(CNN) -- The Texas state senator who filibustered a measure placing strict new curbs on abortion was operating outside the normal procedures for passing legislation, the state's Republican Gov. Rick Perry asserted Thursday.

Over eight days of testimony, jurors in the trial of reputed mob boss James "Whitey" Bulger have seen tears from witnesses whose loved ones died in bloody gangland shootings, heard horror stories from victims who barely survived drive-by shootouts, and peered into the world of the mob through testimony from an old friend turned star government witness.

New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez was released from the team Wednesday after being arrested and booked at a police station in North Attleborough, Massachusetts.

A divided Supreme Court has struck down a key part of a law that denies to legally married same-sex couples the same federal benefits provided to heterosexual spouses. The Defense of Marriage Act defines marriage as only between a man and a woman.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Supreme Court sided on Tuesday with adoptive parents in a divisive custody fight over a Native American child after the biological father asserted his parental rights.

(CNN) -- The clock is ticking, and Republicans in the Texas Senate can't do much to stop it as they face a midnight deadline in their effort to pass new abortion legislation that would be among the most restrictive in the nation.

(CNN) -- Two Los Angeles Police Department officers were injured in a brazen ambush outside a police station Tuesday morning.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- U.S. stocks tumbled to their lowest levels in two months Monday, as persistent worries about the Fed easing up on stimulus were exacerbated by a plunge in Chinese stocks.

(CNN) -- The United States has been waging a multi-country diplomatic effort to ensure Edward Snowden is returned to American authorities to face espionage charges, Secretary of State John Kerry asserted in an interview with CNN Monday.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Supreme Court side-stepped a sweeping decision on the use of race-conscious school admission policies, ruling Monday on the criteria at the University of Texas and whether it violates the equal protection rights of some white applicants.