Construction is starting on a multi-million-dollar spaceport in a US desert that is meant to launch private citizens into space.

Fierce winds blew wildfires into Southern Californian homes today, forcing thousands of people to flee as columns of smoke rose from a scenic coastal enclave.

A rocket payload which flew briefly into space with ashes of astronaut Gordon Cooper and Star Trek actor James Doohan was recovered today in the US’s New Mexico mountains.

The space agency Nasa is planning to make some money on the long air strip normally used by space shuttles.

A 14-year-old boy accused in a triple-murder on television journalist Sam Donaldson’s ranch told police he took a gun from the barn and shot his family after being repeatedly beaten by his father – including once with a shovel, according to a man who took care of the teenager before his arrest.

A joint US-Israeli laser designed to protect northern Israel from missile attacks downed its largest rocket to date during a test over the southern New Mexico desert.

Police have searched a southern New Mexico home for clues to what might have led to the shooting deaths of a couple and their three young daughters.