BRUSSELS (AP) -- America's military alliance with Europe - the cornerstone of U.S. security policy for six decades - faces a "dim, if not dismal" future, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Friday in a blunt valedictory address.

NEW YORK (AP) -- A daughter of slain civil rights leader Malcolm X was released from jail Thursday after pleading guilty to stealing the identity of an elderly family friend to run up more than $55,000 in credit card bills.

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- A jury on Thursday found a California community group leader and another man guilty of murder in the daytime slaying of the first American journalist killed on U.S. soil for reporting a story in more than a decade.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Americans, regardless of generation, are deeply conflicted as they wrestle with the legality and morality of abortion, with large numbers identifying themselves as both "pro-choice" and "pro-life," according to a sweeping new survey.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) -- Alabama's governor on Thursday signed a tough new illegal immigration law that requires public schools to determine students' immigration status and makes it a crime to knowingly give an illegal immigrant a ride.

ATLANTA (AP) -- The latest round in the fight over President Barack Obama's health care overhaul was held Wednesday in the federal appeals court in Atlanta.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Fellow Democrats pointedly refused to defend Rep. Anthony Weiner on Tuesday, telegraphing an unmistakable eagerness for him to resign after he admitted sending a lewd photo of himself to a woman via Twitter and lying about it.

A Latino gang conspired to rid a Southern California city of its Black residents through intimidation, threats and violence dating back to the early 1990s to exert its influence and show its loyalty to a Mexican Mafia prison gang, according to a federal indictment unsealed Tuesday.

CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) -- A work session Sunday by the Senate Judiciary Committee left lawmakers considering new amendments to a DNA collection bill that raise both racial and financial concerns.
Previous discussion surrounding AB552 -- known as Brianna's Law -- has centered on whether taking DNA samples from felony suspects is a violation of Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable search.

Former New York Giants star Plaxico Burress was released from prison on Monday after spending nearly two years behind bars on a gun charge and headed to Florida to be with his family as he contemplates his chances of playing again in the NFL.