Vote-by-mail ballots go out this week in the nation's most populous state, forcing presidential campaigns to consider using scarce dollars to lure early California voters while contests unfold in New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada. More than half the total votes in California's Feb. 5 primary...

Howling winds, pelting rain and heavy snow pummeled California on Friday, toppling trees, flipping big rigs, cutting power to more than a million people and threatening mudslides in fire-scarred areas. Flights were grounded in Northern California as gusts reached 80 mph during the second wave of an...

Homeowners still struggling to rebuild their lives after last fall's wildfires are preparing for downpours that could bring more than a foot of rain to some mudslide-prone mountain canyons. A trio of rainstorms -- possibly the most rain the region has seen in three years -- is expected to hit Southern...

Police used tear gas, water cannons and batons Thursday to block thousands of people from protesting Kenya's disputed election amid a political deadlock between the president and his chief rival. The U.S. and Europe pushed for reconciliation, but said a ''made-in-Kenya solution'' is needed to end...

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- Presidential candidates are making a final plea to Iowans: turn out for tomorrow's caucuses. Democrat Barack Obama says the ''only thing that counts'' is showing up. And Republican Mike Huckabee is urging followers to ''rent a van'' or even ''hijack your church's bus'' to get...

Kenya's opposition leader rejected a presidential invitation for talks, saying Tuesday that the proposal would undermine international attempts to end an election standoff that has left more than 500 people dead. The president named his Cabinet, undeterred by accusations he stole the vote. The developments...

NEW YORK - New Year's Eve revelers converged on Times Square to watch the dropping of a new energy-efficient ball, while gay couples in New Hampshire awaited the stroke of midnight to take advantage of a new law allowing civil unions. Pedestrians started crowding the Times Square area even before the...

GARHI KHUDA BAKHSH, Pakistan - Hundreds of thousands of mourners thronged the mausoleum of Pakistan's most famous political dynasty on Friday in an outpouring of emotion for Benazir Bhutto. The government said al-Qaida and the Taliban were responsible for her death, claiming it intercepted an al-Qaida...

CALANG, Indonesia (AP) -- Survivors prayed at mass graves and mosques Wednesday to mark the third anniversary of the Asian tsunami, while warning sirens sent hundreds fleeing beaches during a drill to test an alert network established since the disaster. The waves on the morning of Dec. 26, 2004,...

By CHRIS TOMLINSON Associated Press Writer NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) -- To judge how far aid has helped Africa along the road to prosperity, just look down at the pavement -- or the lack of it. The most important highway in East Africa starts at the Indian Ocean port of Mombasa. Tens of thousands of...

PARADISE, Calif. (AP) -- A man who was lost in the mountains along with his three children for three days during a snowstorm said he was terrified they wouldn't make it out alive, but he remained strong for his children and relied on his faith. Frederick Dominguez and the children, who vanished while...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Congress on Wednesday passed a long-stalled bill inspired by the Virginia Tech shootings that would more easily flag prospective gun buyers who have documented mental health problems. The measure also would help states with the cost. Passage by voice votes in the House and Senate...