JACKSON, Mississippi – An explosion tore through a paper mill Saturday after a boiler was inspected, killing a contract worker and injuring 17 others, the company said. The explosion occurred as a boiler at the International Paper mill was being started after an annual maintenance shutdown in Redwood, about 30 …

YANGON, Myanmar – International aid began to trickle into Myanmar on Tuesday, but the stricken Irrawaddy delta, the nation’s rice bowl where 22,000 people perished and twice as many are missing, remained cut off from the world. In the former capital of Yangon, soldiers from the repressive military regime were …

PHOENIX – A man accused of planning a massacre at this year’s Super Bowl was convicted Thursday of federal charges. Kurt Havelock, also known as ‘Drunkenstein,’ faced six counts of mailing threatening communications in U.S. District Court in Phoenix. Authorities alleged the 36-year-old Havelock bought an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle and …

NEW YORK – A man so fascinated with the city’s public transit system that he’s turned his life into a train wreck is in trouble again. Darius McCollum, who became a New York sensation when he commandeered a subway at age 15, was arrested Saturday after police found him in …

When she traveled to China with her son’s school choir, Teresa Cleary spent a fair amount of time worrying that a student under her supervision might become lost or ill. She didn’t consider another possible consequence: getting sued. A nearly $700,000 verdict against a chaperone of a cheerleading trip to …

MALAYSIA – Malaysia’s plan to use dogs to sniff out pirated DVDs suffered a setback after one of two Labradors trained for the task died of an unknown cause, officials said Monday. Authorities were investigating the cause of death but did not suspect foul play, said Mohamad Roslan Mahayuddin, an …

NBC said it has settled a lawsuit blaming the network for the suicide of a Texas prosecutor who was targeted in an undercover sting against alleged pedophiles as part of the “Dateline: To Catch a Predator” show. “The matter has been amicably resolved to the satisfaction of both parties,” NBC …

Spanish apes are one step closer to receiving the same rights to life and freedom humans have. The environmental committee of Spain’s parliament approved resolutions that urge the European country to comply with the Great Apes Project — a plan developed by philosophers and scientists who say the animals deserve …

BEIJING – China mobilized a 100,000-strong anti-terrorism force to guard against threats to the Beijing Olympics, the official Xinhua News Agency reported Thursday. Police commandos, specialist units and regular army troops made up the force, which was activated following a series of drills earlier this month, Xinhua said. It also …

HOUSTON – Several walls collapsed at a dormitory under construction at Rice University on Thursday, killing one worker and injuring seven others, fire officials said. The walls collapsed on the second floor around 4 p.m., trapping five construction workers, Assistant Fire Chief Omero Longoria said. “We had to dig them …