North Korea says it tested H-bomb to widespread skepticism
By FOSTER KLUG South Korea (AP) — Soon after the ground shook around its nuclear testing facility, North Korea trumpeted its first hydrogen bomb test — a self-proclaimed “H-bomb of…
Natural disasters
Large storm brings twisters, floods, now snow and ice
By DAVID WARREN and REESE DUNKLIN Residents surveyed the destruction from deadly tornadoes in North Texas as the same storm system brought winter woes to the Midwest on Monday, amplifying…
Mexico braces for strongest hurricane in Western hemisphere
By CHRISTOPHER SHERMAN Hurricane Patricia headed toward southwestern Mexico Friday as a monster Category 5 storm, the strongest ever in the Western Hemisphere that forecasters said could make a “potentially…
Mud covers highways, strands drivers in Southern California
By CHRISTINE ARMARIO and AMANDA LEE MYERS Emergency crews shoveled head-high mounds of mud from parts of two important highways in the mountains and desert north of Los Angeles on…
Puerto Rico braces for Erika after 4 killed in Dominica
By DANICA COTO and CARLISLE JNO BAPTISTE Tropical Storm Erika lashed Puerto Rico early Friday with heavy rains and wind after killing four people and causing devastating floods in the…
X-rays unlock secrets of ancient scrolls buried by volcano
By FRANK JORDANS Scientists have succeeded in reading parts of an ancient scroll that was buried in a volcanic eruption almost 2,000 years ago, holding out the promise that the…
Record 6 million turn out for pope’s final day in Manila
By NICOLE WINFIELD and TERESA CEROJANO A crowd estimated at a record 6 million people by officials poured into Manila’s rain-soaked streets and its biggest park Sunday as Pope Francis…
Pope strongly defends church teaching against contraception
By NICOLE WINFIELD and OLIVER TEVES Pope Francis issued his strongest defense yet of church teaching opposing artificial contraception on Friday, using a rally in Asia’s largest Catholic nation to…