A powerful earthquake Tuesday that centered along the Pacific coast of southern Mexico occurred in a region with a history of unleashing damaging jolts, scientists say.

Since 1973, the seismically active coast has been rocked by 15 major quakes magnitude-7 or larger. The deadliest occurred in 1985 when a magnitude-8 struck, sending shock waves to Mexico City that killed thousands.

British billionaire Richard Branson said Monday his venture to launch paying tourists into space has netted its 500th customer, and it's none other than Ashton Kutcher.

Branson made the announcement on his blog, saying he gave the actor a quick call to congratulate him.

No one knows what led a Florida neighborhood watch captain to shoot Trayvon Martin, a teenager carrying no weapon.

But a new study raises an intriguing question: Could the watch captain have been fooled into thinking the youth was armed in part because he himself was holding a gun?

Apple made computers sexy. Can it do the same for the musty old dividend?

Issuing a regular payment to your stockholders after years of just amassing cash used to be an admission that your company has run out of creative ideas to grow profits.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner is confident that the inherent differences between the Grand Prix circuits in Melbourne and Malaysia will help his drivers turn the tables on McLaren in race two of the Formula One season.

There is little opportunity for teams to improve their cars with just a week between the opening two races, but the Malaysian Grand Prix has the potential to force a very different running order.

Few people want to be wide awake during their colonoscopy exams, but new research suggests too many are getting extra sedation treatment, costing as much as $1 billion yearly in potentially needless services.

Use of anesthesiologists to monitor sedation during colonoscopies and other digestive imaging tests has more than doubled in recent years, and they're used most often for low-risk patients who typically don't need the extra help, the study authors said.

Drug makers AstraZeneca and Targacept say they have abandoned plans to seek regulatory approval for a drug intended to treat major depressive disorder.

AstraZeneca PLC said Tuesday that the drug TC-5214 did not perform as hoped in an eight-week trial compared to a placebo.

It's a quintessentially Cuban experience: Capping off a meal with a snifter of rum and an aromatic cigar.

This Caribbean nation is renowned around the world for its pungent Cohibas, Montecristos and Romeo y Julietas, but on the island, stogie-lovers are increasingly being told to take it outside.

IMF chief Christine Lagarde said Tuesday the global economy has moved back from the "abyss" but that there is still serious weakness in the world financial system.

Lagarde, visiting New Delhi for a two-day trip to attend a conference and meet leaders, said the world financial situation is not as grave as at the start of this year.

Oil prices fell to near $107 a barrel Tuesday in Asia, slipping from close to 10-month highs ahead of new data on the U.S. economy.

Benchmark oil for April delivery was down 80 cents to $107.29 a barrel at late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $1.03 to settle at $108.09 in New York on Monday.