9,000 die in big china quake
A massive earthquake toppled buildings across a wide area of central China on Monday, killing more than 9,000 people, trapping hundreds of students under the rubble of schools and causing a toxic chemical leak in one of the worst quakes in decades. The 7.8-magnitude earthquake devastated a region of small cities and towns set amid steep hills northeast of Sichuan's provincial capital of Chengdu. The official Xinhua news agency reported 8,533 people died in Sichuan alone and dozens of others in surrounding areas.