Avalanche kills at least 2 on Canadian mountain

Revelstoke, British Columbia -- An avalanche that killed at least two people at an informal snowmobile rally in Canada's Rocky Mountains may have been triggered by three daredevil sledders who apparently unleashed a deadly wall of snow on up to 200 people below, witnesses said Sunday. - 03/15/2010

China trims holdings of Treasury securities

Washington -- China retained its spot as the biggest foreign holder of U.S. Treasury debt in January although it trimmed its holdings for a third straight month. The string of declines is likely to underscore worries that the U.S. government could face much higher interest rates to finance soaring budget deficits. - 03/15/2010

Stalker of ESPN's Erin Andrews to get sentence today

Los Angeles -- The man convicted of stalking ESPN reporter Erin Andrews and shooting nude videos of her through a hotel room peephole faces sentencing in a Los Angeles courtroom Monday. - 03/15/2010

Juarez drug gang blamed for killing 3 with ties to U.S. consulate

Ciudad Juarez, Mexico -- Suspected drug gang hit men separately ambushed two cars carrying families with ties to the U.S. consulate in this violent border city, killing an American couple and a Mexican man. Three young children survived, although two suffered wounds. - 03/15/2010

Yemen launches new airstrikes on al-Qaida hideout

San'a, Yemen -- A senior Yemeni official says his nation's air force launched a second day of strikes against al-Qaida hideouts. - 03/15/2010

Taliban: Bombings a warning to NATO

Kandahar, Afghanistan -- The Taliban on Sunday called their deadly bomb attacks on the southern city of Kandahar a warning to NATO's top general that the insurgents were ready for the war's next major offensive in their heartland. - 03/15/2010

Iraqi PM leads in early results

Baghdad -- Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki edged ahead Sunday in a tight race in the country's parliamentary elections after partial results from all of Iraq's 18 provinces showed his bloc leading in seven -- two more than his chief rival. - 03/15/2010

Israeli organ donation plan resisted

Jerusalem -- Israel is launching a potentially trailblazing experiment in organ donation: Sign a donor card, and you and your family move up in line for a transplant if one is needed. - 03/15/2010

Rains latest harsh-weather assault on Northeast

Egg Harbor City, N.J. -- Last month, the Northeast was smothered by blizzards. Now, it's waterlogged by torrential rains. - 03/15/2010

Slayings in Mexico include 3 with U.S. consulate ties

Ciudad Juarez, Mexico -- Gunmen killed a U.S. consulate employee and her husband as they drove in this violent border city with their baby in the back seat, minutes after the husband of another consular employee was shot to death and his two children wounded, officials said Sunday. Security forces suspected a drug gang hit, but offered no motive. - 03/15/2010

Soldiers deploy for Thailand protesters

Bangkok -- Army reinforcements were rushed into Thailand's capital as tens of thousands of anti-government demonstrators marched today on a key military headquarters demanding that the government dissolve Parliament. - 03/15/2010

U.S. balks at apology from Israeli leader

Jerusalem -- Israel's prime minister expressed regret Sunday for a crisis with the United States over plans to expand a Jewish neighborhood in east Jerusalem, even as American officials played down the apology and called for bold Israeli action to get peace efforts back on track. - 03/15/2010

U.S. census forms arrive: What to expect

Washington -- Let the count begin. - 03/15/2010

Swiss designer creates dinosaur dung watch

Geneva -- A Swiss watchmaker is hoping to raise a stink with an expensive timepiece that eschews the trade's standard gold, diamond or titanium fittings for a more earthy substance -- dinosaur dung. - 03/15/2010

U.S. mom: Daughter held in Ireland 'lost her mind'

Leadville, Colo. -- Before her daughter disappeared last fall, Christina Mott recalls that the 31-year-old who had been held in connection with an alleged assassination plot announced she had converted to Islam and told them they'd go to hell if they didn't follow in her steps. - 03/14/2010

24 killed in western Mexico; 11 in one shootout

Acapulco, Mexico -- A series of shootings killed 24 people Saturday in a Pacific coast state plagued by drug gang violence. Nearly half died in one shootout between soldiers and armed men. - 03/14/2010

Sen. Brown criticizes Obama's 'destructive' health push

Washington -- Newly arrived Republican Sen. Scott Brown of Massachusetts accused President Barack Obama and Democrats on Saturday of a "bitter, destructive and endless" drive to pass health overhaul legislation that Brown warned would be disastrous. - 03/13/2010

Kissinger released from Seoul hospital

Seoul, South Korea -- Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger was released from a Seoul hospital Sunday after recovering from stomach pains, a hospital spokesman said. - 03/13/2010

Vatican officials defend pope on abuse

Vatican City -- The Vatican on Saturday denounced what it called aggressive attempts to drag Pope Benedict XVI into the spreading scandals of pedophile priests in his German homeland. - 03/13/2010

Dems close to health deal

Washington -- Under White House pressure to act swiftly, House and Senate Democratic leaders reached for agreement Friday on President Barack Obama's health care bill, sweetened suddenly by fresh billions for student aid and a sense that breakthroughs are at hand. - 03/13/2010

Court rejects link between autism, vaccine

Los Angeles -- The federal "vaccines court" ruled Friday in three separate cases that the mercury-containing preservative thimerosal does not cause autism, a finding that supports the broad scientific consensus on the matter but that greatly disappointed parents who are convinced that their child's illness was caused by vaccines. - 03/13/2010

Twin suicide bombs

Violence by militants surging in Pakistan

Lahore, Pakistan -- Two suicide bombers killed 43 people in near-simultaneous blasts Friday, the fourth major attack in Pakistan this week and a clear sign that militants have the power to strike targets despite months of army offensives and U.S. missile strikes. - 03/13/2010

Colo. mom says daughter held in Ireland in alleged terror plot

Denver -- Jamie Paulin-Ramirez was a straight-A nursing student when she abruptly left Colorado last fall with her 6-year-old son and turned up in Ireland, where her parents say she was arrested this week in an alleged plot to assassinate a Swedish cartoonist. - 03/13/2010

Fed issues warning for baby slings after deaths

Washington -- The government warned Friday that those chic baby slings that hip moms and dads are sporting these days can be dangerous, even deadly for their little ones. - 03/13/2010