RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — As top diplomats pledged billions of dollars for war-ravaged Gaza on Monday, ordinary people here — from merchants to housewives — said they'd rather have open...

(AP) — Widely panned for his national TV address, Gov. Bobby Jindal offered his first defense of the speech Monday, saying he sticks by the message, while acknowledging shortcomings in his delivery....

(AP) — One out of every 55 Louisiana residents is behind bars, a higher incarceration rate than any other state, according to research released Monday by a Washington, D.C., nonprofit group. One...

HAVANA (AP) — President Raul Castro abruptly removed some of Cuba's most powerful officials Monday, putting a personal stamp on the government in the biggest shakeup since he took over for his ailing...

BATON ROUGE (AP) — Officials at the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality say they are looking into shutting down an in-house laboratory or sharing lab and operating costs with other state...

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Don't look now, but the recession may be about to take an unexpected bite out of Louisiana's gambling business. For the second time in recent years, a serious drive is afoot in...

BAGHDAD (AP) — Falling oil prices will force Iraq to cut back on military spending, leaving questions about whether it can handle tasks such as protecting oil platforms in the Gulf once the American...

JERUSALEM (AP) — Prime Minister Ehud Olmert threatened a painful response to Palestinian rocket fire menacing southern Israel, suggesting Sunday that the blistering offensive against Gaza Strip militants...

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano is sending the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to New Orleans to review allegations of misconduct at FEMA's hurricane...

PHOENIX (AP) — The U.S. State Department and universities around the country are warning college students headed for Mexico for some spring-break partying of a surge in drug-related murder and mayhem...

MUMBAI, India (AP) — From the shantytown's corrugated tin roofs to its squalid streets, proud relatives and neighbors cheered, celebrated and warmly embraced the two child stars of the Oscar-winning...

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq took another step toward healing its rift with Kuwait on Thursday as government leaders welcomed the highest-ranking Kuwaiti envoy since Saddam Hussein's 1990 invasion.The timing...