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The United States blacklisted Iran's state broadcasting authority, Internet-policing agencies and a major electronics producer on Wednesday, an action that widened the American sanctions effort to pressure the Iranian government over not only its disputed nuclear program but...

Jim Wilson/The New York Times A postal worker delivered mail in San Francisco last year. WASHINGTON — The Postal Service is expected to announce on Wednesday morning that it will stop delivering letters and other mail on Saturdays, but continue to handle packages,...

The Boy Scouts of America put off a decision Wednesday on whether to lift its ban on gay members and leaders, saying the question will be taken up at the organization's national meeting in May. "After careful consideration and extensive dialogue within the Scouting family, along with comments from those outside the organization,...

Immigration authorities in Britain, Belgium and France carried out coordinated raids at scores of addresses on Wednesday to round up people suspected of being members of gangs that smuggle people across or under the English Channel as stowaways in long-haul trucks. The raids by 150 law enforcement officials in Britain alone...

The Boy Scouts of America, which reconfirmed last summer its policy banning openly gay people from participation, then said last week it was reconsidering the ban, said on Wednesday that it would postpone a decision once more, until May, as talk of gays in the ranks has roiled a storied organization that carries deep emotional connection and nostalgia...

President Obama has selected Sally Jewell, the chief executive of Recreational Equipment Inc., to lead the Interior Department, White House officials said Wednesday. If confirmed, Ms. Jewell, a former oil company official and longtime advocate for conservation and outdoor recreation, will take over a department that has been embroiled...

Mozarteum Foundation A family portrait of the Mozarts from 1780 or 1781 by Johann Nepomuk della Croce. Wolfgang, center, with his sister Maria Anna (known as Nannerl), and father, Leopold. The painting at center depicts the children's mother, Anna Maria, who died in 1778....

Goran Tomasevic/Reuters A building in the Damascus suburb of Zamalka was hit by a mortar shell fired by the Syrian Army on Wednesday. BEIRUT, Lebanon — Syrian insurgents attacked military checkpoints and other targets in parts of central Damascus on Wednesday,...

Congressional Democrats, sensing a shift in political momentum, said Wednesday that they were closing in on legislation to temporarily head off deep across-the-board spending cuts, convinced that once federal furloughs and layoffs begin next month, political pressure on Republicans to accept more tax increases will become irresistible. ...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A gunman who wounded a guard at a conservative Washington lobbying group's offices last year pleaded guilty to terrorism and other charges on Wednesday, admitting to a bizarre plan to kill people there and rub sandwiches in their faces because the group...

Facebook is a personal vault that can contain photos of your firstborn, plans to bring down your government and, occasionally, a record of your indiscretions. It can be scoured by police officers, partners and would-be employers. It can be mined by...

Jim Wilson/The New York Times A postal worker delivered mail in San Francisco last year. WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Postal Service will stop delivering mail on Saturdays but continue to deliver packages six days a week under a plan aimed at saving about $2 billion,...

Steven Senne/Associated Press The newest Monopoly token, a cat, at Hasbro Inc. headquarters in Pawtucket, R.I. PAWTUCKET, R.I. (AP) — Scottie dog has a new nemesis in Monopoly after fans voted in an online contest to add a cat token to the property trading game,...

LONDON – The Royal Bank of Scotland on Wednesday struck a combined $612 million settlement with American and British authorities over accusations that it manipulated interest rates, the latest case to emerge from a broad international investigation. In an embarrassing blow to the bank, its Japanese subsidiary also pleaded guilty to criminal...

Paul Nixon Photography Paul Mason in 2012, two years after gastric bypass surgery stripped him of the unofficial title of "the world's fattest man." IPSWICH, England — Who knows what the worst moment was for Paul Mason — there were so many awful milestones,...

TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — A Tunisian opposition leader critical of the Islamist-led government and violence by radical Muslims was shot to death Wednesday, according to the government. The killing is likely to heighten tensions in a country whose path from dictatorship to democracy has been seen as a model for the Arab world. The ...

A leading Tunisian opposition politician who had been critical of the Islamist-led government was fatally shot outside his home in Tunis Wednesday, the government news agency said. Chokri Belaid in Tunis in 2010. ...

TEHRAN — As President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad escalated a bitter political fight this week with Iran's most influential political family by disclosing secret film recordings of what he purported were fraudulent business deals, Iran's political maneuvring took a new turn Wednesday when an imprisoned associate of the president was reported to have...

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