Voters in Portland, Ore., defeated a measure on Tuesday to add fluoride to the water supply by a 60-to-40 percent margin.    

Timothy P. Murray said on Wednesday that he would resign on June 2, a move that surprised the political establishment there.    

James E. Holmes, charged with murder in the mass shootings in a Colorado movie theater, had received six packages from an online ammunition dealer before the attacks, unsealed documents revealed.    

Boy Scout leaders from around the country were to hold a vote by secret ballot on Thursday on a landmark proposal to allow gay youths but not gay adult leaders.    

The suspect, Sgt. First Class Michael McClendon, sometimes videotaped West Point cadets when they were in the shower, officials said.    

Representative Stephen Fincher, Republican of Tennessee, collected nearly $3.5 million in subsidies from 1999 to 2012, an environment group found.    

The move singled out schools that officials said were half empty after population losses, but that opponents said targeted low-income minority communities.    

Some Oklahoma residents say storm shelters are life-savers, but others see problems with the structures and prefer to ride out the rough winds in their homes.    

In a widening scandal over a political donor, Virginia’s attorney general appointed an outside prosecutor to investigate Gov. Bob McDonnell’s financial disclosures.    

Lois Lerner, the official who disclosed that the Internal Revenue Service had targeted conservative groups, denied that she had misled Congress.    

Even as their student bodies have become poorer, many community colleges are “receiving minimal federal support,” said a senior fellow at the group publishing a new report.    

President Obama will travel to Oklahoma on Sunday to inspect the damage from Monday’s deadly tornado, which left two dozen people dead, and meet with victims from the ravaged communities, the White House announced on Wednesday.    

Patterns of barium in the fossil tooth of a child indicate that breast-feeding ended after 1.2 years, researchers say — much sooner than in modern nonindustrial populations.    

Analysis of buildings that were severely damaged or destroyed.    

Political coverage over the last week has focused on a series of stories that reflect negatively on the executive branch, but President Obama’s approval ratings have held steady.    

The National Weather Service said on Tuesday that the tornado was a category EF5, the most powerful category of tornado.    

First, the jet stream caused a cold snap by bringing Arctic air farther south than normal, but when it shifted north, it allowed tornado-causing moist air to move into the Midwest    

In states like Oklahoma and Missouri, tornadoes are a seasonal threat, but government regulation and the expense of shelters rankle.    

Leaders of the Tea Party movement hope outrage over the I.R.S. inquiry will rekindle grass-roots activism that in many places went dormant after Republican electoral defeats in 2012.    

In an address on Thursday, President Obama will attempt to lay out his justification for drone strikes, which have been in decline since 2010, and what they have achieved.