Ken Stanford

CIA Director-designate John Brennan's vigorous defense of drone strikes to kill terror suspects - even American citizens - overseas is causing key lawmakers to consider lifting secrecy from what has become an important weapon in the fight against al-Qaida.

A criminal investigation is under way after a hacker apparently accessed private photos and emails sent between members of the Bush family, including both former presidents.

A storm poised to dump up to 3 feet of snow from New York City to Boston and beyond beginning Friday could be one for the record books, forecasters warned, as residents scurried to stock up on food and water and road crews readied salt and sand.

A bipartisan quartet of senators, including two National Rifle Association members and two with "F" ratings from the potent firearms lobby, are quietly trying to find a compromise on expanding the requirement for gun-sale background checks.

Illegal immigrants might face around a 10-year wait to become legal permanent U.S. residents under sweeping immigration overhaul legislation taking shape in the Senate, negotiators said Thursday. That's shorter than some current wait times though longer than some advocates might like.

Nominated to head the CIA, John Brennan told a protest-disrupted Senate confirmation hearing Thursday the United States remains at war with al-Qaida and other terrorists and is under "daily cyberattack" by foreign countries and others.

The Gwinnett Braves have awarded their $1,000 grant for the month of January to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Hall County.

WomenSource will host Motivating Women: Encouraging Professional and Personal Success with Fawn Germer next Tuesday, Feb. 12. Germer is a best-selling author, international speaker, and four-time Pulitzer entrant.

Looming across-the-board budget cuts present the U.S. military with the most significant readiness crisis in more than a decade and quick action is needed to avoid the spending reductions, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta warned during testimony Thursday before the Senate Armed Services Committee.