US Top Stories from Associated Press (AP)

The State Department said Secretary of State John Kerry briefly boarded his private yacht at the same time of the Egypt's military ouster of President Mohammed Morsi , a drastic switch from denials earlier this week that Mr. Kerry was ever aboard the boat.

As a new interim president of Egypt was sworn in Thursday, President Obama met with his national-security team at the White House to review the situation and to warn Egypt's interim government away from retaliation against its former Muslim Brotherhood leaders.

Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh is predicting a surge in tea party turnout for the 2014 elections, and if Republicans were smart, they'd open their arms. "You could welcome them into the fold," he said, Newsmax reported. "You could build a movement around them."

Come Jan. 1, 2014, 17-year-olds in Illinois will be allowed to vote in primary elections. Gov. Pat Quinn signed a bill into law on Wednesday giving the minors the right to cast primary ballots, so long as they will turn 18-years-old by the time the general election rolls around, the Chicago Tribune reported.

NEW YORK (AP) , Joey Chestnut has downed 69 franks and devoured his own record in the annual Coney Island hot dog eating contest. The San Jose, Calif., man known as Jaws scarfed down the dogs and buns to win the Fourth of July men's contest. He takes home $10,000 and a mustard-yellow champion's belt.

NEW YORK , The Black Widow of competitive eating has narrowly defended her title. Sonya Thomas, of Alexandria, Va., devoured 36 and three-quarters hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes to win the women's competition at the annual Fourth of July Coney Island event. The 100-pound Thomas went toe-to-toe with Juliet Lee with a second to spare. Lee ate 36 dogs.

The Obama administration this week turned down the request of 367,000 petitioners and refused to label Westboro Baptist Church a hate group. The reason? It's not the government's role to designate the church , a 50-member unit that pickets funerals with signs that denounce homosexuality , as a hate group, CNN reported.

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) , Senior Republican Sen. John McCain is visiting American troops in Afghanistan to celebrate the Fourth of July holiday. He presided over a reenlistment ceremony for about a half dozen U.S. soldiers in Kabul on Thursday.

Ariel Castro, the Ohio suspect indicted on 329 counts of kidnapping and rape for the decade-long imprisonment of three Cleveland-area women, asked a judge on Wednesday if he could visit with the girl he fathered with one of his captives. The girl is now 6 years old. Her mother is Amanda Berry.

The U.S. Postal Service has two key programs with the federal government aimed at rooting out terrorism that track and record data on all mail that travels through its offices. The New York Times reported on a U.S. Postal Service "mail cover" program that's been in place for decades.

A woman whose car was swallowed by a sinkhole in Toledo said she kept calling on Jesus to save her , and he did. Firefighters are "my guardian angels," said 60-year-old Pamela Knox, who was driving her Chevrolet Malibu on Wednesday when the ground suddenly opened, NPR reported.

France is pushing to put a temporary stop to trade talks between the European Union and the United States until the Obama administration releases more details about the National Security Agency's surveillance program.

The Edward Snowden affair created something of an international incident Tuesday when the Bolivian president's plane was rerouted to Austria over concerns that the NSA leaker might be onboard. The ...

Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi refused to resign Wednesday and a top adviser described developments in the North African nation as a "military coup," as a military deadline to defuse the political crisis expired. Mr.

A furious Bolivian government accused Austria of "kidnapping" President Evo Morales after authorities on Wednesday boldly searched his plane, accusing him of hiding U.S. fugitive and NSA information leaker Edward Snowden. A Bolivian diplomat also weaved America into the picture, alleging that Austrian authorities were acting at the order of the United States, Reuters reported.