Two female Army officers challenge combat ban with lawsuit

Mark Humphrey/Associated Press

The lawsuit accuses the government of violating the constitutional rights of servicewomen by excluding them from certain ground combat units.

Judge abruptly halts deliberations in Edwards trial

The judge in the John Edwards trial abruptly closed the courtroom Friday and sent the jury panel home after six days of deliberations.

 Senator John Kerry and Mitt Romney, the former Bay State governor, have not developed much of a relationship.

Kerry hits Romney on foreign policy

Senator John Kerry Friday called Mitt Romney “naive’’ and “wrong’’ for asserting that Russia is the nation’s top enemy.

Man charged in 1979 murder, sent to Bellevue

Pedro Hernandez, accused of killing 6-year-old Etan Patz, was charged and later transferred to Bellevue Hospital Center.

US eases enforcement of rules on pool access for disabled

After initially setting a March 15 deadline, the Justice Department has granted two extensions.

Politics

political notebook

More GOP candidates shunning tax pledge

An increasing number of Republicans running for Congress are declining to sign antitax crusader Grover Norquist's pledge to not raise taxes.