GAZIANTEP, Turkey -- A Spanish newspaper has publicly announced that its reporter and a freelance photographer are currently being held captive after being kidnapped while inside Syria earlier this year.

The two reporters are Javier Espinosa, who is a correspondent for the paper, El Mundo, and freelance photographer Ricardo Garcia Vilanova.

MOSCOW (AP) — Expanding Russia's military presence in the Arctic region is among the top priorities for the nation's armed forces, President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday.

Speaking at a meeting with the top military brass, Putin said that Russia is "intensifying the development of that promising region" and needs to have "every lever for the protection of its security and national interests there.

Sarah – let’s call her that for this story, though it’s neither the name her parents gave her nor the one she currently uses undercover – is a tall, fair woman in her midtwenties who’s pretty in a stock, anonymous way, as if she’d purposely scrubbed her face and frame of distinguishing characteristics.

If policymakers want to improve students’ scores on international exams, they should start by bettering education options for their littlest learners.

That is part of the story told by a report released on Monday by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), an international group that promotes economic progress.

WASHINGTON -- As Republican candidates figure out how to best win over women voters, Iowa GOP Senate candidate Mark Jacobs thinks he has the answer: appeal to their emotions.

In an interview Sunday with WHO-TV in Des Moines, host Dave Price asked Jacobs what the "biggest difference between men and women" is, in terms of reaching out to them as voters.

Voters often lament that presidential candidates deliberately communicate to the electorate what the electorate wants to hear. Voters complain that candidates are simply weathervanes, afraid to speak their minds and hesitant to let voters know their true feelings for fear of electoral recrimination.

I love cars. The thrill, the power, the freedom and promise of an open road. I love Ayrton Senna and Mario Andretti and the great drivers. I love our heroic enthusiasts like Steve McQueen, James Dean, Paul Newman and am thinking about Paul Walker today.

You've heard this story before, the one that played out again the week of Thanksgiving--this time in Lakeland, Florida--where 2-year-old Taj Ayesh got his little hands on his father's loaded pistol, pulled the trigger, and crumpled to the ground.

I love Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace coursework. It put our family on stable financial footing years ago, and Amy and I never fight about financial matters any more. We find plenty of other things to fight about, but that's a different post, I suppose.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is pressuring Congress to act this year on a defense policy bill.

Army Gen. Martin Dempsey wrote to House and Senate leaders on Monday warning that allowing the defense bill to slip to January would add more uncertainty to the force and complicate the work of military commanders.

Former Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) said his son, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), will "probably" run for president in 2016.

"I think he probably will. I mean, he's been on TV hinting that he very well might," Paul told CNN on Monday.

Jon Stewart kicked off this week's "Daily Show" by shedding light on some truly odd reactions that some folks had about the passing of Nelson Mandela -- including at least one prominent Republican.

Though his "Viva Tancredo" slogan might have appeared to be an appeal to Latino voters, Colorado Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Tancredo risks repelling them again with his latest fundraising letter by controversial Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

LONDON (AP) — American and British intelligence operations have been spying on gamers across the world, media outlets reported, saying that the world's most powerful espionage agencies sent undercover agents into virtual universes to monitor activity in online fantasy games such as "World of Warcraft.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Sen. Mark Kirk has had his gallbladder removed.

The Highland Park Republican's office released a statement saying Kirk experienced stomach pains over the weekend and doctors determined he had gallstones.