Posted: 7:50 AM A sunset wedding ceremony aboard a hot air balloon got off to a bumpy start when a gust of wind forced the pilot to make a crash landing in the yard of a San Diego home.

Posted: 12:53 AM The families of victims of the Colorado theater shooting sat through emotional testimony Monday from police officers who tried to save the lives of the wounded.

Posted: 12:47 AM Police in Oregon say a woman told officers that her boyfriend choked her with his dreadlocks.

Posted: 12:46 AM A Connecticut lawmaker has apologized after saying in a Facebook post that shooting victim and former Arizona U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords should "stay out of my towns."

Posted: 10:45 PM A Chicago man who died of cyanide poisoning just as he was about to collect $425,000 in lottery winnings had promised himself he wouldn't gamble anymore.

Posted: 6:59 AM An Associated Press analysis finds that background checks for gun sales and permits to carry guns surged at the end of 2012.

Posted: 10:51 PM U.S. Sen. Rand Paul's son reportedly was charged with underage drinking and disorderly conduct on a flight from Kentucky to North Carolina.

Posted: 9:56 PM The Obama administration is rejecting a new proposal from Syrian President Bashar Assad that would begin a peace process and keep the besieged leader in power.

Posted: 9:50 PM President Barack Obama will nominate Republican Chuck Hagel as his next defense secretary.

Posted: 3:15 PM President Barack Obama has signed into law a $9.7 billion bill to pay flood insurance claims from Superstorm Sandy.

Posted: 3:14 PM The Palestinian self-rule government is in "extreme jeopardy" because of an unprecedented financial crisis, largely because Arab countries have failed to send hundreds of millions of dollars in promised aid, the Palestinian prime minister said Sunday.

Posted: 3:10 PM Congressional leaders on Sunday showed no signs of emerging from their corners to resolve the next step in the financial crisis, with Democrats still talking about higher taxes on the wealthy and the Senate's top Republican suggesting that a crippling default on U.S. loans was possible unless there were significant cuts in government spending.

Posted: 8:11 PM President Barack Obama's 2008 campaign has been fined $375,000 by the Federal Election Commission for reporting violations related to a set of donations received during the final days of the campaign.

Posted: 7:13 PM The Denver suburb of Aurora is the site of another multiple shooting.

Posted: 5:24 PM Transit officials are giving a new look to the idea of installing safety barriers on New York City subway platforms after three deaths on the tracks since early December.

Posted: 5:19 PM A newspaper is reporting that Flowers Foods and Bimbo are emerging as bidders for the bread brands of Hostess, which in the midst of a bankruptcy-court liquidation of its assets.

Posted: 10:23 PM The nonpartisan scorekeeper for Congress says the legislation passed earlier this week to avert the "fiscal cliff" could still leave in place deficits averaging more than $900 billion a year over the coming decade if Congress fails to follow its tax increases up with spending cuts.

Posted: 10:18 PM Police say an escaped bank robber was disguised as an old man and led officers on a short foot chase before he was captured in the Chicago suburbs.

Posted: 2:56 PM Gov. Deval Patrick is proposing tighter regulations on compounding pharmacies following last year's deadly meningitis outbreak linked to a Massachusetts company.

Posted: 2:55 PM The new Congress has passed a $9.7 billion bill to help pay flood insurance claims to homeowners, renters and businesses damaged by Superstorm Sandy.

Posted: 7:20 AM A $1.4 billion settlement between the Justice Department and Deepwater Horizon rig owner Transocean Ltd. will pump hundreds of millions of dollars into projects designed to help the Gulf Coast recover from the nation's largest offshore oil spill.

Posted: 7:18 AM A spokesman says Connecticut's lieutenant governor has been invited to attend a meeting between former Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and families of the victims of the deadly Newtown elementary school shooting.

Posted: 10:52 PM A patchwork extension of federal farm programs passed as part of a larger "fiscal cliff" bill keeps the price of milk from rising but doesn't include many of the goodies that farm-state lawmakers are used to getting for their rural districts.

Posted: 10:50 PM The Justice Department has reached a $1.4 billion settlement with Transocean, the owner of the drilling rig that sank after an explosion killed 11 workers and spawned the massive 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Posted: 3:24 PM Another death from the recent fungal meningitis outbreak was reported in Michigan on Jan. 3rd.