A day after a Mariner Energy oil platform burst into flames and forced 13 workers into the Gulf of Mexico, the Houston oil and gas company that owns it focused on possible causes, while regulators and lawmakers began demanding answers. The nation's top offshore drilling regulator — the Bureau of ... Read More

WASHINGTON — Private employers hired more workers during the past three months than first thought, a glimmer of hope for the weak economy ahead of the Labor Day weekend. But the unemployment rate rose because not enough jobs were created to absorb the growing number of people looking for work ... Read More

WELLINGTON, New Zealand—A light aircraft carrying skydivers crashed in flames Saturday near a popular tourist spot in New Zealand's Southern Alps, killing nine people including four foreign tourists, police said. The plane caught fire after takeoff from an airstrip at Fox Glacier on the country's ... Read More

Ben Roethlisberger is getting time off for good behavior. He will be back on the field for the Pittsburgh Steelers two games earlier than scheduled after convincing Commissioner Roger Goodell that he is turning his life around. The quarterback, accompanied by team President Art Rooney , met with ... Read More

CHATHAM, Mass.—The remnants of Hurricane Earl dumped wind-driven rain on Cape Cod's gray-shingled cottages and fishing villages Friday night, but its close brush with the Northeast was less intense than feared only hours earlier. Earl swooped into New England waters as a tropical storm with winds ... Read More

In several bloody, costly and tragic wars since modern Israel was established as an independent nation in 1948, neighboring enemies have tried to wipe Israel off the face of the Earth. Fortunately, they have failed, sometimes only barely. But strife and enmity continue. Now, surprisingly, Israeli ... Read More

QUETTA, Pakistan—Pakistani police say the death toll from a suicide attack on a Shiite Muslim procession rose from 43 to 65 overnight as critically wounded people died in hospital. Police official Mohammed Sultan said Saturday that about 150 people were wounded and some remain critical after the ... Read More

Bristol Palin said she didn't think twice before waltzing into "Dancing with the Stars," though she's barely danced in her life. In an appearance Friday on NBC's "Tonight Show with Jay Leno," the 19-year-old daughter of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin says she learned about the invitation through a ... Read More

LOS ANGELES -- Kara DioGuardi is following Ellen DeGeneres and Simon Cowell out the door at "American Idol." Her departure leaves Randy Jackson, who's been with the singing contest from the start, the last judge standing, for now. Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez are the reported front-runners for ... Read More

DENVER — Dan Maes like to brag about taking down the political machine in becoming Colorado's Republican gubernatorial nominee. The way he's going, it may be the only victory in a short-lived political career. Republicans have spent the week desperately trying to get the tea party favorite to quit ... Read More