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FBI Director Robert Mueller on Tuesday praised two agents who died while training off the Virginia Beach coast last weekend for their "true and unerring valor."

The president of a New York police union defended an officer who accidentally killed a Hofstra University student during a standoff with an armed intruder, saying Tuesday the only person responsible for the woman's death was the gunman who held her hostage.

The illegal trade in elephant ivory may constitute an important source of funding for armed groups, including the Lord's Resistance Army, threatening peace and security in central Africa, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a report to the Security Council.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Myanmar's government has made progress in reducing the recruitment of children into the armed forces but still needs to stamp out the practice.

A judge has ruled that a North Texas lesbian couple can't live together because of a morality clause in one of the women's divorce papers.

The Oklahoma City area is already home to two of the costliest tornados in the last half a century, and Monday’s devastating twister that hit just south of the city is likely to stress federal emergency dollars already under pressure from the recent federal budget cuts.

Groups of scientists are urging federal officials not to remove protections for gray wolves across the Lower 48 states.

Hours after New Yorkers rallied in response to a spate of gay-bashing that's resulted in one death and fueled concern about hate crimes, there were two more reports of possible anti-gay attacks on Manhattan streets, authorities said Tuesday.

A military judge has ruled that a Coast Guard rescue swimmer who admitted he deserted his job in Hawaii to camp out in the mountains of Oahu for three months will be confined for more than 6 months and discharged with bad conduct.

Lives were forever changed in a few short minutes as a large tornado battered the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore, killing at least 24 people and injuring dozens. The storm tore apart one elementary school and severely damaged another; it ripped homes off their foundations, scattered prized possessions, laid waste to businesses.

Teachers in Oklahoma are being hailed as heroes for protecting students caught at school when a tornado struck the state on Monday and leveled Plaza Towers Elementary School. With more storms crossing the state this week, how prepared are schools and teachers for disaster?

A man accused of vandalizing a 1929 Pablo Picasso painting in a Houston museum - an act that was caught on cellphone video - agreed Tuesday to a two-year prison term as part of a plea deal with prosecutors.

WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah (AP) - In a story May 20 about the Susan Powell investigation, The Associated Press reported erroneously the day that Josh Powell committed suicide. It happened on Feb. 5, 2012.

A goat believed to have escaped en route to a slaughterhouse snarled the morning commute along one of the busiest roadways in northern New Jersey on Tuesday, leading police on a nearly two-hour chase.

The principal's voice came on over the intercom at Plaza Towers Elementary School: A severe storm was approaching and students were to go to the cafeteria and wait for their parents to pick them up.

A judge promised more openness Tuesday after months of confidential post-trial proceedings in the case of murdered Washington intern Chandra Levy, disclosing for the first time why a key prosecution witness could be discredited.

Dozens of Indian guest workers are suing an Alabama-based marine and fabrication company, claiming it financially exploited them and forced them to live in squalid conditions after bringing them to work at Gulf Coast shipyards after Hurricane Katrina.

U.S. farmers who could only watch helplessly this spring as storm after storm left their fields a muddy mess took to their tractors en masse last week and planted a record amount of corn acreage, even in areas where conditions are still far from perfect.

In a story May 20 about the Susan Powell investigation, The Associated Press reported erroneously the day that Josh Powell committed suicide. It happened on Feb. 5, 2012.

An 18-year-old Florida cheerleader is facing felony charges that she had sexual contact with her underage, 14-year-old girlfriend, leading gay rights advocates to say the teen is being unfairly targeted for a common high school romance because she's gay.

The National Weather Service says the tornado that hit Moore, Okla., was a top-of-the-scale EF-5 twister with winds of at least 200 mph.

The mother of a 13-year-old West Texas cheerleader found dead in March said Tuesday that since her daughter went missing more than two years ago she had feared the worst, including that the girl was chained and tortured or had fallen victim to human traffickers.

An Iowa letter carrier was sentenced to 37 years in prison Tuesday for sending dud pipe bombs with letters signed "The Bishop" in an odd but potentially deadly bid to drive up the value of shares he owned.

Four peregrine falcon chicks roosting high above the Hudson River on the George Washington Bridge were pronounced healthy Tuesday and fitted with tracking bands to help biologists keep tabs on them.

An Uzbek national facing terrorism-related charges in Idaho will remain jailed pending his trial after waiving his right to a detention hearing.

The fire chief in the Oklahoma City suburb raked by a massive tornado says the search for survivors and the dead is almost complete.

An emergency official says Oklahoma has reinforced tornado shelters in more than 100 schools across the state, but the two that were hit by this week's storms in suburban Oklahoma City did not have them.

An exceptionally devastating tornado hit the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore on Monday afternoon, twisting through subdivisions and across a highway, leaving debris and confusion in its wake. Some of the storm's effects can be measured in numbers:

The lawyer for the family of missing Utah woman Susan Powell said Tuesday that even as local police close the active part of their investigation into her disappearance, federal authorities continue to review the case - a claim that was denied by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Salt Lake City.