SURAT, India -- A passing train apparently hit a crowd of people trying to cross the tracks Wednesday night, killing at least 16 people, in Surat, India, it was reported.The mishap occurred at a drain near Udhna, a suburban station south of Surat, The Hindustan Times said. The victims were likely new migrants to Surat, the newspaper said. The area attracts thousands of migrant laborers from other regions.Authorities arriving at the accident site found gunny ... [full story]

SAN DIEGO -- U.S. officials announced a $577 million plan to expand California's San Ysidro port of entry to reduce border wait times and improve security.The reconfiguration and expansion project, which could begin this summer, will increase the number of lanes in each direction, realign southbound lanes, and create new primary and secondary inspection areas, the San Diego Union-Tribune said.Redeveloping the San Ysidro border crossing is "imperative for the region's long-term economic health," San Diego ... [full story]

BANGKOK -- Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra returned home Thursday to face corruption charges, it was reported."I miss my motherland," said Thaksin, 58, who was ousted in a coup 17 months ago.The New York Times reported a crowd of about 4,000 well-wishers cheered as his plane landed at the Bangkok airport. He was taken into custody, driven to the Supreme Court and then released on bail pending a March 8 hearing on the corruption ... [full story]

STONY BROOK, N.Y. -- Prominent financier and former math professor James H. Simons is giving $60 million to Stony Brook University on Long Island, N.Y,.It is the largest gift in Stony Brook's history and the largest gift given to any of the schools in the State University of New York system, the university said Tuesday in a news release. Simons served as chairman of Stony Brook University's Mathematics Department from 1968 to 1976.Forbes magazine ranked ... [full story]

CHICAGO -- An Illinois judge ruled Wednesday that prosecutors must return former police officer Drew Peterson's guns, while state police soon after revoked his gun permit.Peterson's attorney, Joel Brodsky, argued that investigators have had more than enough time to analyze the evidence, which was seized by state police from Peterson's home in November, the Chicago Tribune said.Will County Judge Richard Schoenstedt ruled Wednesday that investigators must turn over the personal items, which included computers and ... [full story]

SANTA ANA, Calif. -- The sports memorabilia collector allegedly robbed in Las Vegas by O.J. Simpson is suing his broker, claiming the incident was a media set-up.In a lawsuit filed in Orange County, Calif., Alfred Beardsley claims Thomas Riccio lured him to Las Vegas by saying he had a buyer interested in Simpson memorabilia. Beardsley alleges Riccio orchestrated the episode to profit from a secret tape-recording he made of Simpson, the Orange County Register said ... [full story]

BRISTOL, Tenn. -- A Tennessee man gunned down four people in a Bristol public housing complex and then retreated to a family farm to kill himself, police said.Police Chief Blaine Wade said Rusty Lee Rumley, 26, of Watauga -- armed with a .45-caliber handgun -- fatally shot his ex-girlfriend's mother, Francis Watson, 43, and her neighbor, Roy Malone, 55, outside the Edgemont Towers after asking for them help moving furniture, The Kingsport (Tenn.) Times-News reported.Rumley ... [full story]

LOS ANGELES -- Bicycle advocates in Los Angeles said NBC Universal is trying to block a plan to run a riverfront bike path along the studio's production lot.The Los Angeles Times said Universal executives told one member of the city's bicycle advisory committee that they worried about security and that people might use the path to drop off unsolicited screenplays.The bike path, which would run from downtown Los Angeles to Canoga Park, was designed to ... [full story]

LOS ANGELES -- Eight people were wounded -- two critically -- when a gunman opened fire on a crowd at a Los Angeles bus stop, authorities said.Five of the victims were under the age of 15, the Los Angeles Times reported. The two in critical condition were a 12-year-old girl and a 49-year-old woman. They were expected to live.City police Cmdr. Andy Smith said the shooter apparently got off a bus, argued with someone on ... [full story]

LONDON -- An inquest was held into the 2007 death of a pregnant woman who drowned in a bathtub in a British hospital.Witnesses said medical staff at Bassetlaw Hospital in Worksop were warned that Lorraine Maddi had a history of fainting in stressful situations, the Daily Mail said Wednesday. Maddi, who was left unattended for 45 minutes was found, unconscious under the water. She died eight days later. Her baby, born by emergency cesarean section, ... [full story]