Violence

Labor Dept. urges talks over Bahrain labor unrest

By SAM HANANELAssociated Press WASHINGTON (AP) - The government of Bahrain has fallen short of commitments to recognize labor rights and prevent employment discrimination under a free trade agreement with the United States, the Labor Department said Thursday. But the agency declined to suspend the

Mexico's Maya heartland greets dawn of new era

By MARK STEVENSONAssociated Press MERIDA, Mexico (AP) - Dec. 21 started out as the prophetic day some had believed would usher in the fiery end of the world. By Friday afternoon, it had become more comic than cosmic, the punch line of countless Facebook posts and at least several dozen T-shirts. At

Gun laws show difficulty of stemming violent acts

By JULIE PACE and ALICIA A. CALDWELLAssociated Press WASHINGTON (AP) - One early focus of new gun regulations by President Barack Obama and some lawmakers would reinstate a federal ban on assault weapons, a law widely regarded as imperfect. The ban, which existed for 10 years until 2004, would have

One by one, shattered Newtown buries its dead

By DAVID KLEPPERAssociated Press NEWTOWN, Conn. (AP) - One by one by one by one, each with fresh heartbreak, hearses crisscrossed two New England towns on Wednesday, bearing three tiny victims of the Sandy Hook school massacre and a heroic teacher in a seemingly never-ending series of funeral