NEW YORK (CNN) -- Civil rights lawyers filed papers in federal court Monday seeking to prohibit the New York Police Department's surveillance of Muslim communities when there is no evidence that they are linked to terrorism or other illegal activities.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A Justice Department memo determined the U.S. government can use lethal force against an American citizen overseas if the person is a senior operational leader of al Qaeda or one of its affiliates, according to a document posted on the NBC News website.

MIDLAND CITY, Alabama (CNN) -- The rescue of a kindergartner from the underground bunker where he had been held for almost a week was precipitated by concerns the kidnapper's mental state was in sudden decline, a law enforcement source close to the investigation said Tuesday.

(CNN) -- Potential changes which could end the ban on gay boy scouts signal "a challenge to the Scouts' very nature," conservative activist and former Sen. Rick Santorum wrote Monday.

(CNN) -- Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid called for more revenue Sunday as a solution for the nation's budgetary problems.

(CNN) -- It may not have been a great game until after the lights went out and came back up, but the Super Bowl showdown Sunday night created quite a few memorable moments on the field and off, even before kickoff.

Anonymous tipster accuses Sen. Robert Menedez of hiring protitutes. He denies it saying attack is politically motivated

Republicans are using the slow economy to criticize President Obamas performance on jobs.

The Alabama man who shot bus driver Charles Poland and kidnapped a five-year-old boy has been identified by neighbors and news outlets around Midland City as Jimmy Lee Dykes, 65, a Vietnam veteran and a retired truck driver.

CHICAGO (CNN) -- The family of a Chicago teenager killed just a week after she performed in President Barack Obama's inauguration supports using her death to help shape the debate over gun control, her father and godfather said Thursday.