WASHINGTON (AP) — The night of smoke, chaos, gunfire and grenades that killed four Americans in Benghazi, Libya, is well-documented. Eight months later, it is the decisions made back in Washington that remain murky and in perpetual dispute.

BEIRUT (AP) — A Syrian group that tracks the country's civil war says 23 fighters from the militant group Hezbollah have been killed in fierce clashes in a strategic town near the Lebanese border.

By Frank Jack Daniel NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Chinese Premier Li Keqiang is seeking to build trust with India on his first foreign trip since taking office, which comes just a few weeks after a military standoff between the Asian giants on their ill-defined border in the Himalayan mountains. The number two in the Chinese leadership offered India a "handshake across the Himalayas" in an editorial published on Monday in The Hindu newspaper and said that together the emerging economic giants could become a new engine of the world economy. ...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State John Kerry is heading back to the Middle East this week to press his case for peace talks between Syrian rebels and President Bashar Assad's regime amid increasing signs the new U.S. strategy to halt the war is being undermined by Russia.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate Judiciary Committee is aiming this week to pass a landmark immigration bill to secure the border and offer citizenship to millions, setting up a high-stakes debate on the Senate floor.

By Chris Francescani (Reuters) - A massive storm front swept north through the central United States on Sunday, hammering the region with fist-sized hail, blinding rain and tornadoes, including a half-mile wide twister that struck near Oklahoma City. News reports said at least one person had died. By 9:30 p.m. Central Standard Time, more than two dozen tornadoes had been spotted in parts of Iowa, Oklahoma, Kansas and Illinois, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and local news reports. ...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former general Thein Sein on Monday becomes the first Myanmar president to be welcomed to the White House in almost 47 years, crowning a dramatic diplomatic rehabilitation for his nation after years of international isolation.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Associated Press' president and chief executive says the government's secret seizure of two months of reporters' phone records has already had a chilling effect on newsgathering, a week after the subpoenas were revealed publicly.

BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian state media say army units have pushed deeper into a strategic town near the Lebanese border and are fighting street battles with the rebels.

SHAWNEE, Okla. (AP) — Hearing on the radio that a violent storm was approaching her rural Oklahoma neighborhood, Lindsay Carter took advantage of the advanced warning, gathered her belongings and fled. When she returned, there was little left of the community she called home.

WASHINGTON (AP) — More than 85,000 veterans were treated last year for injuries or illness stemming from sexual abuse in the military, and 4,000 sought disability benefits, underscoring the staggering long-term impact of a crisis that has roiled the Pentagon and been condemned by President Barack Obama as "''shameful and disgraceful."

NEW DELHI (AP) — China's new premier said Monday he chose India for his first foreign visit because cooperation between the world's two most populous nations is crucial to world stability and economic growth.

PHOENIX (AP) — Jodi Arias returns to court Monday for the continuation of the penalty phase of her trial after being convicted of first-degree murder in the killing of her one-time lover as jurors consider a sentence of life in prison or execution.

BOSTON (AP) — The Bruins know a huge deficit can disappear quickly. They overcame one to reach the second round of the playoffs.

IRVING, Texas (AP) — Sang-Moon Bae led by four strokes in the final round of the Byron Nelson Championship when his tee shot at the ninth hole went way left.

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Mike Conley wouldn't let Zach Randolph take the blame for the Memphis Grizzlies' blowout loss in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals.

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Miguel Cabrera never had a night like this last season when he won baseball's first Triple Crown in 45 years.

By Joe Brock MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (Reuters) - Nigeria offered an amnesty on Sunday to Islamist militants who surrender and said 17 people had been killed on the fifth day of a military operation to try to crush the Boko Haram insurgency in the northeast. In their biggest offensive since the insurgency began in 2009, Nigerian forces are trying to chase well-armed militants out of territory they control in remote semi-deserts around Lake Chad, along the borders with Cameroon, Chad and Niger. ...

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has a suggestion for commuters who manage to make it to work in New York City from southwest Connecticut: You might want to stay put in the Big Apple — all week.

By David Lewis BAMAKO (Reuters) - After winning adulation across Mali for a five month military offensive that crushed al Qaeda fighters, France is now frustrating some of its allies by pushing for a political settlement with a separate group of Tuareg rebels. A standoff over how to restore Malian government authority to Kidal, the last town in the desert north yet to be brought under central control, is sowing resentment with Paris and could delay planned elections to restore democracy after a coup. ...

NEW YORK (AP) — The Long Island college student was being held in a headlock by a masked intruder with a loaded gun to her head, police said. Then the gunman took aim at an officer.

SOCHI, Russia (AP) — The cost of the 2014 Winter Games in the Russian city of Sochi now stands at $51 billion, making it the most expensive Olympics in history. More than half of the bill is being footed by Russian state-controlled companies and business tycoons. A look at what the major players are building in Sochi: