Climate forecasts for the region predict an advance of the desert about 300 kilometers to the north.

By Rachel Carta, The News-Item, Shamokin, Pa. Jun. 18--MOUNT CARMEL TOWNSHIP -- Robert Carey was seated along a coal rib in an underground anthracite mine Monday morning when the roof collapsed, pinning him between the rib and roofing material and ultimately claiming his life.

By St. Louis Post-Dispatch Apr. 21--At least five small aftershocks to Friday's earthquake rumbled through Southern Illinois this weekend, including a moderate quake measuring a 4.5 magnitude at 12:38 a.m. this morning.

By LEN WELLS, Courier & Press correspondent (618) 842-2159 or lenwells@wabash.net Rainfall amounts of up to 12 inches across much of Southern Illinois last week have caused rivers there to spill out of their banks, flooding homes and businesses and forcing much of the region's oil industry to shut down.

By Jay Tokasz, The Buffalo News, N.Y. Feb. 10--Five more Catholic churches in Erie and Wyoming counties will be shut down and a sixth will be converted into an occasional worship site, under the Diocese of Buffalo's latest restructuring plans.