The more oil and gas companies pump their saltwater waste into the ground, and the faster they do it, the more they have triggered earthquakes in the central United States, a massive new study found.

An unprecedented recent jump in quakes in America's heartland can be traced to the stepped up rate that drilling wastewater is injected deep below the surface, according to a study in Thursday's journal Science that looked at 187,570 injection wells over four decades.

After NBC's decision to remove Brian Williams as "Nightly News" anchor and reassign him to MSNBC, the embattled news reader faces a quest to rebuild his credibility and dignity in a role that is a marked comedown from his old one.

Step No. 1 is Friday, when he faces old colleague Matt Lauer for an interview that will be aired on the "Today" show and "Nightly News." It will be Williams' first time speaking publicly since being suspended in February for telling tales about his reporting experiences.

Lady Gaga turned up in a black bra and dark panties before switching to a zebra-striped suit. Tony Bennett stuck to old-fashioned blue, while Stephen Colbert looked at home in denim and a cowboy hat.

Bennett, Colbert, Lady Gaga and Van Morrison were among the featured singers and speakers Thursday night at the 46th annual Songwriters Hall of Fame ceremony, a three hour journey through the vast and unpredictable range of American music. New inductees included country stars Toby Keith and Bobby Braddock, the late Chicago bluesman Willie Dixon, the Grateful Dead songwriting team of Robert Hunter and the late Jerry Garcia, pop and stage star Cyndi Lauper and rock composer and performer Linda Perry.

One Utah university is giving students glued to their cellphones a place to call their own: a designated lane for texting while walking.

The neon green lanes painted on the stairs to the gym at Utah Valley University were intended as a lighthearted way to brighten up the space and get students' attention, spokeswoman Melinda Colton said Thursday.

Brazil will carry a significant edge in experience and a remarkable record of defensive impregnability into Saturday's final against Serbia at the Under-20 World Cup.

Five-time champion Brazil will be playing in its ninth final, trying to match Argentina's record of six World Cup titles, while Serbia are first-time finalists as an independent country, although the broader nation of Yugoslavia made it in 1987.

A 72nd-minute goal by veteran striker Claudio Pizarro gave Peru a 1-0 victory over 10-man Venezuela on Thursday, leaving the four teams of Group C in the Copa America exactly even going into the last games of the round-robin stage.

The Bayern Munich forward scored on a left-footed shot that was tipped by Venezuela goalkeeper Alain Baroja but still went in off the underside of the crossbar.

Even after guiding a team wrecked by injuries to the NBA Finals in his first season, Cleveland Cavaliers coach David Blatt can't escape a narrative that's shadowed him for months.

His relationship with superstar LeBron James remains a touchy topic.

An Islamic State official known as Abu Aisha al-Libi and six other IS jihadists were killed on Friday in a Hizbullah attack on the Kherbet Hamam region on the outskirts of the northeastern town of Arsal, al-Manar TV said.

The jihadists were reportedly plotting to launch an assault on the outskirts of Ras Baalbek.

A man was charged Thursday with conspiring with three other men to provide material support to the Islamic State terror group.

Samuel Rahamin Topaz was charged Thursday with conspiring to travel overseas to join the terror group. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine upon conviction.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is shuffling his top management team, announcing the departure of former Nokia boss Stephen Elop and three other top executives.

Elop had left Microsoft once before to run Nokia, then returned when Microsoft bought the Finnish company's smartphone business for $7.5 billion last year. Analysts said his departure now is a sign that Microsoft is rethinking its approach to the phone business, where it has struggled to make a profit despite recent layoffs and other spending cuts.