SAMSON, Ala. (AP) -- A gunman killed at least nine people on a terrifying rampage across two Alabama counties Tuesday, burning down his mother's home, killing members of his own family on their porch and shooting apparent strangers as he drove by, authorities said. He then fatally shot himself....

WASHINGTON (AP) -- For nearly 150 years, a story has circulated about a hidden Civil War message engraved inside Abraham Lincoln's pocket watch. On Tuesday, museum curators confirmed it was true. A watchmaker used tiny tools to carefully pry open the antique watch at the National Museum of American History, and a descendant of the engraver read aloud the message from a metal plate underneath the watch face....

BOSTON (AP) -- The street artist who created the famous "Hope" poster of President Barack Obama expects to face new vandalism charges relating to the red, white and blue image, but his lawyer said Tuesday that the accusations would cover a period of time when the artist wasn't even in Boston....

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- The man accused of gunning down an Illinois pastor during his sermon as horrified churchgoers watched left an index card marked "Last Day Will" at his home, according to court documents filed Tuesday....

FARGO, N.D. (AP) -- Heavy snow driven by wind gusting to 40 mph brought parts of the upper Midwest to a halt Tuesday, closing courts, schools, businesses and two major highways....

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The Southern California woman who gave birth to octuplets two months ago told television talk show host Dr. Phil McGraw that she was getting ready to move into a new home that'll be inspected before two babies are released from the hospital....

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- The trial of a man accused of fatally shooting his identical twin brother began Tuesday with prosecutors revealing new fingerprints linking the man to the killing while the defendant's lawyer insisted another man had masterminded the attack....

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Employees of a Pennsylvania pet store expecting a shipment of tropical fish and salt water got a man's dead body instead....

EL PASO, Texas (AP) -- Sixteen patients exposed to a mismanaged insulin needle program have tested positive for hepatitis C, Army officials said Tuesday....

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) -- The attorney for alleged al-Qaida sleeper agent Ali al-Marri said Tuesday he hopes what his client endured for five years will never again be repeated in the United States....

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- North Korea accused President Barack Obama's government of meddling in its internal affairs Wednesday and vowed to take "every necessary measure" to defend itself against what it calls U.S. threats....

UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- The United States is urging leading African, Arab and Muslim groups to protest Sudan's ordering aid organizations out of Darfur, an expulsion it says threatens the lives of more than a million Muslims....

UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- A key Security Council committee reported Tuesday that Iran violated U.N. sanctions by trying to send weapons-related material to Syria on a cargo ship now docked in Cyprus....

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) -- The self-professed mastermind and four other men charged in the Sept. 11 attacks declared they are "terrorists to the bone" in a statement that mocked the U.S. failure to prevent the killings and predicted America will fall like "the towers on the blessed 9/11 day."...

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) -- President Robert Mugabe joined thousands of Zimbabweans mourning the wife of a rival turned government partner, calling Tuesday for an end to political violence and wishing Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai strength for the nation-building work ahead....

DHARMSALA, India (AP) -- Life for Tibetans under Chinese rule has been "hell on earth," the Dalai Lama said Tuesday, attacking Beijing in a speech to mark 50 years since the failed uprising that forced him into exile....

MEXICO CITY (AP) -- Headless bodies in Tijuana, kidnapped children in Phoenix and shootouts on the streets of Vancouver: These are the unwanted byproducts of progress in the Mexican drug war....

BELFAST, Northern Ireland (AP) -- The Protestant and Catholic leaders of Northern Ireland mounted an exceptional display of unity against rising violence from Irish Republican Army dissidents - and vowed Tuesday to defeat hard-liners with the power of popular will....

SDEROT, Israel (AP) -- Brightly painted walls surround a mini-soccer field, video games, a climbing wall and play areas. The converted warehouse also has a new thick concrete roof, a half dozen shelters and an alert system to give a 15-second warning of incoming rockets....

Chinese media hits out at the US over a sea clash, ahead of talks between the two countries' foreign ministers.