Many sewer systems are frequently overwhelmed, with sewage spilling into waterways and polluting them with excrement and industrial chemicals.

The ultralow interest rates the U.S. has been paying on its colossal debt may not last much longer as the government faces payment shock down the road.

In August, Southern farmers thought they had a bumper crop — the best in years. Then heavy rains in September and October spoiled the harvest.

Representative Patrick J. Kennedy said he was instructed to refrain from communion because of his stance on abortion.

Officials at the University of California, Santa Cruz say dozens of protesters who were occupying the university’s main administrative building have ended their protest.

Whether benefits from the president’s policies will be realized in time for the elections in 11 months is a big question.

A primer on the military utility of some of the force options before President Obama to bolster the 68,000 American troops already in Afghanistan.

Professor Hymes was a prominent anthropologist, linguist and folklorist whose work mined the rich, often overlooked territory where language and culture intersect.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission says the small amount of radiation detected at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant is not significant.

Representative Charles B. Rangel’s once-considerable clout has diminished, and signs of stress are starting to show.

Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani’s case in Manhattan could be important in a future trial of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, accused of planning 9/11.

Anxious about how little maneuvering room the weekend victory on health care provided, Democrats are stepping up overtures to two moderate Republican senators from Maine.

The Department of Homeland Security has had to stop deploying new detectors because the U.S. has run out of a crucial raw material, experts say.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is drawing criticism for receiving Iran’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in his first state visit to Brazil.

The plan will enlist companies and nonprofits, including “Sesame Street,” to spend money and time to encourage students to pursue science, technology, engineering and math.

The Martin Luther King Jr. hospital is entering a public-private partnership for more cost-effective operations.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force thought its review of breast cancer recommendations would be a straightforward job, but the response to its guidelines was swift and angry.

Two centrist senators, Ben Nelson and Joseph I. Lieberman, said that they were opposed to the bill as it is currently written.

Rhode Island's top Roman Catholic leader has asked Rep. Patrick Kennedy to stop taking Communion over his support for abortion rights, the diocese said Sunday.

Investment funds are buying mortgages, trimming some of them to the benefit of homeowners, and shifting any risk to the federal government.