LOS ANGELES – A mother and father who were caught in a burning apartment building dropped their two children into the arms of a sheriff’s deputy early Tuesday, officials said. No one was seriously injured. Deputy Jeff Kim and a colleague were flagged down in the Watts neighborhood at 2:50 …

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Police shot dead a militant on Saudi Arabia’s most-wanted list on Wednesday, the second major terror suspect to die in the country in 24 hours, a Saudi security official said. Abdel-Rahman Saleh Abdel-Rahman al-Mutab, who was No. 4 on the list of the kingdom’s 15 most-wanted …

NEW YORK – A constellation of hip-hop stars gathered Wednesday for closing arguments in the trial of a top rap executive who prosecutors say laundered more than $1 million in drug money for a notorious cocaine kingpin. Irving Lorenzo, chief of the Murder Inc. label, and his brother Christopher knew …

NEW YORK – You may be a perfect Santa when it comes to giving gifts to friends and relatives, but remember that the rules change when it comes to giving to co-workers and bosses. So before you start passing out presents, make sure you’re following your office’s gift culture. If …

HONOLULU – Michelle Rodriguez and Cynthia Watros, who star on ABC’s “Lost,” were arrested within 15 minutes of each other in Kailua for allegedly driving under the influence of an intoxicant. Both failed field sobriety tests and were released Thursday on $500 bail each, police said. The actresses, who were …

CHICAGO – Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST), the largest U.S. warehouse club operator, on Thursday reported a 12 percent increase in quarterly profit, helped by demand for gasoline and food. The retailer, which competes with Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s (WMT) Sam’s Club, said net income rose to $215.8 million, or 45 cents …

CRANSTON, R.I. – See Paris Hilton in all her seductive splendor, striking a provocative pose for passing motorists and spreading hot Christmas cheer in a chilly Rhode Island winter. Blown-up images of Hilton and strings of pink Christmas lights adorn the front lawn of a home in a middle-class neighborhood …

MINSK, Belarus – Belarusian lawmakers on Wednesday passed legislation that would crack down on Internet dating and online spouse searches in the latest in a series of stringent government controls backed by authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko. Authorities say the measure, which was passed 101-1 by the subservient lower house of …

BEIJING – Chinese authorities detained an electrician blamed for a hospital fire in the northeast that killed 39 people, a local Communist Party leader said Saturday as he apologized for the disaster. Thursday’s blaze in Liaoyuan forced patients to leap from second- and third-story windows in subfreezing weather. The city …

TUCSON, Ariz. – The Minuteman Project was launched earlier this year amid fears that racist crackpots would rough up illegal immigrants trying to slip into this country. But there was no bloodshed when the hundreds of volunteers converged in the Arizona desert in April to watch for border crossers and …