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WASHINGTON (AP) President Barack Obama has used the State of the Union speech to say the nation has "cleared away from the rubble of crisis" and that the economy is showing clear signs of improvement. But Obama said a complete recovery is an "unfinished task." He called on Congress to fund job creation and to hike the minimum wage.

WASHINGTON (AP) President Barack Obama has challenged congressional leaders to allow votes on gun control proposals developed in the wake of the Connecticut school massacre. Obama made the appeal during his State of the Union address. Lawmakers invited survivors and relatives of gun violence including wounded former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.

WASHINGTON (AP) The massive manhunt for a former Los Angeles police officer suspected of a killing rampage is apparently over. Law enforcement officials say a man matching Christopher Dorner's description fled from a stolen vehicle, ran to a mountain cabin and wounded two deputies, one fatally. A law enforcement official tells The AP that a charred body has been found in the cabin, which burned down. Other law enforcement officials say a body has yet to be located.

MCALLEN, Texas (AP) The family of a U.S. agent killed in a 2011 ambush on a Mexican highway and another agent who survived the attack have both sued the government and nearly two-dozen other defendants. Those named in the lawsuit include the agents' supervisors and the company that armored their SUV.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) A New Zealand coroner says soft-drink makers should consider adding health warnings after he concluded a 2-gallon-a-day Coca-Cola habit was a "substantial factor" in a 31-year-old woman's 2010 death. Coke disputes the findings. And a New Zealand food industry association says no labels would have prevented the death of somebody who chose to drink the equivalent of 30 cans of soda a day.