U.S. & World

National Geographic released its annual “Pictures of the Year” issue this week, showcasing 20 photographs that depict striking scenes of nature and wildlife.

Senate Republicans offered mixed responses Thursday to President-elect Donald Trump’s announcement that he will nominate Pete Hegseth, a Fox News personality accused of sexual assault, to lead the Defense Department following the release of a police report concerning sexual assault allegations against him.

Officials in the Justice Department, which oversees the DEA, ordered that the searches be suspended pending an internal evaluation.

An Alabama man convicted in the 1994 killing of a female hitchhiker cursed at the prison warden and made obscene gestures before being put to death in the nation’s third execution using nitrogen gas.

Leilani Simon was convicted of murder in the death of 20-month-old Quinton Simon. She will be eligible for parole.

U.S. health officials say a deadly outbreak of listeria food poisoning tied to a massive recall of popular Boar’s Head deli meats is over.

President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday named longtime ally Pam Bondi as his new choice for attorney general, capping a tumultuous week for previous pick Matt Gaetz.

About a third of U.S. residents have been receiving tap water containing a previously unidentified chemical byproduct, a new study has found. Some scientists are now concerned — and actively investigating — whether that chemical could be toxic. 

A sheriff says a Wisconsin man who faked his own drowning this summer so he could abandon his wife and three children is in Eastern Europe but has not committed to returning home.

Senator Bob Casey has conceded in the race for reelection to the U.S. Senate to Republican Dave McCormick.

A missing Kansas woman who disappeared this year and was found in a freezer buried in a cow pasture in the Oklahoma panhandle was killed in a stabbing attack that left her with dozens of wounds, according to a medical examiner’s report.

A former Kentucky sheriff was indicted Thursday in the slaying of a judge who was gunned down in his courthouse chambers two months ago, shocking a tiny Appalachian community.

While campaigning for a second term in office, President-elect Donald Trump declared “tariff” to be his “favorite word” and “the most beautiful word in the dictionary.” He regularly said he would use tariffs to raise federal revenue and increase jobs and manufacturing in the United States.

Wolverine Packing Co. issued a recall of about 167,277 pounds of ground beef products in the United States due to E.coli contamination, the FSIS announced on Thursday. These items were shipped to restaurant locations nationwide.