The U.S. closes its embassy in Syria as intense blasts echo through the city of Homs after a weekend bloodbath ended in hundreds of deaths there, activists say.

GRAHAM, Wash. (AP) -- The sons of a missing Utah woman suffered severe chopping injuries to their heads or necks as they died in a house fire set by their father, authorities in Washington state said Monday evening....

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (AP) -- Sensing a possible threat, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney criticized rival Rick Santorum's time in the Senate as "not effective" because of his past support for spending on pork-barrel projects as he worked to fend off an unexpected challenge in the next states to vote....

NEW YORK (AP) -- Chris Brown will perform at this year's Grammy Awards, the event where his career almost ended three years ago....

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Many children stayed home Monday while parents demanded more protection at an elementary school where two teachers are suspected of molesting students in class....

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Targeting Iran's economy, the U.S. ordered tough new penalties Monday to further pinch the country's financial system and encourage Israel to give sanctions more time before any military action against Iran's nuclear program....

BEIRUT (AP) -- The U.S. closed its embassy in Syria and Britain recalled its ambassador to Damascus on Monday in a new Western push to get President Bashar Assad to leave power and halt the murderous grind in Syria - now among the deadliest conflicts of the Arab Spring....

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) -- After months of wavering, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas took a decisive step Monday toward reconciliation with the Islamic militant group Hamas, a move Israel promptly warned would close the door to any future peace talks....

DETROIT (AP) -- People rarely pick a fight with Dirty Harry. But Chrysler's "Halftime in America" ad featuring quintessential tough guy Clint Eastwood has generated fierce debate about whether it accurately portrays the country's most economically distressed city or amounts to a campaign ad for President Barack Obama and the auto bailouts....

DENVER (AP) -- Long skeptical of Mitt Romney, tea party activists are either warming up to the GOP presidential front-runner or reluctantly backing him after abandoning hope of finding a nominee they like better....

A Norwegian court concludes that Anders Behring Breivik -- the man charged with killing 77 people last July, an attack he claimed merited a medal of honor -- can be kept in custody until his trial.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Bill Belichick gave clear instructions to his defensive unit: Let the runner score....

Rival dissident army officers are claiming to lead the increasingly armed rebellion within Syria, exposing rifts within the opposition.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Alexis McKenzie's mother had mild dementia, but things sounded OK when she phoned home: Dad was with her, finishing his wife's sentences as they talked about puttering through the day and a drive to the store....

SAN DIEGO (AP) -- A federal judge ruled Monday that the suspect in the Tucson shooting rampage that wounded former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords will spend four more months at a federal prison facility where officials are forcibly medicating him....

A 6.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Monday off the third-largest island in the Philippines has killed at least 15 people, the government said.

Economic growth in China could drop by half this year in the event of a sharp recession in Europe, the IMF predicted on Monday in a report that underscored the importance of global trade to the world's second largest economy.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- A Missouri teenager who admitted stabbing, strangling and slitting the throat of a young neighbor girl wrote in her journal on the night of the killing that it was an "ahmazing" and "pretty enjoyable" experience - then headed off to church with a laugh....

U.S. aid to Egypt could suffer if Egypt persists in prosecuting nongovernmental organization workers, U.S. officials warned Monday.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Less than a second stood between British singer M.I.A. giving the finger to 114 million people watching the Super Bowl halftime show and no one noticing at all....