KATMANDU, Nepal – Nepalese soldiers and police guarding the slopes of Mount Everest are authorized to shoot to stop any protests during China’s Olympic torch run to the summit, an official said Sunday. Chinese climbers plan to take the torch to the summit of Everest — the world’s highest peak …

KABUL – A group of villagers in northwestern Afghanistan used a machine gun, sticks and stones to kill two Taliban militants and chase 10 others away on Thursday, a provincial police chief said. The confrontation between the Taliban and villagers in the northwestern province of Faryab occurred after militants tried …

INDIANAPOLIS – A Purdue University panel has found two instances of misconduct by a researcher who claims he produced nuclear fusion in tabletop experiments. Rusi Taleyarkhan made headlines in 2002 when he published a paper in the journal Science claiming that he had produced nuclear fusion by making tiny bubbles …

WASHINGTON – A Supreme Court justice’s birthday and social security number were exposed on the Internet after a McLean, Va., investment firm employee used an online-file sharing network at his office. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer’s birthday and social security number, and records for about 2,000 other clients of Wagner …

BETHLEHEM, West Bank – British Prime Minister Gordon Brown demanded Sunday that Israel cease settlement construction and promised more money to jump-start the battered Palestinian economy. In his first trip to Israel and the Palestinian territories as Britain’s leader, Brown repeatedly stressed that economics are key to Mideast peace, and …

POTTER VALLEY, Calif. – A Mendocino County woman who was trying to kill mice in her trailer with a gun ended up shooting herself and another person. The 43-year-old woman pulled out her .44-caliber Magnum revolver after she saw the mice scurrying across the floor of her trailer on Highway …

TEHRAN, Iran – Iran would consider any military action against its nuclear facilities as the beginning of a war, the country’s top Revolutionary Guards commander said in remarks published Friday. Gen. Mohammed Ali Jafari’s comments, carried by Iran’s official news agency, come as speculation of possible military action against Iran’s …

A New Year’s Eve slumber party nearly turned tragic for a Beaverton, Ore. family when a stray bullet pierced the roof of their home and landed on their son’s pillow, KPTV reported. Three children were sleeping on the floor in an upstairs bedroom of the home when the bullet ripped …

WASHINGTON – An Al Qaeda spokesman this week called for unity among Islamic militants worldwide in a new recorded message, according to a U.S. intelligence official. The approximately 28-minute tape features Al Qaeda spokesman Abu-Yahya al-Libi telling Islamic scholars to lend their weight to support the “jihad,” that is, a …

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Searchers spent days looking for Julius “Butch” Nesbitt after his empty 14-foot boat was found beached along the South Carolina coast. Now, sitting in a jail 600 miles away, he admits faking his death as he fled from drug charges. Nesbitt spent more than six weeks …