TRONA, Calif. – The U.S. Geological Survey says a magnitude-4.6 earthquake has shaken a remote area of the Mojave Desert in Southern California. The 1:21 p.m. Monday tremor southeast of the community of Trona is the latest of a number of small earthquakes that have occurred around Southern California over …

UNITED NATIONS – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said peacekeepers in Darfur are facing increasing threats from fighting in the vast western province and along the Chad-Sudan border, and from a spate of kidnappings. In a report to the U.N. Security Council circulated Monday, the U.N. chief also criticized the failure of …

BEIJING – Rescuers working in frigid cold and darkness tried to reach 66 people believed trapped a third of a mile (half a kilometer) underground after a huge gas explosion Saturday ripped through a coal mine in northern China, killing at least 42 people. The pre-dawn blast at the state-run …

GEORGETOWN, S.C. – Federal safety investigators found no indication that a medical helicopter malfunctioned before crashing, killing all three crew members on board, and hope to find witnesses who saw it come down in coastal South Carolina. National Transportation Safety Board member Robert Sumwalt said Sunday all major portions of …

ACORN — the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now — bills itself as the nation’s largest grassroots community organization of low- and moderate-income people, with more than 400,000 member families organized within 1,200 neighborhood chapters in 110 cities across the U.S. Among other priorities, the organization strives for improved …

“The Wonder Years” star Danica McKellar grew up on television as Winnie Cooper, the girl next door to Kevin Arnold, played by Fred Savage. But now, at 48, McKellar looks as youthful as ever, and reveals the secret to her age-defying looks is simpler than expected. “I don’t have any …

A solo hiker was rescued from California’s High Sierras earlier this month after he slipped and broke his leg in a fall while trying to cross a snowfield without proper gear, officials said. The hiker had attempted to ascend Shepherd Pass on Sept. 8 but found the trail covered by …

A shooting in Tampa, Florida, killed at least two people and injured 18 more after a fight broke out between two groups on a street crowded with hundreds of people during Halloween celebrations early Sunday, authorities said. The shooting happened just before 3 a.m. near a strip of bars and …

DETROIT – The Mid-Amercian Conference has agreed to a six-year deal with the new Quick Lane Bowl in Detroit to be the game’s back league if the Big Ten or Atlantic Coast Conference cannot fill one of its spots. The first Quick Lane Bowl will be played Dec. 26 at …

CLEVELAND – Browns Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown says his 1964 NFL championship ring being auctioned online was stolen from him. Brown’s ring is up for bidding on www.lelands.com until July 25. As of Monday, the highest bid was for $33,275. Brown tells cleveland.com that a claim by …