OBAMA-GUNS

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama moves to require all gun sellers to register as dealers — even those who sell at gun shows and online — and to run background checks on all prospective purchasers, aiming to curb a scourge of gun violence despite unyielding opposition to new gun laws in Congress. 

PRESIDENTIAL RACE-GUNS

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is making good on his pledge to politicize gun violence. The package of gun-control executive actions Obama will formally announce Tuesday has pushed the contentious issue to the forefront of the 2016 presidential campaign, just weeks from the Feb. 1 Iowa caucuses. While Republicans and Democrats are deeply divided on the issue, both parties see Obama's actions as an opportunity to generate enthusiasm among primary voters. 

UNITED STATES-SAUDI ARABIA

WASHINGTON — Concerned that inflamed tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia may threaten key foreign policy objectives in Iraq and Syria, among other places, the Obama administration toes a careful line in seeking to calm a diplomatic storm that many fear could lead the longtime regional rivals to direct sectarian conflict. 

UNITED STATES-SAUDI ARABIA

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration treads warily around inflamed tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia that threaten several key U.S. foreign policy objectives. 

PRESIDENTIAL RACE

BOONE, Iowa — Candidates vying to become America's next president roar out of the New Year's holiday in full force with less than a month to go before the state-by-state nominating contests begin. 

PRESIDENTIAL RACE-BILL CLINTON

NASHUA, New Hampshire — Former President Bill Clinton makes his debut solo appearance in New Hampshire on behalf of his wife, Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign — a lot grayer, a bit trimmer and far more subdued than nearly a quarter century ago when he rescued his flagging 1992 campaign in this key early voting state. 

PRESIDENTIAL RACE-TRUMP AD

MANCHESTER, New Hampshire — Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump is giving some of the most divisive proposals of his campaign a starring role in his first major television ad, as the unsettled race for the party's nomination swirls around security concerns. 

VENEZUELA-NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

CARACAS, Venezuela — The newly elected National Assembly, now dominated by opponents of Venezuela's socialist administration, is being sworn in Tuesday amid dueling street demonstrations, mutual accusations of subverting democracy, and a looming potential for violence. 

SOUTH CHINA SEA

WASHINGTON — The United States says that China's recent test of a newly completed runway on one of seven islands Beijing has constructed in the disputed South China Sea raises tensions and threatens regional stability. 

MEXICO-VIOLENCE

MEXICO CITY — A drug gang killed a newly installed mayor over the weekend as a warning to other officials to reject state police control of local cops and let cartels co-opt low-paid local officers, the governor of Morelos state says. 

AIR CRASHES-DEATHS

WASHINGTON — There were more airline deaths worldwide due to deliberate acts in 2015 than to accidental air crashes for the second year in a row, according to an industry tally. 

VOLKSWAGEN-EMISSIONS

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department sues Volkswagen over emissions-cheating software found in nearly 600,000 vehicles sold in the United States, potentially exposing the company to billions in fines for clean air violations. By Michael Biesecker and Eric Tucker.