SAVAR, Bangladesh – Rescuers digging through the concrete debris of a collapsed Bangladesh sweater factory heard survivors pleading for help Tuesday, a day after the nine-story building toppled when a boiler exploded, killing at least 30 people and trapping 200. Nine bodies were pulled from the rubble overnight, but rescuers …

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Thousands of University of North Carolina (search) fans streamed onto the main drag near campus after the Tar Heels won the NCAA (search) basketball championship, screaming and cheering, tugging on street signs and tossing furniture into bonfires. Police Capt. Brian Curran estimated the crowd reached about …

CAMPBELL, Wis. – A 15-hour standoff with a man suspected of shooting his neighbor ended Saturday when authorities coaxed him out of his house and made a grisly discovery: a body believed to be his mother stashed in his freezer. Philip Schuth (search), 52, was being questioned while authorities continued …

KENNEWICK, Wash. – A woman was jailed after police and wildlife agents found hundreds of wild birds — many of them dead or neglected — littering her home and yard. Raymona Balko (search), 70, was booked into the Benton County Jail for investigation of animal cruelty charges Thursday. The state …

MADRID, Spain – They led quiet lives as immigrant businessmen or laborers, raising kids and blending into Spanish society. On Friday, they will go on trial as suspected members of an Al Qaeda (search) cell charged with using their new homeland as a staging ground for the Sept. 11, 2001, …

Estrogen loss during childbearing years may increase a woman’s risk for Parkinson’s disease. Mayo Clinic researchers report that women who have had their ovaries surgically removed are at increased risk for developing Parkinson’s disease later in life. “The risk is higher — about double — for women with both ovaries …

CHICAGO – Lucent Technologies Inc. (LU) Tuesday said quarterly earnings rose four-fold on strong sales of wireless network products and services, sending its shares up nearly 6 percent. Lucent also said it would combine its business to wireless service providers and traditional phone companies into one unit, simplifying operations and …

NEW YORK – A federal judge gave preliminary approval Tuesday to a deal under which auditor Arthur Andersen LLP (search) will pay $65 million to settle allegations it failed to protect investors from WorldCom’s historic accounting fraud. “Congratulations are in order,” Judge Denise Cote told lawyers just before giving her …

TOKYO – A strong earthquake struck southern Japan on Wednesday, injuring at least 58 people, shattering windows and knocking down houses already damaged by a powerful tremor that hit the same area last month. There was no threat of tsunami. The quake, with a preliminary magnitude of 5.8, hit at …

AMAGASAKI, Japan – Rescuers untangling Japan’s (search) worst train crash in decades uncovered body after body in the wreckage Wednesday to put the death toll at 91, but grim work remained in accounting for the dozens still missing, including the driver at the center of the investigation into the wreck. …