California almonds are becoming one of the world's favorite snacks and creating a multi-billion-dollar bonanza for agricultural investors. But the crop extracts a staggering price from the land, consuming more water than all the showering, dish-washing and other indoor household water use of California's 39 million people.

As California enters its fourth year of drought and imposes the first mandatory statewide water cutbacks on cities and towns, the $6.5 billion almond crop is helping drive a sharp debate about water use, agricultural interests and how both affect the state's giant economy.

Five years after the worst U.S. offshore oil spill, the industry is working on drilling even further into the risky depths beneath the Gulf of Mexico to tap massive deposits once thought unreachable.

But critics say energy companies haven't developed the corresponding safety measures to prevent another disaster or contain one if it happens — a sign, environmentalists say, that the lessons of BP's spill were short-lived.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani accused Saudi Arabia on Saturday of providing weapons and funding to terrorist groups in the Middle East, including Lebanon.

"What does providing financial assistance and weapons to terrorists in Syria, Lebanon and Iraq mean?" Rouhani asked.

GlaxoSmithKline is recalling remaining doses of a popular four-in-one flu vaccine because of effectiveness problems.

The company alerted U.S. customers Tuesday that the vaccine can lose potency over time and fail to adequately protect against some strains of the flu. The Flulaval Quadrivalent Thimerosal-free vaccine in prefilled syringes is designed to protect against four strains of influenza virus.

An outbreak of measles that popped up at Disneyland in late December soon spread to six other U.S. states, Mexico and Canada. Health officials suspect an infected traveler, who caught the virus overseas, visited the theme park and exposed others.

The outbreak sickened 147 people in the U.S., including 131 in California. No deaths were reported.

Basketball Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is recovering after undergoing quadruple coronary bypass surgery.

A hospital statement on Friday says Abdul-Jabbar had the surgery on Thursday at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.

Marseille's French title hopes are all but over after losing 1-0 at Nantes on Friday, which also dents its chances of qualifying for next season's Champions League.

Winger Serge Gakpe scored in the 20th minute following some sloppy defending.

Young Egyptians are once again organizing on social media and taking to the streets of Cairo by the hundreds every Friday, not to protest injustice or clash with police, but to enjoy long runs through one of the world's most crowded and chaotic cities.

On a recent Friday morning around 300 young people gathered at a central square, a small fraction of the 2,500 that had signed up for the event on Facebook, but a reasonable showing for an event held at 7:00 a.m. on a weekend.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport has heard appeals by the Serbian and Albanian football federations challenging UEFA sanctions after their European Championship qualifier was abandoned.

A chaotic match in Belgrade last October was stopped before halftime then called off when a drone carrying an Albanian nationalist banner flew into the stadium.

An all-day Earth Day rally and concert is drawing some big names to the National Mall.

Usher, Mary J. Blige, Gwen Stefani, Common and Train are scheduled to perform Saturday during the free event hosted by will.i.am and Soledad O'Brien. The rally runs from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. near the Washington Monument.