WORLD

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Thursday that reconciliation talks with the Taliban must be a central part of America's plan for stabilizing Afghanistan as troops begin to exit.

For the first time in the nation's history, a majority of babies in the U.S. are minorities, a milestone that augurs sweeping demographic changes as a young, diverse population ages.

The top military official in the U.S. said that while he supports President Barack Obama’s plan to gradually withdraw troops from U.S., he finds it somewhat risky.

A year ago, it seemed implausible, perhaps absurd, to think the U.S.'s two, major parties, the Democratic Party and the Republican Party, would disagree so much that the United States would be at risk of defaulting on its bonds, due to a failure to raise the debt ceiling before the U.S. Government runs out of money in August. Now, incredibly, it appears a U.S. default is possible.

With a 30,000-person troop withdrawal now scheduled, how will politics in Afghanistan and Pakistan be affected?

The New York State Senate Republican Conference will meet to determine whether there will be a vote on same-sex marriage, which according to Republican sources has the 32 votes needed to pass.

The long-stalled same-sex marriage bill in New York may finally see a floor vote later tonight in Albany, where Senate Republicans have been discussing the controversial bill for a week.

Floodwaters pouring out of the Souris River have already submerged homes and forced around 12,000 residents to flee as officials continued fortifying levees in Minot, North Dakota.

Yonathan Melaku, a Lance Corporal Marine Corps reservist arrested near the Pentagon last week under suspicious surroundings, has been formally charged by the Federal authorities in connection with the 2010 shootings at the Pentagon and the National Museum of the Marine Corps.

David Laffer's alleged assault on a Long Island pharmacy last weekend was partially motivated by his desire to support his wife's prescription painkiller habit, witnesses said.

Momentum for a vote on gay marriage legislation appears to be building in Albany as Republican lawmakers started into a closed-door session Thursday morning.

U.S. Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va., announced Thursday morning he is suspending his participation in the bipartisan negotiations to reduce the deficit, saying the talks had reached an impasse over taxes.

The man who police arrested for suspicious activity in Arlington National Cemetery near the Pentagon last week is the same man who shot at military sites in Washington last October, court documents show.

CSR Corporation Limited, maker of high-speed trains, plans to apply for US patents for its CRH380A train, which would allow the company to participate in the railway projects in the country.

New York City today will see two massive storms touch down - Bieber fever and gay-courting Obama.

Oil futures are plunging as the International Energy Agency (IEA) said that the U.S. and 27 other nations will release a total of 60-million barrels of oil from strategic reserves.

House lawmakers will introduce a bill Thursday that would lift the federal prohibition on marijuana, delegating decisions about the legal status of cannabis to the states.

Casey Anthony murder trial has entered Day 27 on June 23. On Thursday, defense attorneys have called an FBI expert on hair and fiber to the witness stand, as they try to poke holes in some of the prosecution's forensics evidence.

President Barack Obama's plan to accelerate the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan has already provoked an outpouring of reactions at home and abroad, ranging from praise for his boldness to criticism that he is not being bold enough or is acting rashly.

Greece’s largest unions have called for a 48-hour general strike next week to protest a new austerity package that the nation’s parliament will vote on.

The wife of a man who police charged with murdering four people in a Medford, L.I. pharmacy said her husband is responsible for the massacre revealing he did it for her.

Geert Wilders, leader of Holland's Freedom Party, was acquitted of charges related to his inflammatory marks about Islam

A series of measures have been agreed by world economies on Thursday to stabilize world food prices after years of sudden highs and lows in food prices that caused global instability, especially in poorer countries.

The Pakistani army said it is investigating the possible links between four of its majors and the Hizb ut-Tahrir Islamist group.

Apple Inc has removed an Arabic-language app from the iTunes app store which called for a Palestinian uprising after receiving a complaint from the Israeli government.

Following the decision by US President Barack Obama to start withdrawing troops from Afghanistan, his counterpart in France has decided to take a similar undertaking.

In a bizarre incident a man wearing blue lingerie, white transparently thin sweater with stockings and black platform shoes was allowed to board a US Airways flight.

Libya and Yemen illustrate in different ways how President Barack Obama has embraced the authority to initiate military action without Congressional approval - a War Powers Act stance more like President George W. Bush than President Jimmy Carter.

In an article posted in the editorial of Rolling Stone magazine, Al Gore has come down heavily on President Barack Obama's approach in avoiding a climate crisis. Article titled, Climate of Denial: Can science and the truth withstand the merchants of poison?, says President Obama has thus far failed to use the bully pulpit to make the case for bold action on climate change.