AMBAE ISLAND, Vanuatu – An erupting volcano on this remote South Pacific island burst into spectacular life Thursday — shooting steam and toxic gases 9,845 feet into the sky. Huge columns of dense white steam and muddy ash spewed above Ambae Island to reach the greatest height seen since the …

TOKYO – Japan’s space agency will delay until 2010 the return of a star-crossed probe sent to collect samples from an asteroid because a thruster problem put the vehicle into an unexpected spin, an agency official said Wednesday. The Hayabusa probe, now hovering several miles off the surface of the …

TOKYO – Heavy snowfall and blizzards have lead to the deaths of eight people and disrupted traffic for hundreds of thousands of holiday travelers across Japan, officials said Sunday. Up to 60 centimeters (24 inches) of fresh snow was recorded in parts of the northern Hokuriku region, the heaviest snowfall …

NEW ORLEANS – The clackety-clack is officially back. New Orleans on Sunday resumed its streetcar service, which had been out of commission since Hurricane Katrina wiped out the utility poles and metal tracks used to propel the city’s trademark mode of transportation. Car number 930, adorned with holiday garland and …

WARSAW, Poland – Poland’s prime minister said Saturday he has ordered an investigation into whether the CIA ran secret prisons for terror suspects in the country — an allegation the government repeatedly has denied. Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz said a “detailed” probe would be conducted to “check if there is any proof …

BAGHDAD, Iraq – A 16-year-old from Florida who traveled to one of the world’s most dangerous places without telling his parents left Baghdad on Friday to begin his journey home, the U.S. Embassy said, drawing to a close an adventure that could have cost him his life. The mother of …

HARTFORD, Conn. – Forty-five state courthouses across Connecticut were evacuated Friday because of a bomb threat, after the governor’s office received a number of ominous phone calls. Bomb squads were activated and trials were suddenly put on hold. Connecticut state police said several calls were phoned in Friday morning to …

WASHINGTON – Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid (search) accused President Bush and congressional Republicans of bending to “the whispered wishes of a few right wing activists,” yet said this week’s compromise over filibuster (search) rules could portend a new era of bipartisanship. “Americans are sick and tired of getting caught …

BAY ST. LOUIS, Miss. – The East and Gulf coasts can expect another hurricane season that’s worse than average, the head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (search) said Monday. The Atlantic will have 12 to 15 tropical storms, seven to nine of them becoming hurricanes, and three to …

NEW YORK – A pregnant Britney Spears (search) appeared with husband Kevin Federline (search) on “Ellen” Tuesday — the first television interview for the couple together. Wearing a loose, pink-and-beige dress, Spears only slightly showed signs of her pregnancy, which she announced in early April. The 23-year-old pop star said …