DENVER – A powerful storm system pounded a large swath of the nation Tuesday, spawning everything from heavy snow and numbing cold to thunderstorms and possible tornadoes, and forecasters warned more bad weather was on the way. High winds associated with thunderstorms may have killed two people in Indiana, authorities …

DAYTON, Ohio – A slain Marine’s image as a woman who struggled with the truth made her vulnerable and may have triggered events that led to her violent death, her mother says. The burned remains of Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach, 20, and her fetus were found last weekend in Jacksonville, …

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – A woman with a history of mental illness purposely walked her young niece and nephew into oncoming interstate traffic to commit a double-murder suicide, a prosecutor said Friday. Marcelle Thibault, 39, was driving south on Interstate 495 in Lowell last week when she turned the car sharply, …

BEIRUT, Lebanon – The Lebanese army expanded its troop deployment to tense areas around the country Tuesday, saying its soldiers would use force if needed to impose order after clashes between the U.S.-backed government and Hezbollah-led opposition. The army, which is respected by the Hezbollah militants, has played a central …

GREENVILLE, S.C. – Some faculty members at Furman University have suggested they won’t attend graduation ceremonies because President Bush is scheduled to speak, but a group of conservative students wants the university to step in and block the protest. Bush is scheduled to give Furman’s graduation speech May 31 at …

The National Weather Service has issued a tornado warning for St. Louis County in east central Missouri. Trained weather spotters reported seeing a funnel cloud at about 12:32 CDT. The warning remains in effect until 1:30 CDT. Click here for more from the National Weather Service.

BERLIN – A herd of wild boars has thwarted a suspected car thief’s getaway in northern Germany. Police in Schwerin say the 18-year-old abandoned a stolen SUV he was driving Thursday after failing to shake off a chasing patrol car by driving into a field. Police nabbed his passenger immediately. …

TOKYO – The fault line that caused this week’s devastating earthquake in China probably buckled in two stages, and the hardness of the terrain contributed to the wide reach of the damage, Japanese scientists said Thursday. The 7.9-magnitude quake on Monday struck in Sichuan province but rattled buildings as far …

WINDHOEK, Namibia – The ship was laden with tons of copper ingots, elephant tusks, gold coins — and cannons to fend off pirates. But it had nothing to protect it from the fierce weather off a particularly bleak stretch of inhospitable African coast, and it sank 500 years ago. Now …

LOS ANGELES – The former head of UCLA’s cadaver program and a businessman were indicted Friday on eight felony counts involving black market sales of donated human body parts in a scheme that allegedly cheated the university out of more than $1 million. Henry Reid, the former director of UCLA’s …