GRAPEVINE, Texas (AP) — In one of their most dramatic choices in a century, local leaders of the Boy Scouts of America voted Thursday on whether to ease a divisive ban and allow openly gay boys to be accepted into the nation's leading youth organization.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama's nominee for commerce secretary was questioned briefly about her ties to a subprime mortgage lender that failed in 2001 and her role as a beneficiary of family offshore trusts in the Bahamas, but those were minor bumps in an otherwise smooth Senate confirmation hearing Thursday.

FAYETTEVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Authorities say two men have been charged in six killings, including a toddler and unborn baby, near the Tennessee-Alabama border last fall during a dispute over drug dealing.

ROCKVILLE, Md. (AP) — A once-prominent swimming coach who trained thousands of children was sentenced to seven years in prison Thursday for sexually abusing one of the girls he instructed.

WASHINGTON (AP) — House members writing a bipartisan immigration bill said Thursday they had patched over a dispute that threatened their efforts, even as they and the rest of Congress prepared to return home for a weeklong recess where many could confront voters' questions on the issue.

MOORE, Okla. (AP) — A massive tornado was carving its way through town. There was no time to hesitate. LaTisha Garcia had to get to her children.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Authorities on Thursday recovered the body of a second child killed when a rockslide hit a group of fourth-graders in a St.

MOORE, Okla. (AP) — A band of thunderstorms battered the Oklahoma City area Thursday, slowing cleanup operations in the suburb where a tornado killed 24 people and destroyed thousands of homes this week.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — The man suspected of kidnapping a still-missing 15-year-old Iowa girl and her friend as they walked home from school is being scrutinized in last year's unsolved kidnapping of two young cousins whose bodies were found 100 miles away.

MOORE, Okla. (AP) — One loved the spotlight. Another was nicknamed "The Wall" because of the force he brought to the soccer field.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Rep. Scott DesJarlais, a licensed physician, was reprimanded and fined by the Tennessee Board of Medical Examiners for having sex with patients before he was elected to Congress, according to documents released Thursday.

MOORE, Okla. (AP) — Having lived most of her life in this Oklahoma City suburb, Barbara Bryen never feared twisters. They were just part of life in a particularly deadly stretch of Tornado Alley.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama on Thursday defended America's controversial drone attacks as legal, effective and a necessary linchpin in an evolving U.S.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama says his administration is willing to consider accepting increased oversight of lethal drone strikes outside of war zones like Afghanistan.

NEW YORK (AP) — For decades, people have been getting rid of cockroaches by setting out bait mixed with poison. But in the late 1980s, in an apartment test kitchen in Florida, something went very wrong.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Three days of congressional hearings about the Internal Revenue Service's targeting of conservative political groups have lawmakers looking for ways to widen an investigation that has so far been largely contained within the tax collection agency.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is condemning what he calls an "appalling attack" that killed a British soldier Wednesday.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Former World War II Army squad leader and Medal of Honor recipient Vernon McGarity has died at age 91, a funeral home said Thursday.

JERUSALEM (AP) — The United States and Israel raised hopes Thursday for a restart of the Middle East peace process, despite little tangible progress so far from U.S.

Here's your look at highlights from the weekly AP photo report, a gallery featuring a mix of front-page photography, the odd image you might have missed and lasting moments our editors think you should see.

DENVER (AP) — In the most prominent challenge of its kind, Hobby Lobby Stores Inc. is asking a federal appeals court Thursday for an exemption from part of the federal health care law that requires it to offer employees health coverage that includes access to the morning-after pill.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Reading, writing, arithmetic — and PE? The prestigious Institute of Medicine is recommending that schools provide opportunities for at least 60 minutes of physical activity each day for students and that PE become a core subject.

DENVER (AP) — 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.

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A Chechen immigrant shot to death in Florida after an altercation with an FBI agent implicated himself in a triple slaying that officials believe may have been connected to Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev, authorities said.