AUSTIN, Texas, Dec. 27 (UPI) -- Former Federal Emergency Management Agency chief Joe Allbaugh says a Chrismas Eve fire destroyed his family's rental home near Austin, Texas.
TOKYO, Dec. 27 (UPI) -- About 5,000 Japanese teachers took sick leave for mental disorders during fiscal 2007, marking a threefold increase from a decade ago, a report revealed.
CHICAGO, Dec. 27 (UPI) -- Chicago's Michigan Avenue bridge is to get new decorative handrails in a style reminiscent of a 1920s pattern, an official says.
LOS ANGELES, Dec. 27 (UPI) -- California needs more emergency workers, better sources of water and new ways of restoring electricity to cope with a major earthquake, officials say.
KATHMANDU, Nepal, Dec. 27 (UPI) -- Scores of journalists in Nepal carried out protests Saturday to oppose a series of media attacks focused on freedom of the press, a group says.
HONOLULU, Dec. 27 (UPI) -- U.S. President-elect Barack Obama was able to evade the media glare long enough to take his daughters on an excursion to a Hawaii marine park, observers said.
MOSCOW, Dec. 27 (UPI) -- Russia's finance minister predicted a large budget deficit in 2009 and said Saturday the economy might be at its lowest point since World War II.
EDINBURGH, Scotland, Dec. 27 (UPI) -- An old tradition from another culture is planned for Scotland's ancient capital with a ceremony to mark the end of the Jewish Hanukkah season.
DHAKA, Bangladesh, Dec. 27 (UPI) -- Bangladesh is stage to its final political rallies ahead of parliamentary elections Monday in the southern Asian nation, party officials said.
TBILISI, Georgia, Dec. 27 (UPI) -- A South Ossetian official has accused Georgia of moving military forces to the border, a charge denied by the Georgian Interior Ministry.
NEW YORK, Dec. 27 (UPI) -- A sale of collars and leashes used by the pugs of the duke and duchess of Windsor may fetch up to $5,800, says Bonhams auction house in New York.
PETROPAVLOVSK-KAMCHATSKY, Russia, Dec. 27 (UPI) -- A powerful winter storm struck the Kamchatka Peninsula in eastern Russia Saturday, disrupting communication with the mainland.
NEW DELHI, Dec. 27 (UPI) -- India's government Saturday dismissed claims its movement of more troops to its western border with Pakistan is because of mounting tensions with its neighbor.
PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 27 (UPI) -- Philadelphia officials Saturday were searching for the cause of a house fire that killed seven people, most of whom who were found huddled in the basement.
HONOLULU, Dec. 27 (UPI) -- Power was returning to the Hawaiian island of Oahu early Saturday after a blackout left President-elect Barack Obama and thousands of others in the dark.
MINNEAPOLIS, Dec. 27 (UPI) -- A second pipe bomb found in a north Minneapolis neighborhood this week exploded while police tried to defuse it remotely, authorities said.
SILVERTON, Colo., Dec. 27 (UPI) -- This week's winter storm that brought blizzards to the U.S. mountain West dumped 4 feet of snow on high-altitude Silverton, Colo., officials said.
PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 27 (UPI) -- A South Philadelphia man became so furious over a talkative family's interference with his movie-watching that he shot the father in the arm, police allege.
SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 27 (UPI) -- Librarians across the United States are struggling with a combination of higher demand in tough economic times and smaller budgets.
Fans react and hold up signs as floats carrying the New York Giants rides down the Canyon of Heroes for the Giants victory ticker tape parade 2 days after the New York Giants defeated the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI in New York City on February 7, 2012 . UPI /John Angelillo
