US Top Stories from Associated Press (AP)

Federal officials are investigating whether the bright light seen by the pilot of the Asiana crash at San Francisco International could have been a laser pointed at the cockpit. Rookie pilot Lee Kang Kuk was making his first landing at the airport Saturday when he said he saw a bright light flash as he approached the runway.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton played no direct role in shaping the Obama administration's infamous "talking points" on the Benghazi attacks, the State Department's former head of communications told lawmakers Thursday. "At no point," said former department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland, "did I talk about the talking points with Secretary Clinton."

A tea party group that launched a petition drive to prosecute U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder reported on its Facebook page that nearly 1 million have signed on , and the movement is only growing by the minute. The petition from TheTeaParty.net states, in part: "A person is supposed to be innocent until proven guilty.

School officials in Carmel Clay, Ind., said they lost $300,000 last school year because students are rejecting the healthy menu changes brought on by First Lady Michelle Obama's federal lunch regulations. "I've had a lot of complaints, especially with the little guys," Linda Wireman, a food service director for North White School Corp., told JCOnline.

A horrific video allegedly taken by Egyptian newspaper photographer Ahmed Samir Assem captures the seconds leading up to his own death before a soldier shot him in the head. The 26-year-old photographer...

Abdul Rahman Alharbi, once a person of interest in the April 15 Boston Marathon bombings, attended the White House for a Fourth of July celebration for military heroes and their families, The Blaze first reported and a law enforcement official later confirmed. Photos of Mr. Alharbi attending the event were posted from a Twitter account that reportedly belongs to his father.

A handful of demonstrators chanted and held signs at a courthouse in South Boston Wednesday to show support for Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. In his first public appearance arrested April 19, Tsarnaev pleaded not guilty to 30 counts including use of a weapon of mass destruction to kill.

The chairman of the Senate Committee on Armed Services said Wednesday that the Egyptian military's ouster of Islamist President Mohammad Morsi is a "coup" that should trigger suspension of aid to Egypt. "I believe it is a coup, and I believe the aid should be suspended," Sen. Carl M. Levin said at the Carnegie Endowment in Washington, noting that U.S.

The Pentagon said Wednesday that military promotions and bonuses could halt if automatic defense budget cuts, known as sequestration, are not reversed. In a letter to Congress, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel noted possible actions the Pentagon could take if $52 billion in automatic spending cuts become effective in the next fiscal year.

At least two animals have fallen ill from meatballs laced with rat poison after a disgruntled dog-hater scattered the tainted meat throughout the streets of San Francisco. A seven-year-old dachshund called Oskar remains in critical but stable condition, The Daily Mail reported.

A couple of lawmakers from Maryland and Texas are pushing for the creation of a new national park , on the moon. It would mark the Apollo lunar landing missions, 1969 to 1972, The Daily Caller reported. "Establishing the historical park ...

Lawmakers said Wednesday that the FBI is blocking their inquiries into why it closed its files on a Boston Marathon bombing suspect after Russia had warned the bureau in 2011 that he might be radicalizing and preparing to join Islamic extremist groups.

The pink running shoes Texas State Sen. Wendy Davis wore during her filibuster against the late-term abortion ban quickly became a powerful symbol of the pro-choice movement. But State Sen. Bob Deuell...

After weeks of debate and a parliamentary delay engineered by pro-choice advocates, Texas lawmakers on Wednesday passed a set of abortion limits widely seen as the most restrictive in the nation. The Texas House cleared the measure , known as House Bill 2 , just after noon Wednesday by a vote of 96 to 49.

Tuesday's court proceedings in the second-degree murder trial of George Zimmerman wrapped with a tense moment after defense attorneys tried to object to the long hours but the judge, in response, simply walked away. Defense attorneys were left standing in midsentence, video of the exchange showed.