The Boy Scouts of America have decided to allow gay youth to openly join its ranks, reversing a longtime ban.

Obama outlined the next phase of his administration's counterterrorism efforts, detailing tighter standards for the use of unmanned drone strikes and making the case for closing the military-run prison at Guantanamo Bay.

Lois Lerner, the IRS official at the center of a controversy over targeting of conservative groups, was placed on administrative leave as of Thursday, according to a person familiar with the situation.

As Oklahomans recover from a tornado likely to be among the costliest in U.S. history, many will find that insurance will cover less of the tab than after past storms.

For the first time, Obama has succeeded in placing a judge on a key Washington appeals court. The Senate unanimously confirmed Justice Department lawyer Sri Srinivasan for a seat on the court.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released its hurricane forecast for the Atlantic basin, predicting up to 20 named storms and up to six major hurricanes.

The wife of a Chechen man killed during an FBI interrogation in Orlando said authorities also questioned her but never asked about a 2011 triple murder that agents now suggest involved her husband and Tamerlan Tsarnaev.

The House passed a bill that would peg the interest rates on federal student loans to the government's borrowing costs and allow them to vary annually, replacing the practice of Congress setting fixed rates.

Average premiums in California's new online health-insurance marketplace for consumers won't be as high as predicted by actuaries, though they will vary widely, according to the agency setting up the exchange.

House Republicans attempted to push through approval of the Keystone XL oil pipeline, passing a bill that would circumvent the need for a special permit from President Obama.

PokerStars, the largest online poker company in the world, is playing a difficult hand: Just two years after being shut down in the U.S. it wants to return to the table.

Infrequent travelers will be in for plenty of surprises over the next three months and ought to prepare to avoid frustration.

The Obama administration is set to restart transfers of detainees from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, kick-starting a drive to close the prison.

Bernanke said the Fed could start reducing bond buying "in the next few meetings" but warned against premature action, amid conflicting messages that roiled markets.

As Moore, Okla., hit a second time in 14 years by a devastating tornado, plans its recovery, many residents seem inclined to stay.

Emails and other documents suggest the IRS's procedures to target conservative groups for added scrutiny were developed by lower-level employees.

U.S. auto makers are accelerating production lines and, in some cases, even canceling the North American industry's traditional summer factory shutdowns to pump out more vehicles and meet strong demand.

On the eve of her Senate confirmation hearing, commerce-secretary nominee Penny Pritzker alerted Congress that she mistakenly understated her 2012 income by at least $80 million.

A man with ties to suspected Boston bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev was shot and killed by a federal agent in Orlando while being questioned about a 2011 triple murder, federal law-enforcement officials said.

City Councilman Eric Garcetti will become the next mayor of Los Angeles, home to nearly 4 million residents.