For Kyle Snipes, the Davidson Trust financial aid package was a deciding factor in his ability to attend a private university.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (MCT) — The State Department said Monday it was suspending operations at the U.S. Embassy in Syria’s capital because of growing safety risks and had removed the ambassador and all other American personnel.

SAN FRANCISCO (MCT) — A federal appeals court is expected to rule Tuesday on the constitutionality of Proposition 8, the 2008 ballot measure that banned gay marriage in California.

SEATTLE (MCT) — A case whose sad twists and turns perplexed authorities for more than two years took a last, tragic turn Sunday when what was left of missing Utah stockbroker Susan Powell’s family died in a powerful and apparently murderous fire.

KABUL, Afghanistan (MCT) — A car bomb exploded Sunday near police headquarters in the southern city of Kandahar, killing seven people and wounding at least 19, provincial officials said.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (MCT) — Sitting in his pew at St. Louis Catholic Church in Miami one recent Sunday, Sen. Marco Rubio heard the same homily as other parishioners who were urged by church leaders nationwide to contact Congress about the use of contraceptives.

CAIRO (MCT) — Americans working for pro-democracy groups in Egypt have been ordered to stand trial on criminal charges of receiving illicit funding, a move certain to further strain relations between Washington and Cairo’s ruling army generals.

BELGRADE, Serbia (MCT) — Subzero cold combined with snowstorms continued to claim lives across Europe, bringing the death toll to more than 280 by Sunday — most of the victims were in Ukraine, where 30 more people died over the weekend.

A panel of state judges’ decision not to delay the N.C. primary could have a significant effect on diversity at the N.C. General Assembly.

The announcement that California’s Claremont McKenna College had been falsely reporting SAT scores for the last six years has raised questions about the viability of college ranking systems.

Universities seeking to enroll more out-of-state students to maximize tuition revenue might be given more leeway if the UNC-system Board of Governors decides to alter its review process for enrollment.

JERUSALEM (MCT) — An Israeli government minister said Thursday that Iran is developing a missile that could strike targets more than 6,000 miles away and thus would be capable of reaching the East Coast of the United States.

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. (MCT) — Jesse Gutierrez wants to help Latino voters find their niche in the Grand Old Party. He uses a seven-question survey to peg people as liberal or conservative, believing he will help some Latinos discover they were always meant to be Republicans.

CAIRO (MCT) — Thousands of protesters marched on the Interior Ministry in Cairo as Egypt began three days of mourning Thursday for 74 people killed in a soccer riot that renewed anger against the nation’s police and ruling military council.

Former UNC-system President Erskine Bowles announced Thursday that he will not run for North Carolina governor.

President Barack Obama has proposed new measures to provide relief to university students and families struggling to pay skyrocketing tuition costs nationwide.

As the UNC system faces pervasive state budget cuts and tough choices to compensate for the loss, one of its allies in the legislature has announced the end of his political career.

Student protesters, who have opposed tuition increases since October, will likely have little influence when the UNC-system Board of Governors votes on tuition proposals on Feb. 10.

SAN JOSE, Calif. (MCT) — In a milestone for one of Silicon Valley’s hottest companies, Facebook on Wednesday filed papers announcing a $5 billion initial public offering of stock in the world’s biggest social networking business.

LAS VEGAS (MCT) — Republican presidential front-runner Mitt Romney engaged in a skirmish over the middle class with President Barack Obama’s campaign Wednesday, a preview of a clash that could dominate a fall campaign between the two.