Nation

Gov. Rod Blagojevich faces almost certain impeachment by the Illinois House, a historic step that would trigger a trial to determine whether the Democratic governor should be tossed out of office.

Roland Burris raised his right hand in a committee room at the Illinois Capitol, swearing to tell a room full of lawmakers the truth about his appointment by embattled Gov. Rod Blagojevich to the state's vacant U.S. Senate seat.

Republican Sen. Kit Bond announced Thursday that he will not seek re-election in 2010, saying he wants to go out "at the top of my game" and setting the stage for what one expert said could be a "land rush" for the seat.

A moderate earthquake rattled much of Southern California on Thursday, with shaking felt from north of Los Angeles down to the Mexican border. No damage or injuries were reported.

An ex-Utah state trooper who police say was involved in a series of roadway shootings last month learned just hours before the deadly incidents that he would soon be arrested on burglary and robbery charges.

China plans a major revamp of its public hospitals - criticized for their lack of access, huge fees and poor doctor services - as part of its long-awaited reform of the national health care system.

Thousands of evacuated residents, including former FEMA chief Michael D. Brown, began returning to their homes Thursday after firefighters gained control over a wildfire near Denver that destroyed two houses and several outbuildings.

A former Houston police officer has been charged with aggravated sexual assault after a woman accused him of raping her while he was on patrol.

Gov. Rod Blagojevich's defense attorneys urged a federal judge Thursday to remove Chicago's top federal prosecutor and all of his assistants from the fraud and bribery case against the governor.

In grainy cell-phone videos played over and over on the Internet, police officers force an unarmed black man to the ground and hold him face-down on a crowded train platform. Suddenly one of the officers draws his gun and fatally shoots the man in the back - then looks up.