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The Justice Department has a big decision to make. Parts of new laws in Colorado and Washington that legalize recreational marijuana take effect next month. The Obama administration must decide whether it will sue to stop that or let the states go their own way, despite federal law.

Republicans easily maintained their hold on the House, while missteps from Tea Party favorites helped Democrats retain a majority in the Senate.That means the two chambers of Congress remain deeply divided, with prospects for agreement on such big-ticket items as deficits, tax rates and climate change unclear.

Back in 1984, Congress gave authorities the power to let people out of federal prison early, in extraordinary circumstances, like if inmates were gravely ill or dying. But a new report says the Federal Bureau of Prisons blocks all but a few inmates from taking advantage of "compassionate release."

Eleven people were killed and one of the largest environmental disasters in history happened after an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico exploded in 2010.

The FBI review of sensitive email messages between former CIA Director David Petraeus and his biographer-mistress Paula Broadwell has been raising big questions about Big Brother. One of them: When can federal law enforcement review a person's private communications?

As he retires and heads into the private sector, Shawn Henry looks back at the growth in the cybercrime problem.

Federal prosecutors have charged five men with responsibility for some of the biggest computer hacks in the past few years. The FBI says the hackers penetrated the computer systems of businesses like Fox Broadcasting and Sony Pictures, stole confidential information and splashed it all over the Internet.

Amid a funding crunch, legal aid programs that help poor people with civil disputes — like evictions and child custody cases — are laying off workers or even closing their doors. At one Baltimore office, lawyers say the number of people needing help has gone through the roof in recent years.

At the trial of John Edwards on Thursday, attention turned to the actual jury and its verdict. It was a switch from earlier days, when alternates dubbed the "giggle gang" stole the show. Their actions were relatively benign, but there is precedent for shenanigans in the jury pool at U.S. trials.

Edward P. Sullivan had been transferred out of the unit after the case against Sen. Ted Stevens fell apart. He's "been vindicated," his lawyer says.