CONGRESS

WASHINGTON — Republicans take complete control of Congress for the first time in eight years and run straight into a confrontation with President Barack Obama over one of the top priorities on their legislative agenda — approval to build a hotly debated Canada-US oil pipeline. AP Photos. AP Video.

With: CONGRESS-GLANCE.

OBAMA

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama's approval rating is creeping upward. His challenge now is figuring out how to prevent this burst of momentum from being more than just a blip on the radar. By White House Correspondent Julie Pace. AP Photos.

UNITED STATES-ISLAMIC STATE

WASHINGTON — The U.S. military discloses that it is investigating alleged civilian casualties from two airstrikes in Syria and Iraq last year, and that it has dismissed 13 other allegations of civilian casualties from airstrikes. By Robert Burns and Lolita C. Baldor.

UNITED STATES-MEXICO

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama pledges to stand with Mexico against "the scourge of violence and the drug cartels" as he met with President Enrique Pena Nieto amid concern over the unsolved abduction of 43 Mexican college students last September. By Nedra Pickler. AP Photos.

MEXICO-VIGILANTES

MEXICO CITY — Federal troops and police engaged in two clashes with armed civilians in a western Mexico city Tuesday, and nine civilians were killed, the federal security commissioner for Michoacan state says.

UNITED STATES-KONY

WASHINGTON — U.S. forces in Africa have taken into custody a man claiming to be a top member of Lord's Resistance Army, the Obama administration says, saying the defection could be a "historic blow" to Joseph Kony's nearly three-decade rebellion. By Bradley Klapper and Abdi Guled. AP Photos.

AVERAGE MOHAMED

ST. PAUL, Minnesota. — In the war for young people's hearts and minds, Mohamed Ahmed hopes to use cartoons to dissuade a generation raised on "The Simpsons" and "South Park" from taking up arms for the Islamic State group and other extremist causes. By Jeff Baenen. AP Photos.

REPUBLICANS-2016-BUSH

WASHINGTON — Republican Jeb Bush announces the formation of a political action committee designed to lay the groundwork for a 2016 presidential campaign. By Steve Peoples. AP Photo.

FORMER GOVERNOR TRIAL

RICHMOND, Virginia — Former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, once on the short list to be Mitt Romney's vice presidential running mate during the 2012 presidential race, is sentenced to two years in federal prison for taking bribes to promote a dietary supplement. By Larry O'Dell and Alan Suderman. AP Photos.

DRONE REVOLUTION

BOULEVARD, California — The drones are coming, to help spray crops, inspect high-voltage power lines, hover over movie sets and many other jobs. But for now, these and other ideas remain theoretical. Except for a few locations, U.S. airspace is closed to commercial drones because regulators want to go slow easing unmanned aircraft into the already crowded skies. Advocates of the young drone industry complain that the long wait is keeping them grounded. Big-money investors are generally staying away, and the blanket flight prohibition has prevented companies from experimenting. By Scott Mayerowitz. AP Photos.

With: DRONE REVOLUTION-INVENTORS; DRONE REVOLUTION-PREVENTING CRASHES; DRONE REVOLUTION-CHINESE PIONEER; DRONE REVOLUTION-20 USES.

BOSTON MARATHON BOMBING

BOSTON — The question of whether Boston Marathon suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev receives a death sentence will be all but decided during jury selection which is now under way, jury consultants and other legal experts say. By Legal Affairs Writer Denise Lavoie. AP Photos. AP Video.

VENEZUELA TEXTBOOK PROPAGANDA

CARACAS, Venezuela — Students here study math by calculating the benefits of government land takeovers. They practice English by reciting where late President Hugo Chavez was born and learn civics by explaining why the elderly should give him thanks.Pro-administration messages scattered through the pages of Venezuela's textbooks have become yet another point of conflict in this hyper-polarized country, where Chavez's socialist party won a bare majority in the presidential elections of 2013. By Hannah Dreier. AP Photos.

VENEZUELA-FRENCH FRY SHORTAGE

CARACAS, Venezuela — Forget the French fries. How about a side of yuca with that Big Mac? Venezuela's more than 100 McDonald's franchises have run out of potatoes and are now serving alternatives like deep-fried arepa flatbreads or yuca, a starchy staple of traditional South American cooking. McDonald's is blaming a contract dispute with West Coast dock workers for halting the export of frozen fries to the country. By Hannah Dreier. AP Photos.

NYPD-SLOWDOWN DEBATE

NEW YORK — A steep decline in the number of arrests in New York City suggests that a rumored work slowdown has taken hold amid discord between police rank and file and Mayor Bill de Blasio. By Tom Hays. AP Photos.