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Cities across the country saw sharp drops in violent crime rates in 2013. For some big cities, murder rates reached historic lows. The numbers reflect a decades-long decline, which shows that plenty of neighborhoods in urban areas are safe while some remain troubled by violent crime.

Steve Tran of Northern California had a big winner sitting on top of a drawer and didn't know it. When he finally got around to checking the ticket, though, he realized his life had changed.

There's no hot air left in Washington? We suspect that while reading about the record-breaking temperatures expected to sweep across much of the nation, you can come up with some funnier ways to answer our question.

After decades of war in Afghanistan, the country has thousands of orphans. One home for these children ended up with an improbable benefactor — an Iranian-American who came to Kabul to do rule of law development work, and stumbled into a side project working with disabled orphans.

Emergency unemployment insurance expired Dec. 28 for an estimated 1.3 million Americans. That includes more than 220,000 Californians. They responded with everything from returning Christmas presents for cash to packing up and leaving the state. Congress could still renew these emergency benefits, as they have multiple times since 2008.

Last year in Massachusetts, chemist Annie Dookhan was sent to prison for falsifying drug tests. Her misconduct tainted thousands of cases, and was one of the largest crime lab scandals in U.S. history. Critics say it raises a larger question: Do forensic analysts serve the truth, or the prosecution?

While the East Coast is digging out from a major winter storm, California is praying for rain. The state just finished one of the driest years on record, and that has water managers, farmers and others worried.

The Polar Star, a Coast Guard cutter, is expected to take seven days to reach the 123 crew members still stuck on the Russian and Chinese vessels. Meanwhile, the 52 scientists and paying passengers who were trapped aboard the Russian vessel are on their way home.

Senate Democrats will ring in the New Year with a vote on a three-month extension of benefits for the long-term unemployed. Benefits for those jobless for more than six months expired on Dec. 28. Prospects for a revival of benefits are uncertain at best in the Senate, and the measure faces even bigger hurdles in the House.

In the biggest city in Latin America, the pickings are pretty slim for local, organic food: The city has just 20 organic farmers' markets. But many Brazilian farmers rely heavily on pesticides, and health-conscious consumers are starting to seek alternatives.