The United Nations confirms at least seven of its international workers, both staff and guards, were killed today in northern Afghanistan when protesters stormed the office and opened fire. Officials at UN offices in New York say the final count coul
A barrage of questions today for Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen. They were grilled extensively on Libya by the House and Senate Armed Services Committees. As NPR's David Welna reports, both Pentagon offic
Three hundred Southwest Airline's flights have been canceled as the company and federal officials review a sudden mid-flight Boeing 737 fuselage tear. A passenger aboard the afternoon flight out of Phoenix yesterday said, You could see the sky. Seven
Seventy-nine Southwest's planes remain grounded after a hole tore the fuselage open in a plane out of Phoenix Friday. NPR's Jennifer Ludden reports the issue of metal fatigue is not new to Southwest. The plane damaged Friday was a 15-year-old Boeing
Confronted with significant political opposition, the Obama administration plans to refer Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the self-declared 9/11 mastermind, to a military tribunal at Guantanamo rather than a civilian court in New York. Attorney General Eric
The budget standoff in Washington is weighing on negotiators as a government shutdown draws near. Hours after meeting with Congress's GOP leadership, President Obama made an unexpected appearance at the White House daily briefing, apparently frustrat
Emergency White House talks to try to end a budget stalemate and avert a government shutdown had ended and without agreement. A shutdown could have real effects on everyday Americans. That means that small business owners who are counting on that loa
Scathing criticism today from Congress's Republican leadership as the White House stands firmly opposed to the latest stopgap measure to pass the GOP-led House today. House Republican Leader Eric Cantor argues GOP's been blocked at every turn in its
The blame game is playing out in Washington and pushes the government ever closer to a partial shutdown. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says just when it seemed Democrats and Republicans would have some kind of deal before the midnight deadline, t
National parks and monuments are open today, thanks to last night's budget agreement that prevented a government shutdown. President Obama visited the Lincoln Memorial to shake hands with tourists and to make the point that the government is open for
Backed by NATO air strikes, rebels in Libya say they've regained control of a strategic city just 100 miles from the rebel capital. NPR's Peter Kenyon reports from Benghazi that rebels welcome the increased NATO effort. From a vantage point, a few mi
A Pakistani American is getting 23 years in prison for attempting to bomb subway stations in Washington DC. NPR's Carrie Johnson reports Farooque Ahmed was convicted as result of a sting operation. Prosecutors say Farooque Ahmed thought he was helpin
House and Senate leaders are working to line up the votes they'll need to pass a budget that funds the rest of the fiscal year. NPR's Audie Cornish reports voting is expected to begin on Thursday. Conservatives in the House from Tea Party favorites M
President Obama is pitching a plan to slash the federal budget deficit by about $4 trillion over 12 years. NPR's Brian Naylor says the proposal the president outlined in a speech at George Washington University today relies on a combination of spendi
A budget compromise has the Republican-led House's vote. Now, it's on to the Democratically-led Senate. NPR's Audie Cornish has a recap of the latest vote to keep the government funded for the rest of this fiscal year. The House passed the package on
President Obama's taking his domestic agenda to voters in the western US. His latest stop is Reno, Nevada, where he pledged to protect consumers from price gouging in the wake of higher oil and gas costs. The Attorney General's putting together a tea
An acclaimed photojournalist and filmmaker based in New York is reportedly among the casualties in today's fighting in western Libya. Vanity Fair and a photo agency say Tim Hetherington was killed in mortar attacks in Misrata. Various reports say oth
Syria is abolishing nearly 50 years of emergency rule that gave the government broad powers to detain anyone considered a threat. This was a key demand for the Syrian opposition. But it may not be enough for President Bashar al-Assad to halt the more
The credit rating agency Standard and Poor's is putting Washington on notice. NPR's Zoe Chace reports that if Congress and the president don't agree on a long-term deficit plan by 2013, then the US may be a riskier place to invest. US government debt
Thousands of Syrian protesters are taking to the streets a day after the Syrian president promised the country's oppressive emergency law would be lifted. NPR's Deborah Amos in Cairo reports the Internet has been blocked in some protest sites. Syrian