PROVIDENCE, R.I.— Mark Simmons began dialing Rhode Island's unemployment call center at 8 a.m. on a recent Monday. He got a busy signal. He tried 67 more times before the automated system picked up … more

CAMBRIDGE, N.Y. — Norman Hendrickson was known for telling jokes and never wasting money. So when he died suddenly while en route to his wife’s funeral, the couple’s daughters knew there was … more

STANLEY, N.C. — Authorities confiscated a marijuana plant and firearms Monday from a North Carolina property where a man was digging a deep hole that collapsed on two children, including his … more

NEW YORK — Matt Damon had his revenge. The butt of a long-running joke on ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live," the actor opened Thursday night's show as a kidnapper who tied Kimmel to a chair with duct … more

JOHANNESBURG — Oscar Pistorius' track career was put on hold indefinitely Sunday because of his murder charge, reinforcing the possibility that the double-amputee Olympian and disabled sports icon … more

WEST, Texas — Rescue workers searched rubble early Thursday for survivors of a fertilizer plant explosion in a small Texas town that killed as many as 15 people and injured more than 160 others. … more

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan's top court ordered the arrest of the prime minister in a corruption case Tuesday, the latest clash between the government and a judiciary that has repeatedly pressured the … more

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama has signed into law a $9.7 billion bill to pay flood insurance claims from Superstorm Sandy. The law increases the borrowing authority of the Federal … more

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo.— Yellowstone National Park has lost a record number of wolves to this year’s hunting season, and that’s left scientists scrambling to keep years of research … more

NEW YORK — Health officials say more than half a million young children are now believed to have lead poisoning in the United States.The figure is roughly twice the previous high estimate. But … more