RICHMOND, Va. – A judge on Monday sentenced to death the convicted killer of four members of a Richmond family during a bloody crime spree that also left four others dead. Circuit Judge Beverly Snukals followed the jury’s recommendation in imposing the death sentence on Ricky Jovan Gray for the …

Nothing says “hire me” like a well-placed karate chop. Forget the convincing cover letter — when Yale University senior Aleksey Vayner wanted his resume to get noticed on Wall Street, he spiced it up with style … complete and total malarkey-style, that is. Vayner’s 11-page resume, initially submitted to human …

ZOUFFTGEN, France – A passenger train collided with an oncoming freight train in northeastern France Wednesday, killing at least five people, local officials and the French national rail operator said. Nine people were trapped in the wreckage, officials in the Lorraine region said. The impact of the crash pushed one …

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Unhappy that the Justice Department denied his request to investigate campaign fliers handed out by Maryland Republicans on Election Day, New York Sen. Charles E. Schumer fired-off a letter to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales asking him to justify the decision. “Unfortunately, the midterm elections held on Nov. …

WASHINGTON – The Justice Department on Saturday asked the Supreme Court to refrain from stepping into another constitutional free speech battle featuring federal prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald and The New York Times. The case involves a leak probe by Fitzgerald to track down the confidential sources of Times reporters Judith Miller …

BRUSSELS, Belgium – Google Inc. (GOOG) said Tuesday it has struck a content-sharing deal with two organizations to partly settle a dispute in Belgium over news articles available through the Internet search engine. But Google still faces a bid by Belgian newspapers — spearheaded by copyright protection society Copiepresse — …

WASHINGTON – New polls out Wednesday show a possibility of a blue shift in the Senate after next week’s midterm election, but Republicans aren’t ready to give up their majority yet. In Oct. 24-31 polls by Zogby International, most of the critical Senate seats up for grabs look like they …

BRADENTON, Fla. – Florida’s only living World War I veteran got a long-delayed medal Friday as he smiled at the hubbub and recalled his service on a battleship nearly 90 years ago. Ernest Charles Pusey, 111, wasn’t feeling too talkative but seemed to enjoy the attention as Gov. Jeb Bush …

WASHINGTON – Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice‘s most senior adviser on Iraq is leaving the State Department to return to his teaching job. Philip D. Zelikow is the best-known member of Rice’s academic brain trust at the State Department, and the author of sometimes contrarian appraisals of the Iraq conflict …

HARTFORD, Conn. – Rep. Nancy Johnson, a 12-term Republican who ran a tough-on-terror campaign and touted her co-authorship of the Medicare prescription drug legislation, lost her re-election bid Tuesday to anti-war Democrat Chris Murphy. Murphy had 56 percent to Johnson’s 44 percent with 12 percent of the precincts voting. Johnson …