Tunisia's president declared a state of emergency Friday and announced that he would fire his government as thousands of protesters mobbed the capital to demand his ouster. Gunfire rang out across Tunis, clouds of tear gas filled the streets and police beat any protesters they could grab.

Washington is buzzing today over a proposal to shake up tradition and get members of Congress to adopt a bipartisan seating plan for the upcoming State of the Union address.

- Brazil is suffering its worst-ever natural disaster after mudslides near Rio de Janeiro this week killed more than 500 people, media compiling the deaths said Friday.

Auburn claims SEC's fifth straight national title by dropping Oregon on late field goal

Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton will skip his senior season and enter the NFL draft after leading Auburn to a national championship and drawing nearly as much attention for a pay-for-play scandal as for his dynamic performances.

Imagine this: One of the top politicians of your country is gunned down by his own bodyguard. Shocking, but not unheard of. Now imagine this: The very next day, the assassin shows up at court and is given a hero's welcome. Supporters shower him with rose petals and put a garland around his neck.

The American dream of home ownership didn't exactly exit the last decade on a high note, with the mortgage sector on still-shaky ground, the housing market stagnating and foreclosures at historic highs. So it was gratuitously devastating for Andre Hall of Pittsburgh -- who was in the process of reclaiming a foreclosed property, no less -- to return from the holidays to discover that the city had accidentally demolished his property.

Power Balance bracelets, the popular performance accessory worn by athletes including Drew Brees, Kevin Durant and Kobe Bryant, provide no scientific edge, the company confessed this week.

"I am committed to earning my degree in architectural design from Stanford University and am on track to accomplish this at the completion of the spring quarter of 2012," Luck said in a statement.

With a deep, refined voice, one that had been sadly misplaced, Ted Williams simply asked for help to get him off the streets.

Three people were shot in the city's West Ward tonight, but their injuries did not appear life-threatening, police said.

Thousands of dead red-winged blackbirds fell from the sky in an Arkansas town on New Year's Eve after massive trauma, tests by veterinary officials concluded on Monday.

Wintry skies darkened over Switzerland on Tuesday morning, but Romanians were treated to a pinkish ethereal light and Swedes to a beautiful sunrise, as a partial solar eclipse that began over the Mideast extended across much of Europe

A new year has brought new resolve for airport managers who are fed up with the Transportation Security Agency.

A 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck the central coastal area of Chile on Sunday, some 70 kilometers (45 miles) northwest of Temuco, the U.S. Geological Survey said. There were no immediate reports of major damage or injury.

Baltimore Orioles pitcher Alfredo Simon surrendered Monday to police and was jailed in the northern Dominican Republic town of Puerto Plata after being accused in the shooting death of a 25-year-old man on New Year's Day.

The thousands of birds that fell from the sky just before midnight New Year's Eve in Arkansas likely died from massive trauma, according to a preliminary report released Monday.

More evacuations were underway in the flood-ravaged Australian state of Queensland on Tuesday as waters continued to rise.

Navy Capt. Owen Honors, who produced profanity- and slur-laden videos while second in command of the USS Enterprise, has been relieved of his command of the ship, a senior defense official told CNN Tuesday.

The governor of Pakistan's Punjab province was assassinated by his own security guard Tuesday, according to Interior Minister Rehman Malik, apparently because he spoke out against the country's controversial blasphemy law.