Two killed, 13 injured in bus crash in Phoenix

PHOENIX -- A bus traveling from Los Angeles to Texas went through an intersection as it left the highway Saturday and crashed, killing two people and injuring 13 others, police said. Authorities were investigating, but the cause of the wreck was not immediately known. The bus driver was believed to be among the dead; about 40 people were aboard. Instead of turning left or right upon exiting the interstate, the driver went through an intersection and onto a lot where empty buses were parked, officials said. The bus ripped through a fence before slamming into two empty buses and two steel storage containers. No one was on the lot at the time, Detective Tony Morales said. The bus was en route to El Paso, Texas, from Los Angeles.

Travelers stranded by fires leave Alaskan town

CHICKEN, Alaska -- The last of a group of travelers stranded by wildfires for two days in this tiny mining community were safely escorted out of the area early Saturday. On Thursday, three fires in the area prompted officials to close a 90-mile stretch of Taylor Highway on both sides of Chicken, a community of 21 people. The closure stranded about 200 residents, travelers and seasonal miners. It was unclear how many people left the area Saturday, but officials said several dozen vehicles were escorted out. Another convoy left Chicken early Friday. Fire managers hoped to soon reopen the nearby state highway on a limited basis.

Czech leader resigns after no-confidence vote

PRAGUE, Czech Republic -- Czech Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla said Saturday he will resign later this week after barely surviving a no-confidence vote by his party, which fared poorly in recent elections for the European Parliament. Spidla also stepped down as chief of the governing Social Democratic Party, which leads a three-party coalition that has a one-vote majority in the lower house of parliament. "If I don't have the support of my own party, I can hardly be prime minister with a one-vote majority," Spidla said. Spidla said he will formally tender his government's resignation to President Vaclav Klaus after a Cabinet meeting Wednesday.