a teenage girl whom he reportedly held against her will for the next decade has been charged with five felony counts, including rape and kidnapping.

Isidro Medrano Garcia, who was charged early Thursday, ...