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WASHINGTON — The Pentagon is grappling with significant intelligence gaps as it bombs Iraq and Syria, and it is operating under less restrictive targeting rules than those President Barack Obama imposed on the CIA drone campaign in Pakistan and Yemen, according to current and former U.S. officials. The U.S. military says its airstrikes have been discriminating and effective in disrupting an al-Qaida cell called the Khorasan Group and in halting the momentum of Islamic State militants. But independent analysts say the Islamic State group remains on the offensive in areas of Iraq and Syria, where it still controls large sections....

As of 7:30 a.m. Sunday, O'Hare International Airport had cancelled more than 530 flights and anticipates delays throughout the day as officials try to return flight traffic to normal after a fire Friday at the FAA's radar facility. The fire at the agency's Aurora radar facility wreaked havoc on the nation's air travel system and is also behind at least 50 flights were cancelled at Midway Airport, with an average 40 minute delay for incoming and outbound flights, according to the Chicago Avaition Department. The FAA said Saturday that technicians were working to complete a “damage assessment and timeline for...

TOKYO (AP) — A volcano erupted in central Japan on Saturday, catching mountain climbers by surprise and seriously injuring at least one person. With a sound likened to thunder, Mt. Ontake spewed large white plumes high into the sky, sending people fleeing and covering surrounding areas in ash. Several people were injured, including one who was unconscious, according to Japanese media reports.

Stocks chalked up big losses Thursday as the indexes punctured their 50-day moving average lines. The Nasdaq lost 1.9%, while the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones industrial average lopped off 1.6% and 1.5%, respectively. The small-cap Russell 2000 slid 1.6%.

U.S. stocks declined on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 falling for a third day, as investors weighed data illustrating a slowing global economy and tracked conflict in the Middle East. "A lot of it is spillover from Europe, the data last night wasn't so great. We had the contraction in France, slower growth in Germany, and China came out with employment numbers that were not so great. People are nervous and taking profits are all-time highs," said JJ Kinahan, chief strategist at TD Ameritrade.

U.S. stocks fell on Monday, with small companies taking it on the chin, as China signaled it would not boost stimulus and after home sales unexpectedly declined in August. "The comments from the Chinese finance minister were not particularly hopeful," said Cameron Hinds, regional chief investment officer for Wells Fargo Private Bank, referring to comments by Chinese Finance Minister Lou Jiwei that Beijing would not make big changes in response to one economic indicator, curbing thinking that softer economic readings would prompt additional stimulus from the central government.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Federal Reserve signaled Wednesday that it plans to keep a key interest rate at a record low for a considerable period because a broad range of U.S. economic measures remain subpar. The Fed said it planned to keep its benchmark rate near zero as long as inflation remains under control, until it sees consistent gains in wage growth, long-term unemployment and other gauges of the job market. The central bank retained language signaling its plans to keep short-term rates low "for a considerable time" after it ends its monthly bond purchases after its next meeting in...

An internal watchdog office says that NASA's efforts to identify, track and do something about potentially threatening asteroids are not well-integrated and lack proper oversight. Top NASA executives agreed with the criticism and promised to fix the problems within a year. Monday's report from NASA's Office of Inspector General focuses on the agency's program to deal with near-Earth objects. That program is budgeted at $40 million a year, which represents a tenfold increase over what it was five years ago. The NEO Program Office coordinates NASA's efforts to catalog comets and asteroids in Earth-crossing orbits — and also plays a...

On Sunday afternoon — at 2:15 pm Eastern time, to be exact — a small asteroid will whiz by the Earth. Don't worry: it'll miss us by about 25,000 miles. To be clear, there is zero chance it can hit us. This is certain. But in the long-term, worrying a little about asteroids isn't an unreasonable idea. Now, the odds of a massively destructive asteroid impact at any given time are tiny — but the potential costs would be enormous. Yet we still haven't invested in all the infrastructure needed to spot small asteroids with much warning (we spotted this...

INDIANAPOLIS - The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday issued a lightning-fast ruling finding Indiana's gay marriage ban unconstitutional. It came just nine days after the Indiana and Wisconsin cases were argued before the three-judge panel. "The challenged laws discriminate against a minority defined by an immutable characteristic, and the only rationale that the states put forth with any conviction - that same-sex couples and their children don't need marriage because same-sex couples can't produce children, intended or unintended - is so full of holes that it cannot be taken seriously," the ruling said. Attorney General Greg Zoeller is...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A newly discovered asteroid will pass by Earth this weekend. At closest approach Sunday, the 60-foot rock will pass a safe 25,000 miles over New Zealand. That’s about one-tenth the distance between here and the moon. It’s also beyond the orbit of our highest communication and weather satellites.

President Barack Obama authorized the deployment of another 350 American service-members to Baghdad Tuesday evening, the White House announced, bringing the number of American troops deployed to Iraq since June to over 1,000. White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said in a statement that the 350 U.S. troops are tasked with protecting American diplomatic facilities and personnel in Baghdad, which has been under threat from the spread of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

CHICAGO (AP) — Federal appeals judges bristled on Tuesday at arguments defending gay marriage bans in Indiana and Wisconsin, with one Republican appointee comparing them to now-defunct laws that once outlawed weddings between blacks and whites. Richard Posner, who was appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1981, hit the backers of the ban the hardest. He balked when Wisconsin Assistant Attorney General Timothy Samuelson repeatedly pointed to "tradition" as the underlying justification for barring gay marriage. "It was tradition to not allow blacks and whites to marry — a tradition that got swept away," the 75-year-old judge said. Prohibition of...

EDGARTOWN Mass. (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama has ordered a review of the distribution of military hardware to state and local police out of concern at how such equipment has been used during racial unrest in Ferguson, Missouri. A senior Obama administration official said on Saturday the president has ordered a review of federal programs and funding that enable state and local law enforcement to purchase military equipment. Images of police wielding military-style guns and armor have alarmed many Americans following violence that was triggered by the fatal shooting of an African-American teenager, Michael Brown, by a white police...

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday ramped up its response to the expanding Ebola outbreak, a move that frees up hundreds of employees and signals the agency sees the health emergency as a potentially long and serious one. The CDC’s “level 1 activation” is reserved for the most serious public health emergencies, and the agency said the move was appropriate considering the outbreak’s “potential to affect many lives.” The CDC took a similar move in 2005 in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and again in 2009 during the bird-flu threat.

U.S. stocks declined sharply Tuesday, with the Dow falling nearly 200 points, as traders cited uncertainty about the tension between Russia and Ukraine and concerns that the strengthening economy will lead to higher interest rates. Stocks sold off rapidly, with the Dow dropping as much as 199 points, following media reports on comments by Polish officials on the crisis. "The report today that Russian troops were lining on the borders of Ukraine preparing for an invasion -- whether accurate or not, I don't know, but it was not helpful," said Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott. "Selling...

The Israeli military has told people in Gaza it is resuming operations, saying Hamas broke a planned 72-hour ceasefire just hours after it had begun. The army said it had warned residents to stay indoors. Palestinian sources said at least 30 people had been killed in an Israeli attack in Gaza. Israel said it was in response to rocket fire from Hamas. Some 1,460 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have died in the conflict and 63 Israelis, mostly soldiers. The ceasefire had been brokered by the US and UN to give civilians a reprieve from the violence, and had been seen as...

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration pushed back strongly Monday at a torrent of Israeli criticism over Secretary of State John Kerry's latest bid to secure a cease-fire with Hamas, accusing some in Israel of launching a "misinformation campaign" against the top American diplomat. "It's simply not the way partners and allies treat each other," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said. Her comments were echoed by the White House, where officials said they were disappointed by Israeli reports that cast Kerry's efforts to negotiate a cease-fire as more favorable to Hamas. "Israel has no better friend, no stronger defender than...

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella wasn't kidding -- he really is making bold changes. The software giant said it would cut 18,000 jobs within the next year -- about 14% of the company's 125,000 employees. That's by far the largest round of layoffs in the company's history. The previous record came during the lowest point of the Great Recession, when Microsoft (MSFT, Tech30) cut more than 5,000 jobs in 2009 -- the first mass layoff in the company's history. Most of the latest round of layoffs -- 12,500 -- will come from Nokia's devices and services business that Microsoft recently bought....

<p>After President Barack Obama breathlessly addressed four different foreign-policy issues during a 10-minute statement, he summed up the state of a crisis-filled world in one sentence.</p> <p>"We live in a complex world and at a challenging time," Obama said.</p> <p>Obama touched on the laundry list of global flashpoints situations during a statement from the White House on Wednesday — the disputed elections in Afghanistan, the negotiations on Iran's nuclear program, the Israeli-Palestinian crisis, and, finally, the conflict in Ukraine.</p>