AFP - US space scientists were to attempt Sunday to land a 420-million-dollar spacecraft near Mars's frigid north pole, but were concerned that the odds for success were less than 50 percent.

AFP - Supercell storms plowed across northern Oklahoma state Saturday spawning several tornadoes that crushed structures and sent debris flying miles away, US media reported.

AP - European and developing countries urged the United States and Japan on Sunday to commit to deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 — a step they say is needed to defuse a coming ecological disaster caused by global warming.

AP - A three-legged NASA spacecraft was closing in on Mars Sunday for what scientists hope will be the first-ever touchdown near Mars' north pole to study whether the permafrost could have supported primitive life.

AP - Forecasters said Saturday that at least a dozen tornadoes spun across western and central Kansas a day earlier, destroying numerous homes, downing trees and injuring several people.

AFP - Eight giant pandas were flown Saturday from quake-ravaged southwestern China to Beijing, where they will be housed at a new zoo exhibit built for the Olympic Games, state press said.

AP - Very unsettled weather was expected in the western half of the country on Saturday, from rain and high elevation snow in California to heavy rain and thunderstorms in the western Plains.

AP - It's been a tough few years for the shelled sentinels scratching out a living in Utah's southwestern desert.

AP - The world is losing momentum in the battle against global warming, the U.N. climate chief warned on Saturday, urging environmental ministers from wealthy nations to revive the effort by setting clear targets for reducing greenhouse gases.

AP - Stormy weather, natural gas leaks and the threat of explosions kept hundreds of anxious residents from assessing the damage to their homes on Friday, a day after a large tornado tore through a 35-mile stretch of northern Colorado, killing one person and injuring dozens.

Reuters - A tornado on Thursday damaged the headquarters of beef and pork producer JBS-Swift & Company in Greeley, Colorado, but missed its beef plant, company officials said.