JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md. (AP) — Blending solemn tradition with joyous reunion, the top commander of U.S. forces in Iraq returned home to U.S. soil Tuesday, greeted by his wife and his president in an understated ceremony to mark the end of the nine-year conflict.

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — The state medical examiner's office has ruled that the death of a Florida A&M University drum major last month was a homicide after concluding that the student was severely beaten in a hazing incident and died within an hour.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congressional investigators said Monday that four House members received VIP discounted loans from the former Countrywide Financial Corp., the lender whose subprime mortgages was largely responsible for the nation's foreclosure crisis.

ATLANTA (AP) — The fallout from the death of a Florida A&M University drum major broadened Wednesday to nearly two dozen high schools in Georgia, where marching band activities were suspended over concerns of "inappropriate physical activity" between band mates.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Attorney General Eric Holder vowed Tuesday to fully enforce civil rights protections in next year's elections amid a flurry of activity by states to redraw political boundaries and impose requirements that could reduce voting by minorities who enthusiastically supported Barack Obama in the 2008 election.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Tech giant Google announced Wednesday it is donating $11.5 million to several coalitions fighting to end the modern-day slavery of some 27 million people around the world.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Donna and Patrick Festa, a working-class couple in Scranton, Pa., and Jack Rosen, an affluent businessman from New York's Upper East Side, live worlds apart.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Homelessness among the nation's veterans declined by about 12 percent during a one-year period ending January 2011, the Obama administration says.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Three Florida A&M band members were charged Monday in the beating of a woman during hazing rituals that became so severe that her thigh was broken, police said. The beatings came about three weeks before drum major Robert Champion was killed during a band trip to Orlando. Police say hazing also was involved.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama heralded the end of the divisive Iraq war Monday, and warned Iraq's neighbors that the United States would remain a major player in the region even as it brings its troops home.