WASHINGTON, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- A doctor with the U.S. Defense Department has acknowledged burning trash in pits could cause long-term health problems for some soldiers.

KABUL, Afghanistan, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- The time for talk is over in Afghanistan and now's the time to show some results, Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff said Friday.

NEW MADRID, Mo., Dec. 18 (UPI) -- A 3.1-magnitude earthquake centered near New Madrid, Mo., Friday shook parts of the Midwest, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

TONAWANDA, N.Y., Dec. 18 (UPI) -- A U.S. attorney said Friday samples and records were taken during a raid on the Tonawanda Coke Corp. in Tonawanda, N.Y.

LANSING, Mich., Dec. 18 (UPI) -- Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm said the bill she signed into law Friday will protect people from second-hand smoke by banning smoking in most workplaces.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- U.S. political activist Ralph Nader gave President Obama an "F" for his first year in office, saying he thought the president's performance was desultory.

MARALINGA, Australia, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- The last part of an Australian area used for British nuclear tests was returned Friday to its aboriginal owners.

NEW YORK, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- A man shot and killed two members of a family and fatally stabbed a third before accidentally falling to his death from a New York apartment, police say.

BRISBANE, Australia, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- A large dust storm blanketed a rural area in northeastern Australia early Friday.

ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- Madagascar will hold elections in early 2010 to choose the members of the country's Parliament, the African country's military-backed leader says.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- Washington Mayor Adrian M. Fenty said signing a bill Friday that legalizes same-sex marriage is a "leap forward" for the District of Columbia.

KABUL, Afghanistan, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- NATO officials said Friday they will work with Afghan officials to investigate reports of civilian casualties from a military operation in Kandahar province.

AUSTIN, Minn., Dec. 18 (UPI) -- Authorities in Freeborn County, Minn., Friday said the man who was driving a bus that crashed in November, killing two people, will not face criminal charges.

OTTAWA, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- Canada's Supreme Court Friday denied a man a $200,000 insurance award, saying a rare side effect of genital herpes that paralyzed him was not an accident.

SASKATOON, Saskatchewan, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- The Canadian province of Saskatchewan's law banning biker gangs from wearing their "colors," or insignia, in public places is unconstitutional, a judge ruled.