An influential Chicago Democrat who famously compared himself to a virile hog was convicted Thursday after less than two hours of jury deliberations on charges of tax evasion for not declaring campaign cash he gambled away on slot machines as income.

A judge on Thursday filed preliminary charges against former President Nicolas Sarkozy in a campaign finance case, formally placing him under investigation over allegations that he illegally took donations from France's richest woman on way to his 2007 election victory.

Tens of thousands of Chicago students, parents and teachers learned Thursday their schools were on a long-feared list of 54 the city plans to close in an effort to stabilize an educational system facing a huge budget shortfall.

Gun control legislation the Senate debates next month will include an expansion of federal background checks for firearms buyers, Majority Leader Harry Reid said Thursday in a victory for advocates of gun restrictions.

Civil unions for gay couples got the governor's signature in Colorado on Thursday, punctuating a dramatic turnaround in a state where voters banned same-sex marriage in 2006 and restricted protections for gays two decades ago.

A paroled Colorado inmate who may be linked to the slaying of the state's prison chief led Texas deputies on a 100 mph car chase that ended Thursday after he crashed into a semi and then opened fire before being shot down by his pursuers.

Stocks are closing lower on Wall Street after Oracle's weak sales results weighed down big U.S. technology companies. Traders are also worried about Cyprus running out of time to avoid bankruptcy.

The brother of a jailed one-time billionaire hedge fund boss has been charged with conspiring with his brother to cheat on Wall Street and earn nearly $1.2 million illegally, federal authorities announced Thursday.

A man who spent more than two decades behind bars for the cold-blooded slaying of a Brooklyn rabbi was released Thursday into the arms of his weeping relatives after a reinvestigation by prosecutors cast serious doubt on evidence used to convict him.

Italy said it would return two marines to India by Friday to face murder charges in the shooting deaths of two fishermen, reversing a decision that escalated diplomatic tensions.

A suicide bomb ripped through a mosque in the heart of the Syrian capital Thursday, killing a top Sunni Muslim preacher and outspoken supporter of President Bashar Assad in one of the most stunning assassinations of Syria's 2-year-old civil war. At least 41 others were killed and more than 84 wounded.

Stocks are falling on Wall Street as weak sales from Oracle and worries about Cyprus' ability to get a bailout weighed on the market.

President Barack Obama is telling Israelis that in the search for peace, they have "true partners" in Palestinian leaders Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian Authority president, and Salam Fayyad, the prime minister.

With its ominously titled slideshow, "Get ready for a big one," the National Weather Service told flood-weary residents in the Fargo area Thursday to prepare for one of the Red River's five largest crests this spring, an outlook that prompted city and county officials to plead for permanent flood protection.

The United Nations will investigate the possible use of chemical weapons in Syria, which would amount to a crime against humanity, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced Thursday.

The House Thursday passed a huge spending bill to keep the government open through the end of September, sidestepping any threat of a government shutdown.

President Barack Obama is calling on Israel to reverse what he says is an "undertow of isolation."

President Barack Obama is telling Israelis that in the search for peace, they have "true partners" in Palestinian leaders Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian Authority president, and Salam Fayyad, the prime minister.

House Republicans have passed a budget plan that would bring the federal government's finances into balance in 10 years by sharply cutting safety-net programs for the poor and by clamping down on domestic agencies.

President Barack Obama says Israelis and Palestinians each have rights to peace, security and free movement that are not always respected.

The Senate Energy Committee on Thursday endorsed President Barack Obama's nomination of Sally Jewell to be Interior secretary, moving her nomination to the Senate floor for an expected vote next month.

An insurance agent who helped run a prostitution operation out of his mistress's Zumba studio and watched sex videos made with a hidden camera will serve 20 days in jail for a scandal that rocked a seaside community better known for its beaches and sea captains' homes than for crime.

A measure of the U.S. economy's health over the next six months increased in February from January, a sign that growth could be improving.

Average U.S. rates on fixed mortgages fell this week and remained near historic lows, a trend that has supported a recovery in housing.