SAN’A, Yemen — Yemen’s deputy prime minister says the Nigerian accused of trying to blow up a U.S. passenger jet on Christmas met here with a radical American-Yemeni cleric linked to al-Qaida and the alleged Fort Hood shooter. Rashad al-Alimi says Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab met wit...

WASHINGTON — North Dakota Democrat Byron Dorgan says he will not seek re-election to the Senate in 2010, a surprise announcement that could give Republicans an opportunity to pick up a seat from the Republican-leaning state. Dorgan, who was first elected to the Senate in 1992 after serving a d...

SALT LAKE CITY — An agreement to protect a central Utah canyon rich with ancient American Indian art while allowing for nearby mineral development has been approved. The unusual pact governing Nine Mile Canyon was signed Tuesday at the Utah Capitol by federal and state agencies, conservation a...

ARLINGTON, Texas — Tony Romo and the Dallas Cowboys had their way with the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday. Their reward: the NFC East title and the challenge of trying to do it again. Romo threw a pair of early touchdown passes and the defense took over from there, sending Dallas to a 24-0 vict...

NEW YORK — A New York City-funded guidebook for heroin users offers information on how to prepare drugs carefully and care for veins to avoid infection. The state’s top official with the Drug Enforcement Administration calls the “Take Charge Take Care” guide a “step-by-...

BERKELEY, Calif. — California star tailback Jahvid Best announced Saturday that he will skip his senior year and enter the NFL draft after a disappointing final college season cut short by injury. “It wasn’t an easy decision. It took a lot of thought and we got a lot of advice from...

ARLINGTON, Texas — Dexter McCluster gave Mississippi fans a finale to remember, rushing for 182 yards and two touchdowns, including the go-ahead 2-yard run on a direct snap with 4:03 left as the Rebels beat No. 21 Oklahoma State 21-7 in the Cotton Bowl on Saturday. McCluster also had an 86-yar...

HONOLULU — President Barack Obama’s pick to lead the Transportation Security Administration has provided Congress inconsistent reports about – and regrets for – running background checks on his then-estranged wife’s boyfriend two decades ago. Erroll Southers, a former F...

SANTA MONICA, Calif. — Pulitzer Prize-winning foreign correspondent William Tuohy has died at 83. Tuohy’s stepson Adam Wheeler says the veteran reporter who worked for the Los Angeles Times and Newsweek died Thursday after open heart surgery at St. John’s Health Center in Santa Mon...

BUTNER, N.C. — Bernard Madoff has left his North Carolina prison’s hospital unit and returned to his cell. The 71-year-old disgraced financier had been transferred to a prison hospital on Dec. 18. Bureau of Prisons spokeswoman Denise Simmons said Wednesday he was transferred back to the ...