WASHINGTON – A key player in the Treasury Department’s efforts to protect the nation’s financial system from being abused by terrorists, drug dealers and other criminals is leaving. William Fox, director of Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, called FinCen, since December 2003, is taking a job with Bank of America …

LA VETA, Colo. – Two wind-whipped wildfires destroyed at least five houses in southern Colorado and forced the evacuation of several hundred residents on Sunday, authorities said. No injuries were reported. The fires burned over 5,400 acres in Huerfano and Las Animas counties, not far from the New Mexico line. …

NEW YORK – The death of a newborn whose body was found outside a Bronx apartment building has been ruled a homicide Wednesday. The New York Medical Examiner’s office says the baby girl was thrown from a fifth-floor apartment window and died from blunt impact injuries to her head and …

WASHINGTON – An annual report released Tuesday put Minnesota at the top of its health rankings for the fourth straight year, while concluding that the nation’s health improved slightly. The report by United Health Foundation, an independent, not-for-profit foundation funded by the health care company UnitedHealth Group, said Americans are …

TEHRAN, Iran – Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh vowed on Friday that his Hamas-led government will never recognize Israel and will continue to fight for the liberation of Jerusalem. “The world arrogance (U.S.) and Zionists … want us to recognize the usurpation of the Palestinian lands and stop jihad and …

KINSHASA, Congo – Congo inaugurated Joseph Kabila as its first freely elected president in more than four decades Wednesday, installing a rebel leader’s son who ushered in a plan to end years of fighting to help the country take a place among the world’s democracies. Kabila, 35, was sworn in …

The tunnel beneath the English Channel that connects Britain to France is a Christmas terror target of Islamic terrorists, according to a report published Sunday. The plot, which was first uncovered by the United States CIA and passed along to the French intelligence service on Dec. 19, is aimed at …

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – The Saudi government said Tuesday it had released 18 men who were detained after returning to their homeland from the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay. The Saudis, who returned to the kingdom in May and June, were released after they finished their sentences, Interior Ministry …

JERUSALEM – Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas held a long-overdue summit Saturday, reviving hope that peace talks can resume after years of fighting, hostility and distrust. The meeting took place at Olmert’s official residence in Jerusalem, the first substantial talks between Israeli and Palestinian leaders …

UNITED NATIONS – U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Tuesday a negotiated settlement with Iran over its nuclear program should be sought, and he warned that military intervention would be “unwise and disastrous.” Annan, who steps down as U.N. chief Dec. 31, issued the warning as the Security Council debated a …