Father bids to remove image of dead son from Google Maps
A father whose son was murdered in 2009 has succeeded in getting Google to remove an image of his corpse from its map application.
Divers' dramatic escape from two 50 ton whales
A group of friends who were snorkelling got the shock of their lives when two humpback whales breached the surface to gulp down fish.
British climber first blind person to scale 3,000ft rock
British climber Steve Bate has become the first registered blind person to scale one of the world's most dangerous rock faces.
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Plane crashes into the side of a hangar
A plane has crashed into the side of a hangar while being tested on the ground. Mechanics were checking the engine when the jet suddenly ploughed into the side of the building in Chino, California. Three people were on board, but no one was hurt.
Man killed by rock dislodged by climbing partner in US
A London man has been killed in a rock climbing accident in Yosemite National Park, California.
Felix Joseph Kiernan, 28, from London, was climbing on the East Buttress of El Capitan, a popular climbing route in Yosemite Valley, when he was struck by a rock at around 2.00pm on Sunday.
Mr Kiernan was about 600 feet (180m) up the route when a loose block was dislodged by his climbing partner.
The block, estimated to be one foot (0.3m) by two feet (0.6m), fell approximately 150 feet (45m) before striking Mr Kiernan and causing fatal injuries.
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British climber killed by falling rock at Yosemite
A British man has been killed after being struck by a falling rock during a climbing expedition in Yosemite national park in the US state of California.
Felix Joesph Kiernan was climbing on the East Buttress of El Capitan, when he was struck by a rock which had fallen approximately 150 feet.
The 28-year-old was 600 feet up the climbing route when the incident occurred on Sunday.
Park rangers reached Mr Kiernan, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.
A Foreign Office spokesman said: "We are aware of the death of a British national and we are providing consular assistance to the family."
Trio of wildfires hit California and New Mexico
A trio of drought-fueled wildfires burned out of control in New Mexico and California on Sunday, as shifting winds and other adverse weather conditions hampered fire-fighting efforts.
The Powerhouse wildfire in California's Lake Hughes area, 65 miles north of Los Angeles, has destroyed six houses, said Ronald Ashdale, a spokesman for the US Forest Service.
It was threatening more than 1,000 homes and had already charred 19,500 acres, the Forest Service said, adding the blaze was not expected to be contained before Wednesday.
In New Mexico, two other fires also raged out of control on Sunday, one of them consuming 7,476 acres of Ponderosa pine forest in an area known as the Pecos Wilderness, authorities said.
It too was fed by severe drought conditions blanketing 98 percent of the state, weather officials said.
"This is a historic drought. We haven't seen a drought like this since the 1950s," Dan Ware of New Mexico's State Forestry agency said. .
The other New Mexico fire had consumed 1,745 acres of the Valles Caldera National Preserve by late Sunday, triggering the evacuation of about 50 families, fire officials said
Hilltop homes are swallowed up in California
A number of homes have been swallowed up after ground gave way on a hilltop in California.
Eight have been abandoned and 10 more are under notice of imminent evacuation in Lake County.
Families are now trying to find out what happened to their homes and officials believe water that has bubbled to the surface is playing a role in the destruction.
But nobody can explain why suddenly there is plentiful water atop the hill in a county with groundwater shortages.
The Lake County Board of Supervisors has asked Governor Jerry Brown to declare an emergency so funding might be available to stabilise utilities and determine the cause of the collapse.
California wildfire 60% contained after milder weather
A wildfire that has raged along the California coast northwest of Los Angeles threatening around 4,000 homes is now 60 percent contained.
The blaze remains at 28,000 acres (11,331 hectares) and that is "not expected to change significantly", the Ventura County Fire Department said today.
Milder conditions have helped the 1,856 firefighters assigned "make excellent progress" on extending fire containment lines, a spokesperson said.
Five firefighters have suffered minor injuries while battling the so-called Springs Fire - two fell and three had debris in their eyes.
"It is expected that the de-mobilisation process will begin today and some firefighters will be sent home or to other fires", the fire department said.
All evacuation orders have been lifted.
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Fierce US wildfire almost 60% contained
A fierce wildfire that had threatened 4,000 homes northwest of Los Angeles was nearly 60% contained on Saturday as favourable weather conditions helped beat it back, officials said.
Captain Dan Horgon of the Ventura County Fire Department told Reuters: "We actually have a pretty good marine layer, which is like thick fog on the coast moving inland, cooler temperatures and higher humidity."
Watch: California timber yard burns in US wildfires.
He added: "That coupled with our efforts out there with our firefighters have made the situation quite a bit better."
The Springs Fire in coastal Ventura County has blackened about 28,000 acres (11,300 hectares) of rugged brushland since it started on Thursday.
California timber yard burns in US wildfires
A timber yard in California blazes as wildfire triples in size
Full scale of US blaze revealed in fire service map
The full scale of the US wildfire that has ravaged parts of Southern California has been revealed in a map plotted by the Ventura County Fire Department.
The red line shows the outer edges of the fire, while the blue lines show evacuation areas.
The service posted on its Facebook page: "Evacuation orders in these areas may have been lifted. Firefighters continue to gain ground on the fire and good progress is being made on containment lines."
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