Ken Stanford

The sunny skies that started melting the snow in earnest this week gave way to steady rain - and more melting - in Chicago Thursday morning, causing some flooding and raising commuters' fears that they will later be confronted by submerged streets, sidewalks and basements.

The White House says President Barack Obama's upcoming budget proposal will not include his past offer to accept lowered cost-of-living increases in Social Security and other benefit programs. Those had been a central component of his long-term debt-reduction strategy.

Fearing that a brief truce could allow the army to move in, protesters tossed firebombs and advanced upon police lines Thursday in Ukraine's embattled capital. Government snipers shot back, killing at least 70 people and wounding hundreds, according to a protest doctor.

Safety researchers expressed concern a decade ago that traffic accidents would increase as the nation's aging population swelled the number of older drivers on the road. Now, they say they've been proved wrong.

A bill pending in the state Legislature that would toughen Georgia's laws on aggressive driving is named in memory of a woman killed in Gainesville during what police say was an act of road rage.

The number of people seeking U.S. unemployment benefits fell a slight 3,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 336,000, a sign that layoffs remain low.

State Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner Ralph Hudgens is warning of scammers targeting homeowners looking to remove tree limbs from their property after the last winter storm.

The Department of Juvenile Justice