Hundreds of thousands of commuters who rely on Bay Area Rapid Transit -- the nation's fifth-largest rail system -- had to find alternate routes to work. Traffic heading to San Francisco on the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge was jammed.

Lines for ferries and buses appeared even longer than on Monday, and BART said charter buses it was running at four stations reached capacity before 7 a.m. and could not accommodate additional passengers.

Tolu Adeoye, 19 watched as an Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District bus cruised past his stop in Berkeley. It was full, leaving him and more than 20 others stranded and looking for other options to get to San Francisco.

"I guess I'm not going to work today," said Adeoye, a Santa Clara University student who works for Xerox.

Workers representing two of BART's largest unions went on strike after talks with management broke down on Sunday. No new talks have been scheduled.

The striking unions and management reported being far apart on key issues including salary, pensions, health care and safety.

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The network said Monday that it will join with producer Mark Burnett and his actress-wife, Roma Downey, on the sequel. Burnett and Downey produced "The Bible" for the History channel.

Downey starred in "Touched by an Angel" and also played Jesus Christ's mother, Mary, in the miniseries that aired earlier this year.

NBC says the sequel has the working title "A.D.: Beyond the Bible" and will open in the days following Christ's death.

Casting and an air date haven't been announced.

Burnett's producing credits include the NBC series "The Voice" and "Celebrity Apprentice."

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Meanwhile, Mohammed Morsi faced fissures from within after a stunning surge of street rage reminiscent of Egypt's Arab Spring revolution in 2011 that cleared the way for Morsi's long-suppressed Muslim Brotherhood to win the first open elections in decades.

Three government spokesmen were the latest to quit as part of high-level defections that underscored his increasing isolation and fallout from the ultimatum from Egypt's powerful armed forces to either find a political solution by Wednesday or the generals would seek their own way to end the political chaos.

The Cabinet, led by the Morsi-backed Prime Minister Hesham Qandil, was scheduled to meet later Tuesday. But the defense and interior ministers were expected to boycott in a sign of support for the military's warnings.

The police, which are under control of the Interior Ministry, have stood on the sidelines of the protests, refusing even to protect the offices of the Muslim Brotherhood that have been attacked and ransacked.

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By the time the flames had passed, 19 men lay dead in the nation's biggest loss of firefighters in a wildfire in 80 years.

The tragedy Sunday evening all but wiped out the 20-member Granite Mountain Hotshots, a unit based in the small town of Prescott, Prescott Fire Chief Dan Fraijo said as the last of the bodies were retrieved from the mountain. Only one member survived, and that was because he was moving the unit's truck at the time, authorities said.

The deaths plunged the town into mourning, and Arizona's governor called it "as dark a day I can remember" and ordered flags flown at half-staff.

"We are heartbroken about what happened," President Barack Obama said while on a visit to Africa. He predicted the tragedy will force government leaders to answer broader questions about how they handle increasingly destructive and deadly wildfires.

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In Sao Paulo, Brazil's economic hub, at least 65,000 protesters gathered at a small, treeless plaza then broke into three directions in a Carnival atmosphere, with drummers beating out samba rhythms as the crowds chanted anti-corruption jingles. They also focused on the cause that initially sparked the protests last week — a 10-cent hike in bus and subway fares.

Violence was seen in Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte and the southern city of Porto Alegre. Police clashed with clusters of protesters in those cities, at times using tear gas to disperse them. In Rio, about 50 protesters tried to break into the state assembly building before being driven off. The newspaper O Globo, citing the state security department, said 20 police officers and 10 protesters were injured in Rio. In Porto Alegre, some protesters set a bus on fire and threw rocks at empty commuter trains.

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Sebastien De La Cruz, a mariachi singer who first found fame as a contestant on "America's Got Talent," was congratulated by Spurs coach Gregg Popovich and Heat coach Erik Spoelstra at midcourt after he belted out "The Star-Spangled Banner" while boisterous fans cheered him on at the AT&T Center.

The Spurs arranged the second act as a show of support following a run of disparaging tweets about Latinos and immigrants during De La Cruz's nationally televised performance before Game 3 on Tuesday.

De La Cruz, who was born and raised in San Antonio, said he was grateful and excited for being invited back.

"It makes me feel real good about myself," De La Cruz said. "It makes me feel like, in San Antonio, I know there are a lot of people that encourage me to keep on doing what I want to do."

Before the game, Popovich bemoaned the "idiots" who posted bigoted comments.

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There was no time to grab wedding albums, fingerprint artwork by her 20-month-old daughter, quilts her grandmother made, her family's three cats.

"We left with nothing," she said.

She and her husband later watched on television this week as flames engulfed their house.

"I don't know how to tell you in words what it felt like," she said. "It's the worst thing I've ever felt in my whole life."

Sheriff's officials released a preliminary list Wednesday showing the Black Forest Fire northeast of Colorado Springs has destroyed at least 92 homes and damaged five more. The fire was among several that surged rapidly Tuesday along Colorado's Front Range.

Fueled by hot temperatures, changing gusts, and thick, bone-dry forests, the Black Forest Fire has prompted evacuation orders and pre-evacuation notices to between 9,000 and 9,500 people and to about 3,500 homes and businesses, sheriff's officials said.

Part of neighboring Elbert County, including two camps with a total of about 1,250 children and adults, also was evacuated.

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A new analysis of the Syrian death toll documented 92,901 killings between March 2011 and the end of April 2013. But the U.N.'s top human rights official, Navi Pillay, who oversees the Geneva-based office, said it was impossible to provide an exact current figure.

The last such analysis, released in January, documented nearly 60,000 killings through the end of November. Since then, U.N. officials had estimated higher numbers. The latest figures add more confirmed killings to the previous time period, and find almost 27,000 more between December and April.

"The constant flow of killings continues at shockingly high levels, with more than 5,000 killings documented every month since last July," said Pillay, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights. "This is most likely a minimum casualty figure. The true number of those killed is potentially much higher."

Among the victims were at least 6,561 children, including 1,729 children younger than 10.

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Nearly two weeks of protests across the nation have shaped up as perhaps the biggest test in the 10-year rule of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan — who protesters say is increasingly authoritarian, a charge that he and his allies strongly deny.

President Abdullah Gul, seen by many as a more moderate voice, said the government could not tolerate more of the unrest that has disrupted daily life for nearly two weeks, but authorities would listen to protesters' grievances.

"I am hopeful that we will surmount this through democratic maturity," Gul told reporters. "If they have objections, we need to hear them, enter into a dialogue. It is our duty to lend them an ear."

It was unclear exactly who would be taking part in the meeting scheduled for 4 p.m. (1300 GMT) at Erdogan's office in Ankara, and whether the meeting will have an impact in brokering an end to the protests.

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Massive plumes of tear gas billowed upward, and police fired water cannons Tuesday night.

It was the latest sign that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government has run out of patience after 12 days of unrest in Turkey's largest city and beyond.

Several people were being placed into ambulances during the latest clashes, which have trained an international spotlight on Turkey's democracy.

The protests have swelled from a peaceful demonstration first aimed to stop developers from cutting down trees in a park into nationwide disturbances.

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Christopher Durang's comical Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike won the best play Tony. Matilda the Musical and Pippin won four awards and two other shows — Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and The Nance — shared three awards each.

Lauper, who wrote the hit "Girls Just Want to Have Fun," was part of an impressive group of women who took top honors. Diane Paulus and Pam MacKinnon both won for directing — a rare time women have won directing Tonys for both a musical and a play in the same year. (It also happened most recently at the 1998 Tonys.)

Kinky Boots also won for choreography and two technical awards, and Billy Porter won for leading man in a musical.

Porter beat Kinky Boots co-star Stark Sands and told him from the stage: "You are my rock, my sword, my shield. Your grace gives me presence. I share this award with you. I'm gonna keep it at my house! But I share it with you."

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Mandela, who is 94 years old, was treated in a hospital several times in recent months, with the last discharge coming on April 6 after doctors diagnosed him with pneumonia and drained fluid from his lung area. He has been particularly vulnerable to respiratory problems since contracting tuberculosis during his 27-year imprisonment under apartheid.

A small girl and her father stood outside Mandela's Johannesburg home with a stone on which was written a get-well message for Mandela, who helped end white racist rule and became the country's first black president in all-race elections in 1994. A young boy brought a bouquet of flowers that he handed over to guards at the house.

Elsewhere in the city, some worshippers prayed for Mandela during an outdoor gathering.

"If the time comes, we wish for him a good way to go," said Noel Ngwenya, a security officer who was in the congregation.

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It was a stark contrast to the sobbing figure Pistorius presented through much of his bail hearing in February. Magistrate Daniel Thulare postponed the proceedings in Pretoria Magistrate's Court until Aug. 19 to allow police to complete their investigation into the Valentine's Day shooting death of Reeva Steenkamp. The delay underscores that the trial will be a slow process, with a verdict possibly not coming until next year.

The extension was sought by the prosecution, giving investigators six months to gather evidence, interview witnesses and prepare a case against the 26-year-old athlete. Pistorius' lead defense lawyer Barry Roux agreed with the postponement, and said they could start to deal with "pre-trial" issues in the high-profile case on the August date.

Pistorius' trial is not expected to start before September, at the earliest, and is likely to be conducted at the High Court in Pretoria. The Paralympic champion is charged with premeditated murder in the killing of his girlfriend.

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The U.N. Commission of Inquiry said conclusive findings can be reached only after testing samples taken directly from victims or the site of the alleged attacks. It called on Damascus to allow a team of experts into the country.

President Barack Obama has said repeatedly that Syria's use of chemical weapons, or the transfer of its stockpiles to a terrorist group, would cross a "red line." Tuesday's report appeared to strengthen U.S. officials' assertions that more definitive proof was needed.

The commission's report to the Human Rights Council on violations in Syria's conflict accused both sides of committing war crimes. In an apparent message to European countries considering arming Syrian rebels, the report warned that the transfer of arms would heighten the risk of violations, leading to more civilian deaths and injuries.

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Thousands have joined anti-government rallies across Turkey since Friday, when police launched a pre-dawn raid against a peaceful sit-in protesting plans to uproot trees in Istanbul's main Taksim Square. Since then, the demonstrations by mostly secular-minded Turks have spiraled into Turkey's biggest anti-government disturbances in years, and have spread to many of the biggest cities.

The Hatay province governor's office said the man, Abdullah Comert, died in a hospital after he was shot Monday during a demonstration in the city of Antakya. It suggested, however, that he may have been shot by demonstrators trying to inflame tensions, saying police had been fired on during the protest.

But the province's chief prosecutor said that an autopsy showed Comert received a blow to the head and there was no trace of a gunshot wound. It said authorities had launched an investigation into the death.

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A judge will hold a final pretrial conference on Monday before jury selection begins Tuesday for the trial of the reputed Boston mob boss.

Bulger, who is 83, fled in 1994 after being tipped off that he was about to be indicted. He remained a fugitive for more than 16 years before being captured in Santa Monica, Calif., in June 2011.

Prosecutors plan to call mob figures, including Bulger's former partner, Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi, who is now serving a life sentence for 10 murders.

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LA County Sheriff's Lt. David Coleman said at a news conference Sunday that evacuees wouldn't be returning home until at least Monday and possibly Tuesday.

Coleman says about 2,000 people and 500 homes were under evacuation orders in the community of Lake Elizabeth, and about 800 people from 200 homes were affected in Lake Hughes.

He says another 1,000 people and 250 homes could be evacuated in the community of Green Valley if the fire moves much closer.

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In a statement, spokeswoman Laura Lucas says the U.S. believes peaceful public demonstrations "are a part of democratic expression." And she says Turkey's long-term stability is best guaranteed by upholding "the fundamental freedoms of expression, assembly and association."

The White House statement in particular calls on security forces in Turkey to "exercise restraint."

Thousands of people around Turkey have been protesting in the country's fiercest anti-government demonstrations in years. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan (REH'-jehp TY'-ihp UR'-doh-wahn) rejected claims that he is a "dictator," dismissing protesters as an extremist fringe.

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Yanira Maldonado was greeted by well-wishers as she left the lockup on the outskirts of Nogales and hugged her husband, Gary, as officials closed the jail doors behind her.

"She lived through a nightmare," said her attorney, Jose Francisco Benitez Paz.

Maldonado was arrested by the Mexican military last week after they found nearly 12 pounds (5.4 kilograms) of pot under her seat on the commercial bus traveling from Mexico to Arizona.

The case created a nightmare scenario that has prompted outrage in the U.S. among politicians and pitted the conservative Mormon family against a judicial system that has long struggled with corruption.

Her release came hours after court officials reviewed security footage that showed her and her husband boarding a bus in Mexico with only blankets, bottles of water and her purse in hand.

The judge determined that she was no longer a suspect and all allegations against her were dropped, according to Benitez Paz.

She spoke briefly to reporters clustered outside the jail, saying she thanks God, her husband and her lawyer.

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