WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates says he's worried there's a perception of the United States "disengaging" from global affairs.

Gates, who also once headed the CIA, says he recognizes the ocean-to-ocean diplomacy the Obama administration has been carrying out in the Mideast and Eastern Europe and other world hot spots like Africa.

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Europe's top human rights court ruled Thursday that Poland violated the rights of two terror suspects by allowing the CIA to secretly imprison them on Polish soil from 2002-2003 and facilitating the conditions under which they were subject to torture.

The mayor of Columbus, Ohio, has warned that Democrats could lose the battleground state and the presidential election to the GOP unless his city is awarded the party’s convention in 2016.

Historically, as temperatures rise, gun violence follows. Although we don't have to accept this as inevitable, that claim remains true in many areas of our city this year. So far, gun violence is up 8 percent, with 611 people shot within the five boroughs.

A few weeks ago I went to see Dinesh D'Souza's America: Imagine the World Without Her in hopes of viewing a film that would represent a significant intellectual contribution to the current policy debates plaguing the American psyche.

Friends, when a small group of parents and educators formed the Network for Public Education in 2013, we had a singular goal: to mobilize the allies of public education against the powerful forces supporting privatization and high-stakes testing.

This is from the 2014 Netroots Nation conference, held in Detroit, Michigan.

WASHINGTON -- Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) on Thursday unveiled a new, highly anticipated proposal to fight poverty.

"I want to talk about how we can expand opportunity in America," the former vice presidential candidate said at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank.

Unhappy fifth anniversary.

Thursday marks five years since the date of the last time Congress raised the federal minimum wage to a paltry $7.25 an hour. Since that time, the minimum wage has stayed flat, while the cost of living has marched steadily higher.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House cast the downing of two fighter jets in Ukraine on Wednesday as part of a pattern of Russian-backed separatists using Russian weapons to pose risks to aircrafts and further destabilize the conflict in the former Soviet republic.

The home life and work life balance is a struggle no matter who you are. For the millions of workers all around the country who don't have adequate flexibility in their jobs or employers who support and respect their needs, it's even harder.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Mayor Richard Berry will meet with top Navajo officials on Thursday about the killing of two homeless Native Americans who were found beaten beyond recognition in a vacant lot, his office said.

When I was growing up in Columbus, Ohio, I was lucky. My parents had good-paying jobs and while they had to balance their own budget at the kitchen table they never faced trade-offs between providing us with a meal or a coat to wear in cold Ohio winters.

* Israeli tank fire kills 16 Palestinians before dawn
* Kerry reports progress in ceasefire talks; Israel is mum
* U.S.

WASHINGTON -- When Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) joined Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in crafting a bill to restructure the Department of Veterans Affairs, he pleaded with his colleagues to not derail the compromise.