Nation & World

Colorado killer's reprieve sharply criticized

DENVER — Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper's decision to block the execution of convicted killer Nathan Dunlap for as long as he is governor infuriated victims' relatives and drew quick criticism from Republicans ahead of the 2014 election.

UPDATE: Kids, teachers from devastated school reunite

Thunderstorms slow cleanup

MOORE, Okla. — Students from a suburban Oklahoma City elementary school destroyed by this week’s tornado reunited with their teachers Thursday and collected whatever could be salvaged from the ruins.

AAA: 31.2 million expected to hit road for holiday weekend

It's going to be another busy Memorial Day weekend on the nation's highways.

Polish man gets quick face transplant after injury

WARSAW, Poland — A 33-year-old Polish man received a face transplant just three weeks after being disfigured in a workplace accident, in what his doctors said Wednesday is the fastest time frame to date for such an operation. It was Poland's first face transplant.

Monroe's photos for Prague exhibition stolen

PRAGUE — A publicist for an upcoming Marilyn Monroe exhibition in Prague says that photographs of the star have been stolen.

North Korean leader sends special envoy to China

PYONGYANG, North Korea — After months of ignoring Chinese warnings to give up nuclear weapons, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un sent a high-level confidant to Beijing on Wednesday, in a possible effort to mend strained ties with his country's most important ally and a sign that he may be giving diplomacy a chance.

Pakistani cricket star politician leaves hospital

ISLAMABAD — Pakistani cricket star-turned-politician Imran Khan left a hospital Wednesday, more than two weeks after he suffered serious back injuries in a fall from a forklift at a campaign event, a spokesman said.

Iran's Ahmadinejad denounces election decision

TEHRAN, Iran — Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Wednesday that a decision by election overseers to disqualify his top aide from next month's presidential race is an act of "oppression" and that he will take the case to the country's supreme leader.

U.K. official: London attack could be terror-related

LONDON — Two men attacked another man near a London military barracks Wednesday, in what British authorities were investigating as a possible terror act. One man is dead and two others were injured.

Amid immigration reform, calls to change asylums

SEATTLE — As Congress debates legalizing about 11 million immigrants living in the U.S. illegally, immigration advocates are pushing plans they say will open the asylum process for thousands of more people who flee persecution in their home countries.

Oklahoma tornado damage could top $2 billion

MOORE, Okla. — The cost of a massive tornado that battered an Oklahoma City suburb could be more than $2 billion, according to a preliminary official estimate announced Wednesday. State authorities meanwhile said two infants were among the 24 people who perished in the twister.

GOP questions IRS scrutiny of anti-abortion groups

IOWA CITY, Iowa — When a small anti-abortion group in Iowa sought nonprofit status, the Internal Revenue Service asked its board to promise not to organize protests outside Planned Parenthood and demanded to know how its prayer meetings and protest signs were educational.

IRS official Lerner: 'I did nothing wrong'

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service official at the center of the storm over the agency's targeting of conservative groups told Congress on Wednesday that she had done nothing wrong in the episode, and then invoked her constitutional right to refuse to answer lawmakers' questions.