It doesn't matter that they belong to President Barack Obama — first family dogs Bo and Sunny had to go through Hawaii's strict quarantine procedures to travel to the islands for their holiday vacation.

Hawaii is rabies free and all incoming dogs have to jump through several hoops, including an expensive rabies blood test. Dogs that don't meet regulations can be quarantined up to 120 days.

Dr. Kenneth Edelin, a Boston physician at the center of a landmark abortion case in the 1970s, died Monday morning in Sarasota, Florida. He was 74.

Edelin's wife, Barbara, confirmed that he died after suffering from cancer.

U.S. authorities urged residents to evacuate a small North Dakota town Monday night after a mile-long (1.6-kilometer) train carrying crude oil derailed outside of town, shaking residents with a series of explosions that sent flames and black smoke skyward.

The Cass County sheriff's office said it was "strongly recommending" that people in the town of Casselton and anyone living five miles (eight kilometers) to the south and east evacuate. A shelter has been set up in Fargo, which is about 25 miles (40 kilometers) away. Casselton has about 2,400 residents.

Samsung said Monday a 110-inch TV that has four times the resolution of standard high-definition TVs is going on sale for about $150,000 in South Korea.

The launch of the giant television set reflects global TV makers' move toward ultra HD TVs as manufacturing bigger TVs using OLED proves too costly.

The Syrian government evacuated some 5,000 people Sunday from an embattled industrial town near Damascus where al-Qaida-linked rebels have been battling government troops for more than two weeks, the state news agency said.

Opposition fighters from Jabhat al-Nusra, or the Nusra Front, swept into Adra northeast of the capital in mid-December, reportedly killing civilians, many of whom are members of the Alawite and Druze sects. Both minority communities largely support President Bashar Assad, who himself is an Alawite, against the primarily Sunni-led rebellion.

In a grassy downtown plaza, strolling musicians wearing glitzy cowboy outfits blast a mariachi song, while Spanish-speaking shoppers bustle between farm stands, sampling tart cactus leaves, sniffing roasting chilies and buying bundles of warm pork tamales.

The scene is an increasingly typical one in towns across California, where Hispanics are on pace to become the largest ethnic group next year. And Watsonville is but one of dozens of California communities where Hispanics outnumber whites.

More than 8 million acres of China's farmland is too polluted with heavy metals and other chemicals to use for growing food, a Cabinet official said Monday, highlighting a problem that is causing growing public concern.

The threat from pollution to China's food supply has been overshadowed by public alarm at smog and water contamination but is gaining attention following scandals over tainted rice and other crops. The government triggered complaints in February when it refused to release results of a nationwide survey of soil pollution, declaring them a state secret.

"Call Me Maybe" singer Carly Rae Jepsen has had her calls returned by Broadway.

Producers of "Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella" said Sunday that the Canadian singer-songwriter will take over the role of Cinderella starting Feb. 4 for 12 weeks. She'll take over from Tony Award nominee Laura Osnes.

The next leader of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania's struggling capital city says he won't have an inaugural ball.

Harrisburg Mayor-elect Eric Papenfuse said over the weekend holding a fancy event after his Jan. 6 swearing-in sends the wrong message.

China has banned its officials from smoking in public to set an example to the rest of the country that has the world's largest number of smokers.

The official Xinhua News Agency said that officials are not allowed to smoke in schools, hospitals, sports venues, on public transport or any other places where smoking is banned, or to smoke or offer cigarettes when performing official duties. They also cannot use public funds to buy cigarettes, and within Communist Party or government offices tobacco products cannot be sold nor adverts displayed.