A federal appeals court ruled against California's voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage Tuesday, arguing the ban unconstitutionally singles out gays and lesbians for discrimination. Tue, 07 Feb 2012 17:52:36 EST

Karen Handel, a vice president with the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation, resigned her position Tuesday following a controversy over funding for some Planned Parenthood projects, the foundation said. Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:44:46 EST

Students at Miramonte Elementary School will return to class later this week to a new staff because administrators do not want any more "surprises" at the Los Angeles school that is at the center of two child abuse cases. The school will be closed Tuesday and Wednesday to "take a break," the Los Angeles Unified School system said. Tue, 07 Feb 2012 18:05:36 EST

The tragic tale of two boys killed along with their father in an apparent murder-suicide took another gruesome turn after authorities said the children suffered hatchet wounds before dying of carbon monoxide poisoning. Tue, 07 Feb 2012 18:43:35 EST

The state of South Carolina told a federal court in the nation's capital Tuesday it has a right to require voters to present a photo ID at the polls, despite opposition from the Obama administration's civil rights lawyers. Tue, 07 Feb 2012 18:23:17 EST

Texas health officials began enforcing Tuesday a controversial law that requires doctors to provide a sonogram to pregnant women before they get an abortion. Tue, 07 Feb 2012 15:30:07 EST

Agents from the Drug Enforcement Agency raided two CVS pharmacies in central Florida over the weekend, removing controlled substances and suspending the stores' ability to handle or distribute drugs such as painkillers oxycodone and hydrocodone. Tue, 07 Feb 2012 09:46:02 EST

A Wyoming attorney representing a convicted murderer recently pardoned by Mississippi's outgoing governor says his client will not attend a Mississippi Supreme Court hearing this week on the constitutionality of his and some 200 other pardons. Tue, 07 Feb 2012 05:21:29 EST

The death of Don Cornelius, the founder of the "Soul Train" television show, has been ruled a suicide, officials said Tuesday. Tue, 07 Feb 2012 18:00:59 EST

The prosecutor sounded like the narrator of a hard-boiled police drama as he carefully laid out pieces of the puzzle that led detectives to arrest one of their own in a 23-year-old cold case. Tue, 07 Feb 2012 13:01:55 EST