KRGV.com

WASHINGTON (AP) Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is expected to announce Thursday that the Pentagon is lifting its ban on women serving in combat. Defense officials say the policy shift will open hundreds of thousands of front-line and potentially elite commando jobs to women. Some of the positions may open as soon as this year, but others may take longer.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) North Korea is once again issuing warnings, some of them directed at the U.S. The regime says it's prepared to conduct a nuclear test and carry out more long-range rocket launches. The latest threat follows Tuesday's condemnation by the U.N. Security Council of the isolated nation for a December rocket launch.

WASHINGTON (AP) Vice President Joe Biden will be going online Thursday to field questions about the administration's gun control campaign. Biden will take questions on Google Hangout, an interactive video chat. On Friday, he heads to Virginia to promote efforts to stem gun violence. Virginia has maintained an avidly pro-gun tradition.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) A pastor in New Mexico says it's a time when even people of faith scratch their heads and wonder why. About 2,000 people attended a vigil at an Albuquerque church for a family of five shot to death on Saturday. Police suspect a 15-year-old of killing his parents and three younger siblings. Officials say the teen used two rifles, one of them a military-style semi-automatic.

LOS ANGELES (AP) Los Angeles police say a fourth-grade teacher has been arrested and charged with sexual abuse of 20 students and one adult. Bail has been set at $12 million for Robert Pimental. He was arrested Wednesday but left his position at a Los Angeles elementary at the onset of an investigation in March. Police say the abuse happened at school.