KOAA - Colorado Springs & Pueblo

Some parts of North Carolina's Outer Banks are flooded and without power following a visit from Hurricane Earl. But emergency officials say no injuries have been reported. The Category 2 storm continues to push along the East Coast, with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph. Forecasters expect Earl... more »

HONOLULU (AP) - Federal authorities are accusing six people of luring 400 laborers from Thailand to the United States and forcing them to work in what the FBI calls the largest human-trafficking case ever charged in U.S. history. The indictment unsealed Thursday charges six people in a scheme involving... more »

Officials say a 40-year-old woman was found dead next to the wreckage of a small plane that crashed in a lagoon off San Francisco Bay. Divers are searching for two more people who may have been on board. Redwood City Fire Battalion Chief Dave Pucci says the twin-engine Beechcraft... more »

Could your kitchen at home pass a restaurant inspection? New research suggests that at least one in seven home kitchens would flunk the kind of health inspection commonly administered to restaurants. The small study from California's Los Angeles County found that only 61 percent of home kitchens would... more »

The Coast Guard is saying that a mile-long oil sheen is spreading from the site off an offshore petroleum platform that exploded in the Gulf of Mexico off Louisiana. The site of the explosion is west of where BP's massive spill occurred. The Coast Guard said no one... more »

An offshore oil rig has exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, west of the site of the April blast that caused the massive oil spill. Coast Guard Petty Officer Casey Ranel says the blast was reported by a commercial helicopter company about 9:30 a.m. CDT Thursday. Seven helicopters, two... more »

Police outside Washington, D.C., say a man who took hostages at Discovery Channel's headquarters was carrying a handgun, propane tanks and pipe bombs. Police shot and killed him after storming the building in Silver Spring, Maryland, and rescued the 3 hostages. The gunman said he hated Discovery shows... more »

The number of people requesting unemployment benefits declined for the second straight week, suggesting that the slowing economy isn't prompting widespread job cuts. The Labor Department says new claims for unemployment aid fell last week by 6,000 to a seasonally adjusted 472,000. Economists had expected a slight increase, according... more »

The U.S. Forest Service is reviewing whether an eastern Arizona ranger whose tip led to the capture of two of the most wanted fugitives in America can receive reward money under the agency's ethics guidelines. An Apache Sitgreaves National Forest spokeswoman said Wednesday that local forest officials would like... more »

As the most powerful storm to threaten the east coast in years bears down on the outer banks of North Carolina, tourists are fleeing for the mainland. But resolute residents are staying behind. Locals familiar with hurricanes say they are prepared to spend days stranded from the mainland. Forecasters... more »

SILVER SPRING, Md. - Police shot and killed a gunman who held three hostages for several hours Wednesday at the Discovery Communications building in Silver Spring, Md., authorities said. They said the hostages were safe. Originally Police said the gunman's condition was unknown, but later confirmed he had died.... more »