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KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- A gunman in a car killed a former high-ranking Taliban official working on reconciling Afghanistan's insurgency with the government, a fresh blow to peace efforts even as Kabul announced it was gradually taking the lead from the U.S.-led coalition for providing security in much of the country....

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) -- Democratic U.S. Rep. Donald Payne, the first black elected to represent New Jersey in Congress, died Tuesday. He was 77....

Cuban culture minister Abel Prieto has left the post after 15 years and become an adviser to President Raul Castro, state media say.

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) -- The mild winter that has given many Northern farmers a break from shoveling and a welcome chance to catch up on maintenance could lead to a tough spring as many pests that would normally freeze have not....

HARTFORD, Conn. — The mild winter that has given many Northern farmers a break from shoveling and a welcome chance to catch up on maintenance could lead to a tough spring as many pests that would normally freeze have not.

Winters are usually what one agriculture specialist calls a "reset ...

CNN's John King looks at how people voted according to faith.

BAGHDAD (AP) -- Iran and six world powers wrapped up talks Thursday still far apart over how to oversee Tehran's atomic program, but with resolve to keep dialogue going as an alternative to possible military action....

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ended two days of public posturing on Iran right where they began. Obama wants Israel to refrain from attacking Iran now, and Netanyahu pointedly refused to make that promise....

LONDON (AP) -- The British government on Tuesday rejected a warning by the Olympic team's top doctor that athletes should avoid shaking hands at the London Games....

CNN analyst Donna Brazile says Mitt Romney connects with voters when he uses negative ads.

US law authorities charge hackers in the UK, US and Ireland. The men are accused of being involved in cyber attacks by Lulzsec and Antisec.

A Lincolnshire council apologises to the family of a seven-year-old boy who was told to remove a pirate flag from his garden.

Gizmodo: Police Drone Crashes into Police:

The Montgomery County (Texas) Sheriff's Office had a big day planned. After becoming the first department in the country with its own aerial drone ($300,000!), they were ready for a nice photo op. And then the drone crashed into a SWAT team.

. . .

Not only did the drone fail [at 18' altitude], and not only did it crash, it literally crashed into the police. It's no wonder we're not able to find a video of this spectacular publicity failure. Luckily, the SWAT boys were safe in their Bearcat.

This would be a fine one-off blooper story if it weren't for some upsetting implications. This is exactly why we have reason to raise multiple eyebrows at Congress, which wants to allow hundreds of similar drones to fly over US airspace. These drones are still a relatively young technology, relatively unproven, and relatively crash-prone. The odds of being hit by one are low, of course, but should a Texas-style UAV plummet ever happen in, say, a dense urban area, nobody would be laughing. Not all of us are driving around in Bearcats. [Examiner]

Sarah Palin says she won't rule out a run for president or a spot on the 2012 ticket if she is asked at the convention.

Sarah Palin reacts to Rush Limbaugh "slut" comments and responds to whether she'd participate in an open convention.

Six major world powers and Iran are to hold fresh talks on Tehran's nuclear programme, the EU says, a year after the last round failed.

A husband and wife appear in court charged with the murder of Belfast man Christopher Mackin.

NEW YORK — A group of expert hackers who attacked governments and corporations around the globe has been busted after its ringleader — one of the world's most-wanted and most-feared computer vandals — turned against his comrades and secretly became an informant for the FBI months ago, authorities said Tuesday.

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The death toll from a sophisticated attack by Islamic extremists against soldiers in Yemen jumped to 177 Tuesday, three Yemeni security officials told CNN.

Swedish PM Fredrik Reinfeldt is pressed to clarify a report that his government is helping Saudi Arabia plan an advanced arms factory.