SANTA ANA, Calif. -- An elderly Alzheimer's patient apparently spent several days in the same house with the dead bodies of two of his middle-aged children.Orange County authorities said Monday they weren't sure how Jacquelyn Savage, 57, and her brother, Daniel Savage, 51, died or whether the 87-year-old Santa Ana, Calif., man found in the house was involved."It may have been a murder-suicide or an accidental death," Sheriff's Lt. Ted Boyne told The Orange County ... [full story]

HONG KONG -- Crews are searching for 18 Ukrainian sailors who went missing after their tugboat crashed into a Chinese vessel off the shores of Hong Kong two days ago.Roger Tupper, marine director of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, said crews have gone underwater to pound on the sunken Ukrainian tugboat Neftegaz 67 to see if sailors are trapped inside, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported Monday."I am sorry to say, since we did ... [full story]

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Iowa investigators are examining links between the death of a mother and her four children and a fatal crash on Interstate 80 at Iowa City Monday, police said.Police responding to a disconnected 911 call early Monday discovered Sheryl Sueppel and her four children dead, the Iowa City (Iowa) Press-Citizen said.The family's tan Toyota minivan was not at the scene, nor was Sueppel's husband, Steven, who faces embezzlement charges for allegedly stealing ... [full story]

TEHRAN -- Iran formally launched a bid Monday to join a central Asian security organization following a long tenure in an observer role, an Iranian minister said.Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Manouchehr Mottaki said Monday that Iran wants a permanent seat on the six-country Shanghai Cooperation Organization which serves as a regional balance to U.S. and NATO influence in the region, RIA Novosti said.Chinese and Russia officials balked at Iran's entrance into the SCO because ... [full story]

JERUSALEM -- Israel's military and intelligence forces are prepared for a quick response to a possible Hezbollah attack, military sources said Monday.Defense Minister Ehud Barak said he placed the forces on heightened guard in light of indications that Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah intends to make good his threat of "open war" against Israel, reported DEBKAfile.com, a military intelligence Web site based in Jerusalem.Barak's directives, issued Monday, indicate he changed his mind about the possibility of ... [full story]

DETROIT -- Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick said Monday he won't resign despite facing a dozen criminal charges for alleged misconduct in a police whistle-blower's trial."I will remain focused" on key issues, including presenting budget and economic stimulus plans to the Detroit City Council, modernizing the police department and workforce development plans, he said during a news conference responding to the charges filed against him.Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy outlined charges against Kilpatrick and former Chief ... [full story]

BURNABY, British Columbia -- Police in Burnaby, British Columbia, are asking for the public's help in identifying a thief who broke into a 91-year-old man's house three times last week.The first robbery was last Monday when a man in his mid-50s with a medium build forced his way into the home of a man identified only as Tom, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported.The man told police he was smacked a few times before he turned ... [full story]

WASHINGTON -- Experts say the U.S.-led effort to cut off funding to al-Qaida and other terrorist groups is failing both at home and abroad.The most serious problems they cite are fractures and mistrust within the coalition of nations the United States needs to stop wealthy donors from providing funds to extremist causes, The Los Angeles Times reported Monday."The international cooperation and focus is dropping, the farther we get from (Sept. 11, 2001)," says Michael Jacobson, ... [full story]

PALM SPRINGS, Fla. -- An assault investigation at a Florida flea market degenerated into a bottle-throwing melee that ended with five arrests.Palm Beach County, Fla., sheriff's deputies said a large number of gang members were present at the Sunday afternoon flea market in Palm Springs, Fla.The Palm Beach Post said Monday that the trouble began when gang members allegedly began hassling a community activist who had been involved in the prosecution of one of their ... [full story]

REGINA, Saskatechewan -- Some 700 people received e-mails asking for emergency financial help from a Saskatchewan man's hijacked Google Gmail account, a report said Monday.Dinesh Kashyap told the Regina Leader-Post something went wrong with his account two weeks ago and then he started getting calls from concerned friends, family and business associates.The hijackers had sent a plea to all of his contacts saying he was stranded in Nigeria after losing his money and passport. The ... [full story]