Kelvin Cochran is a decorated firefighter. He is also a devout Christian. He’s a deacon at a Baptist church and also teaches Sunday school. By all accounts – he is a decent and honorable man. And now – he is unemployed. Cochran, who served seven years as the chief of …

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Authorities want to talk to a man who donned a fairly realistic bear costume — head and all — and wore it when harassing a bear and two sows trying to feed on pink salmon in an Alaska river. The incident happened Monday on the Chilkoot River …

Between 1996 and 2013, 991 police officers have been killed in the line of duty. These public servants put their lives on the line to protect Americans. Their deaths should concern everyone, including public health researchers.But researchers’ dislike of guns may be clouding their judgment, and a new study, which …

GENEVA – Commodities and mining group Glencore PLC slumped to a first-half loss of $676 million in the wake of weak commodities prices and costs linked to the suspension of oil drilling operations in Chad. In the same period last year, the company made a net profit of $1.72 billion. …

Donald Trump’s continued rise in the polls is obviously good for him, but more importantly, bad for two other candidates in particular — Jeb Bush and Scott Walker. Walker’s standing in Iowa has almost evaporated. And Bush’s favorability has also taken a major hit. Before Trump was a serious candidate …

BANGKOK – Thai authorities say they’re making progress in their investigation into Monday’s bombing in central Bangkok and that the city’s security situation has stabilized. Still, the authorities on Saturday called on citizens to be alert for suspicious packages and not to spread rumors on social media. Col. Winthai Suvaree, …

When Ronald Reagan announced in November 1994 he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, even some of his most ardent political opponents paused to wish him well. It was the same last Thursday when former President Jimmy Carter, who will soon be 91, held a news conference in Atlanta to …

MINSK, Belarus – The warring sides in the eastern Ukraine conflict have called for a cease-fire on Sept. 1, the day that the new school year is to begin. Speaking after a meeting of the Trilateral Contact Group in the Belarusian capital Minsk, OSCE representative Martin Sajdik said Wednesday that …

ROME – Prosecutors in Sicily detained 10 people on suspicion of smuggling and murder Friday for having allegedly crammed dozens of migrants into the airless hold of a boat where 52 bodies were found this week. The Swedish ship Poseidon rescued 439 survivors Wednesday but crew members made a grisly …

SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. – A hand grenade a woman found in her grandfather’s belongings prompted police in Vermont to evacuate their department and surrounding homes after she brought it into the station. South Burlington police say the cleared the department and nearby buildings on Saturday as a precautionary measure because …