Police say the man, a Jacksonville resident originally from Serbia, told investigators that a device in his luggage was "supposed to be a bomb, but it's not." The airport was closed for five hours on Tuesday. Travelers were still dealing with delays there Wednesday morning.

The best-selling writer of such military and espionage novels as The Hunt for Red October, Red Storm Rising and Patriot Games was 66.

The violent attack on an SUV driver who had been chased by dozens of motorcycle riders was caught on video. Police say the incident may have begun when the riders tried to block vehicles from getting on a parkway. When a driver tried to get away, his vehicle struck a rider.

As the pope begins a meeting with his Council of Cardinals, an Italian newspaper publishes a wide-ranging interview with him, in which the pontiff affirms separation of church and state and expounds on the nature of good and evil.

In addition to shutdowns of national parks (including Alcatraz and Yosemite) and the supplemental nutrition program for women, infants and children, the mandatory furloughs are affecting a wide range of government science and health agencies.

With a deadline of June 2014, the task of dismantling Syria's chemical weapons arsenal is in its early phases.

Votes related to the shutdown showdown have been almost strictly along party lines. Republican Reps. Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania and Peter King of New York, though, have staked out a "centrist" position different than others in their party.

Europe's Sakharov Prize recognizes people who fight for human rights. Other finalists this year include Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani schoolgirl who survived being shot in the head.

Scientists publishing in Astrophysical Journal Letters say they've used space telescopes to record faint light from the distant planet to get a rough map of its atmosphere.

The report found gains in fighting hunger and improving diets in several areas, including parts of East Asia, Southeastern Asia and Latin America.