PROVO, Utah – A newspaper photographer got a little too close to the action at the state high school track championships — and was speared through the leg by a javelin. Ryan McGeeney of the Standard-Examiner was spared serious injury in Saturday’s mishap, and even managed to snap a photo …

A 70-year-old retired professor has been charged with plotting to defraud the U.S. Air Force and illegally disclose restricted data about military drones to foreign nationals, including persons in China. A federal grand jury in Tennessee returned a 18-count indictment Tuesday charging J. Reece Roth, a professor emeritus at the …

JACKSON, Miss. – An Amtrak passenger train collided with a garbage truck Tuesday on a rural stretch of central Mississippi track, injuring at least seven people, authorities said. Three of those taken to hospitals were Amtrak employees who suffered non-life-threatening injuries, Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said. He did not know …

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa – Hundreds of terrified immigrants fled South Africa on Thursday from a wave of anti-foreigner violence that has killed at least 42 people and shredded the nation’s reputation for economic and political stability. South Africans are struggling to buy food as prices rise amid stubbornly high unemployment, …

WASHINGTON – With veto-proof margins, Congress on Thursday sent President Bush a bill boosting farm subsidies and money for food stamps to help the poor deal with rising grocery prices. Bush has threatened to veto the $290 billion bill, saying it is fiscally irresponsible and too generous to wealthy corporate …

LONDON – World powers agreed Friday to try again to lure Iran to the nuclear bargaining table with a repackaged set of carrots to accompany the stick of U.N. sanctions. Diplomats said the offer contained no major new enticements, but was meant to remind the clerical regime that talking is …

ELLSWORTH, Maine – Authorities say a University of Maine student who set himself on fire in Ellsworth is in critical condition at a Boston hospital. Investigators say 18-year-old Alex Whitney of Farmington, Conn., was found Tuesday evening in the middle of Duck Pond Road with his clothes burned off. Investigators …

NAPLES, Fla. – Authorities say a wildfire in southern Florida has grown to nearly 200 acres and damaged several homes. Collier County’s emergency coordinator says firefighters told more than a hundred residents to leave the area east of Naples as a precaution. They don’t know what caused the fire.

Lance Armstrong and Kate Hudson spent time together in Austin over the weekend, dining at two different restaurants, People magazine reported. On Friday night, the actress and the seven-time Tour de France winner dined at Eddie V’s, a high-end restaurant frequented by Armstrong, a restaurant insider told People magazine. “They …

BEIRUT, Lebanon – Hezbollah fighters have pulled back since seizing parts of Lebanon’s capital, but their brazen display has made one thing clear: A private army blamed for terrorist attacks on Western interests and dedicated to the destruction of Israel will be a fixture in this weakened country for a …