VACAVILLE, Calif. – California inmates are dying of drug overdoses at nearly triple the national rate. It’s unclear whether the tough steps state officials took this year to stop illicit drugs from getting into prisons are having any effect, though they are prompting criticism from civil rights advocates. The Department …

CHICAGO – Navy Pier has announced plans to debut a new 196-foot Ferris wheel when the Chicago tourist attraction celebrates its centennial next summer. The Ferris wheel already has been purchased and will replace the existing one that was installed in 1995. It will stand 49 feet taller and fit …

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia – The Ethiopian government says it is working with the International Criminal Police Organization, or Interpol, to repatriate 80 suspected human smugglers as the country struggles to stem the wave of migrants leaving the country. The chief of the Illegal Human Trafficking Crime Investigation Division of Ethiopia’s …

CAIRO – Egypt faced treacherous weather conditions Saturday as a sandstorm blanketed the north of the country and a magnitude-5.2 earthquake centered in the Sinai peninsula shook buildings more than 200 miles away in the capital, Cairo. The epicenter of the quake was 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) southeast of the …

ROME – The mayor of Rome has been hospitalized overnight after falling ill. City hall officials confirmed Tuesday that Ignazio Marino was recovering at Rome’s Gemelli hospital, but declined to give the cause. The ANSA news agency said he was suffering from renal colic, a painful condition often caused by …

WASHINGTON – The Secret Service says it will install sharp metal spikes on the White House fence after intruders scaled it twice in less than a year. In a news release, the Secret Service and National Park Service say the spikes are a temporary security measure until a long-term solution …

SAN FRANCISCO – News crews from two San Francisco Bay Area television stations were robbed at gunpoint and a cameraman was pistol whipped during live broadcasts on Thursday. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the robbery and assault occurred at about 6 a.m. Thursday along the city’s waterfront. Several camera …

BELGRADE, Serbia – Serbia has asked Russia to veto a British U.N. Security Council resolution that would call the Srebrenica massacre during the Bosnian civil war in the 1990s a genocide. Serbian media said Saturday the country’s pro-Russian President Tomislav Nikolic has sent a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin …

MEXICO CITY – Mexican authorities say two Central American migrants have died and a dozen more were injured when a truck carrying 41 people overturned in southern Mexico. The National Institute for Migration says the accident occurred near San Francisco Ixhuatan in Oaxaca state Sunday night. Four of the injured …

This week is a watershed not only for the future of Greece but also for the rest of the historically troubled region in which the country is situated. German Chancellor Angela Merkel will have a leading voice in deciding whether the Balkans, including Greece, become Europe’s No Man’s Land, or …