Arizona's new immigration law takes effect Thursday, creating a potentially volatile mix of police, illegal immigrants and thousands of activists.

BP's incoming CEO Robert Dudley faces the daunting task of fixing a company saddled with huge liabilities, a broken culture, strained government relations and a badly damaged brand.

Four of the world's largest freshwater fish species — including a catfish 10 feet long — face extinction if dams are built on the Mekong River, the WWF warned Tuesday.

Otters sweltering in the summer sun suck on "fishsicles." For carnivores like the Amur leopard, it's "bloodsicles."

When personal spats end up with one party posting sexually provocative ads on such services as Craigslist, it can be difficult to get protection or justice.

If Republicans wake up on November 3rd to find their majority-making hopes dashed, they may be looking at a state like Colorado for evidence of opportunities missed.

Adding insult to the Gulf's injury, an oil platform hit by a tug boat is now spewing oil and natural gas near a Louisiana marsh area, officials said Tuesday.

Josh Tomlin took a shutout into the eighth inning against Alex Rodriguez and the New York Yankees to win his major league debut with the Cleveland Indians, 4-1 on Tuesday night.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declares a state of emergency after 30 to 40 homes are lost to a wildfire about 10 miles southeast of the Mojave Desert town of Tehachapi, firefighters said Tuesday.

Ten years ago, Rick Norsigian of Fresno, Calif., spent $45 on 65 glass negatives that were wrapped in newspapers form 1942 and 1943. Turns out, his find may be worth millions.

Target's CEO defended donations to a Minn. group helping the state's GOP candidate for governor, telling employees the company's support of the gay community is "unwavering."

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad inaugurated a new policy on Tuesday to encourage population growth, dismissing Iran's decades of family planning as ungodly and a Western import.

Roughly 80 percent of computers sold are laptops. But nearly 90 percent of U.S. homes still have a trusty desktop.

A large asteroid in space that has a remote chance of slamming into Earth would most likely hit in 2182, if it crashes into our planet at all, a new study suggests.

Crazy. Insane. Terrifying. Generally speaking, these aren't terms of appreciation. Unless, that is, you’re a fan of extreme coasters, wild water slides and other gut-churning attractions.

AP - Operatives inside Afghanistan and Pakistan who have worked for the U.S. against the Taliban or al-Qaida may be at risk following the disclosure of thousands of once-secret U.S. military documents, former and current officials said.

AP - A passenger jet carrying 152 people crashed into the hills surrounding Pakistan's capital on a rainy Wednesday morning, officials said. At least five people were killed and three wounded, but many more were feared dead.

AP - A voter-approved ban on hiring and renting property to illegal immigrants was suspended late Tuesday by the Fremont City Council, less than two days before it was set to take effect in the small Nebraska city.

AP - Battered BP began reinventing itself in the shadow of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill Tuesday, naming its first American CEO as it reported a record $17 billion quarterly loss. Its outgoing chief miffed the White House anew with his parting comments.

AP - France has declared war on al-Qaida, and matched its fighting words with a first attack on a base camp of the terror network's North African branch, after the terror network killed a French aid worker it took hostage in April.

AP - New York Democrat Charles Rangel made a last-minute effort Tuesday to settle his ethics case and prevent a House trial that could embarrass him and damage the Democratic Party.

AP - It's practically a daily ritual: Accused drug traffickers and assassins, shackled and bruised from beatings, are paraded before the news media to show that Mexico is winning its drug war. Once the television lights dim, however, about three-quarters of them are let go.

AP - A Dallas man convicted of starving three children locked in a hotel bathroom for nearly a year was sentenced to 99 years in prison Tuesday after jurors heard testimony that one child was suicidal and another preferred urinating in his hospital bed to entering a restroom.

AP - A-List filmmaker John Woo is the first celebrity to join the cast of the second major film in the leading Chinese state film studio's campaign to reform the propaganda genre with a heavy dose of star power.

AP - Pinch-hitter Andre Ethier delivered a clutch two-run single with two outs in the seventh off Jon Garland to give the Los Angeles Dodgers a 2-0 win over the NL West-leading San Diego Padres on Tuesday night.

Reuters - Americans by a large majority believe President Barack Obama has not focused enough on job creation, as economic fears threaten Democrats ahead of November 2 congressional elections, a Reuters-Ipsos poll found on Tuesday.

Reuters - BP Plc's newly named chief executive on Tuesday called the Gulf oil spill a "wake-up call" for the entire industry as the company tallied up its losses and disclosed two U.S. investigations.

Reuters - The Congress on Tuesday gave President Barack Obama long-delayed funding for his troop increase in Afghanistan despite opposition from many fellow Democrats, while Obama played down the gravity of leaked war documents.

Reuters - Job worries drove July U.S. consumer confidence to its lowest since February, with one in six people expecting lower income in the next six months, underscoring the precarious state of economic recovery.

Reuters - The U.S. Department of Defense was unable to account properly for $8.7 billion of Iraqi oil and gas money meant for humanitarian needs and reconstruction after the 2003 invasion, according to an audit released on Tuesday.

Reuters - The Utah Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered a new trial of a polygamist leader of a breakaway Mormon sect, who was convicted of forcing a 14-year-old girl to marry her first cousin.

Reuters - Anticipating California voters will back a November ballot measure to legalize casual marijuana use, officials in Oakland have approved two tax rates on pot sales in their city, already a hub of the state's medicinal marijuana scene.

AFP - A Pakistani private Airblue plane crashed into hills behind Islamabad on Wednesday while preparing to land after a flight from Karachi with 152 people on board, a civil aviation spokesman said.

AFP - BP's outgoing chief executive Tony Hayward was the target of fresh US anger Wednesday after claiming he had been "demonised and vilified," threatening efforts to draw a line under the Gulf oil spill.