Connor Speir has faced his fair share of adversity. In the seven months since he was diagnosed with a rare bone disease, he has attended school in a wheelchair, underwent surgery, used a walker and had to wear a clunky device that held his bones in place, the York Daily …

NEW YORK – Vice President Dick Cheney warned that a Democrat-led troop withdrawal could condemn a future generation of American soldiers to return to the Iraqi battlefield. In a Thursday evening speech in Manhattan that touched on tax cuts, energy, U.S. security and the conflict in Iraq, Cheney told more …

MORRIS, Ill. – Got milk? Police say a trailer loaded with 14 tons of Oreos has overturned, spilling the cookies still in their plastic sleeves into the median and roadway. Illinois State Police Sgt. Brian Mahoney says the truck’s driver was traveling from Chicago to Morris on Interstate 80 around …

PESHAWAR, Pakistan – Separate roadside bomb attacks in Pakistan’s volatile northwest Saturday killed three people, including a local police chief, a senior police official said. The first attack happened in Bara, a town 10 miles east of Peshawar, when a roadside bomb exploded near a civilian vehicle, killing one person …

BEICHUAN, China – Rows of body bags were laid out along streets for all to see. Sobbing parents furious about shoddily built schools that collapsed and killed thousands of children were able to speak freely. Military helicopters carried reporters to tour the disaster zone. The earthquake that flattened a wide …

LOS ANGELES – Jurors began deliberations Thursday in the federal racketeering case against Hollywood private eye Anthony Pellicano and four co-defendants. Deliberations began after defense lawyers wrapped up their closing arguments and prosecutors delivered rebuttal statements. During his closing argument, Pellicano said Wednesday that he acted as a “lone ranger” …

JERUSALEM – Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said he will meet Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas on Monday. Abbas visited Washington last week and has complained that months of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks have yielded no progress. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is in the region for talks with Palestinian and …

LOS ANGELES – Gary Dourdan won’t do time. The “CSI” co-star pleaded guilty to two of three counts of felony drug possession Wednesday but will not face prison following his drug arrest outside of Palm Springs last month, according to his lawyer. Dourdan could have served up to three years …

GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba – First, the sound went out in the U.S. military’s new war-crimes courthouse. Then the lights went dark. To top it off, the defendant announced he was boycotting the proceedings. By anyone’s account, Wednesday’s debut of the new facility where the Pentagon hopes to try …

RANGOON, Burma – From shopkeepers handing out free rice porridge to medical students caring for the sick, ordinary people in Burma are stepping in to help cyclone victims as the military regime severely restricts international aid. Taxi drivers, factory owners, college students, teachers and other Rangoon residents — many of …