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Gunmen raid home in Iraq, kill 5 people
BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi authorities say gunmen have broken into the house of an anti-terrorism police officer in the southern suburbs of Baghdad, killing five people including him and his sleeping family. Sat, 18 May 2013 05:20:43 -0400

UN chief appoints former Dutch minister to head Mali mission

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday appointed former Dutch development minister Albert Gerard Koenders as U.N. special envoy for Mali and head of the U.N. peacekeeping mission in the West African country. Ban said Aichatou Mindaoudou Souleymane of Niger would replace Koenders as head of the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Ivory Coast. Souleymane is currently deputy envoy for the African Union and U.N. peacekeeping mission in Darfur. Koenders was the Dutch minister for development cooperation between 2007 and 2010 before he took up the Ivory Coast role in 2011. ...

Sat, 18 May 2013 05:11:03 -0400

Powerball jackpot closing in on another record

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Less than 10 months after three tickets split a world-record lottery prize, the jackpot for Saturday's Powerball drawing was nearing historic territory once again.

Sat, 18 May 2013 04:50:10 -0400

Denmark's Hoyer wins presidency of badminton body
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Former Olympics champion Poul-Erik Hoyer has pledged to improve the image of badminton after winning the presidency of the sport's world governing body. Sat, 18 May 2013 04:42:56 -0400

Suspected Islamist gunmen assassinate Yemeni colonel
ADEN (Reuters) - Gunmen shot dead a senior Yemeni military intelligence officer who had been targeted for assassination by al Qaeda-linked militants, a local security official said. Colonel Abdullah al-Rabaki was walking home in the city of Mukalla in Hadramawt Province late on Friday when the gunmen shot him six times with a revolver fitted with a silencer, the official said. They escaped on a motorbike. Leaflets from Islamist militants allied to al Qaeda had previously been circulated in the city on Yemen's south coast, calling for Rabaki's assassination, the official said. ... Sat, 18 May 2013 04:39:55 -0400

SKorea says NKorea fires 3 short-range missiles
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea fired three short-range guided missiles into its eastern waters on Saturday, a South Korean official said. It routinely tests such missiles, but the latest launches came during a period of tentative diplomacy aimed at easing tensions. Sat, 18 May 2013 04:37:06 -0400

GOP hopes IRS scandal will snag health care law

WASHINGTON (AP) — Political scandals have strange ways of causing collateral damage, and Republicans are hoping the furor over federal tax enforcers singling out conservative groups will ensnare their biggest target: President Barack Obama's health care law.

Sat, 18 May 2013 04:18:42 -0400

SPIN METER: GOP raps Dems for IRS union cash

WASHINGTON (AP) — Seeking maximum political gain from the string of controversies swirling around the White House, Republicans are on the attack against Democratic lawmakers who accepted donations from the union that represents Internal Revenue Service employees.

Sat, 18 May 2013 04:17:29 -0400

French president signs gay marriage into law
PARIS (AP) — French President Francois Hollande has signed a law authorizing gay marriage and adoption by same-sex couples, after months of nationwide protests and wrenching debate. Sat, 18 May 2013 04:15:53 -0400

Sudans defuse row over rebel support, promise more talks
By Hereward Holland JUBA (Reuters) - Sudan's foreign minister said on Friday neighbour South Sudan had promised him it would not let rebels operate across their shared border, defusing a row that had threatened a key oil deal. The countries, which fought one of Africa's longest civil before a 2005 peace deal, agreed in March to resume cross-border crude exports and defuse tensions that have plagued them since South Sudan's secession in 2011. ... Sat, 18 May 2013 03:51:51 -0400

Nigeria bombs Islamists, US sounds alarm
By Lanre Ola MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (Reuters) - Nigerian warplanes struck militant camps in the northeast on Friday in a major push against an Islamist insurgency, drawing a sharp warning from the United States to respect human rights and not harm civilians. Troops used jets and helicopters to bombard targets in their biggest offensive since the Boko Haram group launched a revolt almost four years ago to establish a breakaway Islamic state and one military source said at least 30 militants had been killed. ... Sat, 18 May 2013 03:50:29 -0400

Afghan police chief shot dead outside home
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Motorcycle-riding gunmen assassinated a police chief in front of his house after he led an anti-Taliban campaign in western Afghanistan, an official said Saturday. Sat, 18 May 2013 03:50:12 -0400

Probe begins after Conn. commuter trains crash

FAIRFIELD, Conn. (AP) — Two commuter trains packed with rush-hour commuters collided in an accident that sent more than 60 people to the hospital, severely damaged the tracks and threatened to snarl travel in the congested Northeast Corridor.

Sat, 18 May 2013 03:50:08 -0400

Blinking skirts, fake tans: It must be Eurovision

MALMO, Sweden (AP) — Flashy skirts, fake tans, fur and feathers: It's the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest.

Sat, 18 May 2013 03:49:09 -0400

One dead, dozens wounded in sectarian clashes in Egypt
ALEXANDRIA (Reuters) - One person died and dozens were wounded during clashes between Muslims and Christians late Friday night outside a Coptic church in Egypt's second city, state newspaper al-Ahram reported, in the latest violent sectarian row in the Muslim-majority country. A quarrel between two young men, one Christian and one Muslim, morphed into a family feud that sparked clashes in a western district of Alexandria. The two sides threw firebombs at each other before security forces intervened and cordoned off the area around the church. ... Sat, 18 May 2013 03:48:20 -0400

Liberia's Johnson-Sirleaf defends governance record

By Lesley Wroughton WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf on Friday defended her government's record on good governance and transparency, following an independent audit that cast doubt on her anti-corruption efforts. She said a recent audit of resource contracts by accounting firm Moore Stephens contracts had been commissioned to fix, and not hide, problems in the West African country. The independent audit showed that almost all the $8 billion worth of resource contracts signed by Liberia since 2009 violated the country's laws and showed widespread irregularities. ...

Sat, 18 May 2013 03:46:45 -0400

Denmark favorite to win Eurovision Song Contest

MALMO, Sweden (AP) — An ethno-inspired flute and drum tune from Denmark is the bookmakers' favorite to win this year's Eurovision Song Contest, which also features a bizarre opera pop number from Romania and an Armenian rock song written by the guitarist of Black Sabbath.

Sat, 18 May 2013 03:44:53 -0400

2 fires north of LA persist after long fire week
SANTA CLARITA, Calif. (AP) — A pair of tamed but persistent wildfires still burned in the hills and mountains around Interstate 5 after a wild week of burning brush in the area north of Los Angeles. Sat, 18 May 2013 03:42:29 -0400

Obama agenda seems to be weathering controversies

WASHINGTON (AP) — Despite Democratic fears, predictions of the demise of President Barack Obama's agenda appear exaggerated after a week of cascading controversies, political triage by the administration and party leaders in Congress and lack of evidence to date of wrongdoing close to the Oval Office.

Sat, 18 May 2013 03:28:57 -0400

OJ's ex-lawyer contradicts his testimony on guns

LAS VEGAS (AP) — O.J. Simpson's former lawyer defended himself point-by-point Friday against allegations he botched the former football star's armed-robbery trial, after giving damaging testimony that Simpson actually knew his buddies had guns when they went to a hotel room together to reclaim some sports memorabilia.

Sat, 18 May 2013 03:27:21 -0400

Exclusive: EU cites Chinese telecoms Huawei and ZTE for trade violations

By Daniel Bases NEW YORK (Reuters) - Europe's top trade official for the first time late on Friday officially cited Chinese mobile telecommunications equipment makers Huawei and ZTE Corp for violating anti-dumping and anti-subsidy guidelines. European Union Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht said he was prepared to launch a formal investigation into anti-competitive behavior by these Chinese companies in order to protect a "strategic" sector of Europe's economy. ...

Sat, 18 May 2013 03:25:41 -0400

Guest lineups for the Sunday news shows
WASHINGTON (AP) — Guest lineups for the Sunday TV news shows: Sat, 18 May 2013 03:23:12 -0400

Penguins take control vs. Senators behind Crosby

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Dan Bylsma has spent more than four years watching Sidney Crosby be Sidney Crosby.

Sat, 18 May 2013 03:17:50 -0400

Bradley has 3-stroke lead after 2 rounds at Nelson

IRVING, Texas (AP) — The last thing Keegan Bradley wanted to do at the 18th hole with a cozy lead was flirt with the water on the left.

Sat, 18 May 2013 03:16:53 -0400

10 Things to Know about the Preakness _ and beyond

BALTIMORE (AP) — There are only two outcomes when it comes to Saturday's Preakness Stakes — either the Kentucky Derby winner Orb wins the race to set up a Triple Crown try in the Belmont Stakes in three weeks, or another horse pulls an upset and prevents a shot at history.

Sat, 18 May 2013 03:14:03 -0400

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