BELGRADE, Serbia – Serbia’s president rejected Kosovo’s declaration of independence Sunday, calling it a “unilateral and illegal” move and vowing to retake the territory Serbs consider their historic heartland. Riot police fired rubber bullets and tear gas and staged repeated baton charges in an effort to disperse hundreds of ultra-nationalist …

BEIJING – An early morning factory fire left 15 people dead and three others severely wounded in Shenzhen, a state news agency reported Wednesday. Xinhua News Agency said the fire in Shenzhen, a booming industrial city in Guangdong province, broke out several hours before dawn. It said 15 were confirmed …

LOS ANGELES – A gunman fired into a crowd of children and adults at a South Los Angeles bus stop Wednesday, wounding eight, authorities said. Four were in critical condition. The shooting occurred around 3:15 p.m. at Central and Vernon avenues. Two of the victims ran away and were found …

AGUADILLA, Puerto Rico – Mayra Nieves is used to being ostracized and called names as an albino in this Caribbean community. What she fears is not being able to breathe. Nieves is among hundreds of Puerto Ricans who have a rare type of albinism that leads to a deadly lung …

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – A research project aimed at weasels has turned up a bigger prize: a picture of a wolverine, an elusive animal scientists feared may have been driven out of the Sierra Nevada long ago by human activity. The discovery could affect land-use decisions if the wolverine is declared …

PASADENA, Calif. – Police arrested a student on suspicion of carrying a weapon Friday after a daylong lockdown and search of a high school and students. The male student, whose name was not released, was taken into custody for investigation of being a minor possessing a firearm, police said in …

ATLANTA – A Georgia man fled the state last week with his three young children and sent a letter to his father stating that he was going to kill the kids, the FBI said Tuesday as it sought public assistance in locating the suspect. Eddie Harrington, 28, has been missing …

MUENSTER, Germany – Six German servicemen were convicted Wednesday of abusing military recruits with kicks, punches and electric shocks. Prosecutors said two of the recruits had cigarettes stubbed out on their necks and hands. The servicemen had been charged with a range of crimes, including demeaning behavior and causing bodily …

For nearly seven years, the nation has turned its terror focus on Al Qaeda and the hunt for Usama bin Laden. But there is a domestic terror threat that federal officials still consider priority No. 1 — eco-terrorism. The torching of luxury homes in the swank Seattle suburb of Woodinville …

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Three conservation groups are suing the Department of the Interior for failing to meet a deadline on a decision to list polar bears as threatened because of the loss of Arctic sea ice. The Center for Biological Diversity, the Natural Resources Defense Council and Greenpeace sued Monday …