A train collision in northern India killed at least 13 people early Wednesday. The death toll remained uncertain. Railway officials said 13 people were killed and 15 injured in the crash. But the top administrative official of Mathura, where the collision occurred, put the number of dead at 21, with about as many injured. The Goa Express slammed into the stationary Mewar Express apparently because the driver overshot a signal to stop, said Anant Swaroop, spokesman for India's northern railway. ...

In a blizzard of personal meetings in Kabul, Afghanistan, and in telephone conversations from Washington, U.S. officials lobbied Afghan President Hamid Karzai to abide by the nation's constitution and accept a runoff election. Karzai announced Tuesday that he will take part in a presidential runoff vote in two weeks. Senior State Department officials say Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke with Karzai and with his main challenger, Abdullah Abdullah. One official told CNN that in a phone call to Karzai ...

If not for a lowly leech, Peter Alec Cannon might not be in the heap of trouble he's in now. In what Australian officials are calling a first in their country -- and possibly in the world -- police used DNA extracted from a leech that bit Cannon eight years ago to convict him of robbing an elderly woman. "I haven't heard of it being done in Australia before. I am not aware of it being done elsewhere in the ...

With a runoff presidential election in Afghanistan appearing likely, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told CNN on Friday that she expects the current president, Hamid Karzai, to win. "It is likely that they will find that President Karzai got very close to the 50-plus-1" in August's balloting, she said in an exclusive CNN interview, referring to the 50 percent plus one vote needed to avoid a runoff. "... I think one can conclude that the likelihood of him winning a ...

The family of a boy who set adrift a balloon in Colorado was known for storm chasing and conducting extreme science experiments together, according to the father's MySpace page. Richard Heene describes himself in his profile as a storm chaser and the host of a documentary series and radio show that investigates "the mysteries of science." The Fort Collins family was also featured on the ABC show "Wife Swap." "When the Heene family aren't chasing storms, they ...

Thousands of Puerto Rican workers and supporters gathered Thursday for an islandwide strike over government budget cuts that have led to the elimination of nearly 17,000 jobs. Strikers congregated at five points in San Juan, Puerto Rico's capital, for a noon march to the Plaza las Americas mall. Organizers said they expected at least 100,000 people to march and thousands more to stay home from work. University students and some clergy leaders also have joined the stoppage. By midmorning, ...

Strikers congregated at five points in San Juan, Puerto Rico's capital, for a noon march to the Plaza las Americas mall. Organizers said they expected at least 100,000 people to march and thousands more to stay home from work. University students and some clergy leaders also have joined the stoppage. By midmorning, thousands of protesters had gathered at the mall, many holding signs criticizing the job cuts. Puerto Rican Gov. Luis Fortuo said Thursday he expected no problems ...

A celebrity gossip Web site has caught Maria Shriver a third time apparently violating California's law against using a cell phone while driving. Web site TMZ posted a 17-second video Tuesday showing the California first lady apparently speaking into a cell phone while turning a corner in Brentwood in a black SUV. She puts the phone down part way through the video, but it's not clear whether she did so because she had finished her conversation or because she noticed ...

A negotiator for de facto Honduran President Roberto Micheletti said that no deal was reached between the two opposed sides Wednesday, as other government officials had reported. Ninety percent of an agreement to end the country's ongoing political crisis has been reached, Micheletti negotiator Vilma Morales said at a news conference Wednesday, but some key points remained to be worked out. Earlier Wednesday, a government official told CNN en Espaol that negotiators for both sides had reached a consensus that ...

Five juveniles were in custody Tuesday after a 15-year-old was intentionally set on fire at a Deerfield Beach, Florida, apartment complex, police said. Michael Brewer suffered second-degree burns over 80 percent of his body. "He's in for a long, long recovery," Broward County Sheriff Al Lamberti told reporters. Three juveniles were arrested Monday night, hours after the incident, and two others were arrested Tuesday, sheriff's Sgt. Steve Feeley said. "A couple of them last night were laughing about it," he ...