NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- The millions of dollars spent by Mitt Romney's allies on TV ads attacking his two main rivals have helped Romney pull ahead in the GOP presidential race. The resulting bitterness, however, is making it hard for him to lock down the nomination and end the party fighting that delights Democrats.

LAKE TAPPS, Wash. (AP) -- A diverging portrait of the Army sergeant accused of killing 16 Afghan villagers is emerging as records and interviews reveal a man appreciated by friends and family who won military commendations, yet one who faced professional disappointment, financial trouble and brushes with the law.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- As a new generation of teachers replaces retiring baby boomers, financially strapped states face a quandary - what to do about teacher pensions.

WEST WINDSOR, N.J. (AP) -- The widow and daughters of a Pakistani immigrant killed by a white supremacist in a 9/11 revenge attack became U.S. citizens Friday in a touching ceremony that one daughter described as the fulfillment of their father's dream for his children.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Birth control that you must take every single day? A more goof-proof option that costs a lot upfront but then works for several years? Or something in between?

NEW YORK (AP) -- New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly on Thursday challenged city council members who want to create an inspector general to regulate the department's surveillance of Muslims, saying his department needs no additional oversight.

PHOENIX (AP) -- Women in Arizona trying to get reimbursed for birth control drugs through their employer-provided health plan could be required to prove that they are taking it for a medical reason such as acne, rather than to prevent pregnancy.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Actor George Clooney and his father have been arrested at a protest outside the Sudanese Embassy in Washington.

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) -- Rep. Donald Payne was a modest man who favored quiet persuasion over bombast, qualities that didn't detract from his effectiveness as an advocate for the most vulnerable in the U.S. and abroad, former friends and colleagues recalled at his funeral Wednesday.

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) -- School districts soon will be able to opt out of a common ammonia-treated ground beef filler critics have dubbed "pink slime."