Flames ominously licked the ridge overlooking Big Sur, where firefighters and restaurant staff stayed behind to try to save two tourist landmarks.

Transportation corridors opened over and on the Mississippi River Wednesday as floodwaters continued to recede at a rapid pace.

A new climate model estimates that by 2100 high temperatures for once-in-a-generation heat waves will rise twice as fast as everyday average temperatures.

The children of rescued hostage Ingrid Betancourt embraced their mother for the first time in six years on Thursday.

Three U.S. hostages rescued from leftist guerrillas in Colombia were in good condition, military officials said.

Campaigning in North Dakota, Obama says his upcoming trip to Iraq could alter his plan to bring U.S. troops home within 16 months. The Illinois senator says it all depends on what he hears in consultations with military commanders there.

Police report an alarming rise in ATM thefts. Not thefts at ATMs —thefts of the entire machines themselves.