Heavy rains triggered by El Nino weather patterns could potentially prove devastating for east African nations that have been water-starved for months, the United Nations has warned. Kenya, Somalia, Tanzania and Uganda are facing mudslides, crop destruction, waterborne diseases and disrupted road networks, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said Friday. Djibouti, Eritrea and Ethiopia could also be affected. The effects of flooding are expected to be exacerbated because so much greenery has disappeared in the drought. ...

A balloon that was set adrift by a 6-year-old boy from his parents' Colorado home was found empty, CNN affiliate KMGH said, citing a police report. The balloon landed south of Prospect Springs, near Colorado Springs. The boy was not inside the helium aircraft when it landed, KMGH reported. A sibling saw the boy get into the craft Thursday morning. Officials were concerned that the boy may have fallen out of it, an undersheriff said. Margie Martinez of the Weld ...

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 ...

With comedy stars like Brooke Shields and Jim Belushi aboard, even a plane landing can be funny. A small Cessna carrying Shields and Belushi ran into a parked SUV on Friday afternoon. After landing the plane, the pilot left the aircraft without securing the brakes, San Luis Obispo, California sheriff's officials told PEOPLE. People.com: Ashton Kutcher's plane makes emergency landing. The Cessna 421B had touched down at a private airstrip at Hearst Castle in San ...

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency Sunday in San Bernardino County as a fast-moving wildfire burned through a national forest, threatening homes and forcing hundreds of evacuations. "The Sheep Fire has now scorched 3,500 acres and is only 10 percent contained," said Carol Underhill, a public information officer with the U.S. Forest Service. A mandatory evacuation order is in effect for the entire community of Wrightwood and parts of Lytle Creek in San Bernadino County, the ...

US Airways Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger and First Officer Jeffrey Skiles were reunited in the cockpit Thursday for the first time since Sullenberger safely landed a disabled passenger plane in the Hudson River in January. "It was great to fly with Jeff again. Being back in the cockpit felt very familiar. It was like coming home," Sullenberger said of the flight from New York's LaGuardia Airport to Charlotte, North Carolina. "Even though several months had past since I've flown, it ...

Miley Cyrus is taking a sick day. The 16-year-old singer -- who has been battling strep throat all week -- has cancelled her Friday night concert in Omaha, Nebraska, "due to illness," it was announced today. The show is rescheduled for October 13. During her September 29 concert in Salt Lake City, Utah, the sick star had to take a 15-minute break in the middle of performing before finishing her show. By the next day, Cyrus had a ...

China celebrates 60 years of PRC's founding Typhoon Parma is expected to bring heavy rainfall and major property damage to the Philippines on Saturday, according to meteorologists. The storm was upgraded to a super typhoon Thursday as it churned towards the island nation with winds of 240 kph (150 mph). The storm was about 600 miles (965 km) southeast of Manila, the Philippines' capital on Thursday afternoon. The five-day tracking map shows the storm south of Taiwan on Monday. Parma ...

From baby deliveries to unexpected deaths, Mike Bowes, a 911 dispatcher from Quincy, Massachusetts, has handled a wide range of emergency calls. But Monday night, the 44-year-old received an unexpected call from his neighbor: His own house was on fire. The 911 call came in about 10:45 p.m. Monday, a little more than an hour before Mike Bowes' shift ended. My neighbor's house just blew up, the caller said. "What's the address" Mike Bowes asked patiently, just as he did ...

Ahead of a United Nations Security Council briefing Tuesday on Afghanistan, the country's foreign minister urged patience from the international community in dealing with his struggling homeland. "The freedoms inherent in the suspended rights are inalienable and cannot be limited or restricted without seriously damaging the democratic aspirations of the Honduran people," said State Department spokesman Ian Kelly in a statement late Monday night. Earlier Monday, Roberto Micheletti announced he would repeal the law, but it would not be immediately. ...