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A suicide car bomber attacked a convoy of foreign advisers in the Afghan capital on Thursday, police said. The number of dead and wounded was unclear. The powerful explosion rattled buildings on the other side of the capital and sent a pillar of white smoke into the sky over eastern Kabul. Initial reports were that a car bomb exploded in front of a member of parliament's house in the east of the city, Afghan police officer Jahn Agha said. Kabul provincial police spokesman Hashmad Stanakzi said...

The ceiling of a shoe factory in Cambodia collapsed while several dozen workers were inside the building early Thursday, killing at least two people and possibly trapping more under the debris, police said. The ceiling is believed to have caved under the weight of heavy iron equipment being stored on the floor above, police officer Khem Pannara said. Two bodies have been pulled from the wreckage and at least seven people were injured in the factory south of the capital, Phnom Penh, he said. Pannara...

Australian rules Australian Football League figures reveal there were 26 positive tests by players for illicit drugs in 2012, a 227 percent increase from the previous season. The league said all 26 positive tests were out-of-competition, and 25 of the 26 results were related to stimulants, with one for cannabis. "The increase is obviously disappointing," AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou said Thursday, "but it reinforces the need to be vigilant and for a medical model that allows players to...

Today is Thursday, May 16, the 136th day of 2013. There are 229 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On May 16, 1943, the nearly month-long Warsaw Ghetto Uprising came to an end as German forces crushed the Jewish resistance and blew up the Great Synagogue. An estimated 7,000 Jews were killed during the uprising, while about 7,000 others were summarily executed. The remaining Jews, more than 40,000 of them, were deported to concentration camps. On this date: In 1763, the...

Ethan Welty is thinking ahead to harvest time as he cycles through tidy Boulder streets pointing out apple, plum and mulberry trees on public and private land. "We're coming up on the best apple trees in Boulder," said Welty, a geographer and PhD student specializing in glaciers in the University of Colorado's Environmental Studies program. He was approaching a front-yard grove of trees. Last summer and fall, Welty said, he never went to a supermarket for fruit. He had two apple trees in his...

Boca Juniors advanced to the quarterfinals of the Copa Libertadores by holding defending champion to a 1-1 draw on Wednesday, eliminating the Brazilian club 2-1 on aggregate. Veteran Juan Roman Riquelme scored a remarkable goal to open the scoring in the 25th, finding the far corner with a curling long-range shot from near the sidelines. Brazil midfielder Paulinho equalized for Corinthians in the 50th, but the champions needed two more goals to move on in the Latin American tournament. Corinthians...

Legoland Florida's newest ride and play area will open to the public on July 3. Park officials said in a news release Tuesday that the expansion is based on the popular Legends of Chima product line. Construction is unde rway on the Chima-themed area within the park _ it includes an interactive water ride called The Quest for Chi, a Lego-building challenge, a 4-D movie and a meet-and-greet with costumed characters. According to Lego's website, the Chima storyline is about a pristine, natural...

Miami is headed back to the NBA Eastern Conference finals after coming from 11 points down in the second half to beat the Chicago Bulls 94-91 on Wednesday, completing a 4-1 series win. LeBron James scored 23 points and Dwyane Wade added 18 for Miami, which led 22-4 but was then outscored by a whopping 29 points over the next 27 minutes before snatching back the initiative and scoing 25 points to 14 in the final quarter. Chris Bosh scored 12 points and Udonis Haslem added 10 for the Heat, which...

Ever tried toasting hamburger buns on a grill? It takes uncanny timing to achieve an even medium brown across the buns. Typically, they remain white for what seems like far too long. Then it's as if time accelerates, and they blow past toasted to burnt in the time it takes to flip the burgers. The same phenomenon is at work when you toast a marshmallow over a campfire: wait and turn, wait and turn... then brown, black and _ poof! _ it's aflame. The problem is perhaps most acute when cooking shiny-skinned...

Three-D printing technology is a game changer in the arts and crafts world. "It really takes the lid off of what's possible," says Andrej Suskavcevic, president and CEO of the Craft and Hobby Association, in Elmwood Park, New Jersey. "It seems to me it'll provide a really good bridge between technology and hands-on crafting." Randy Sarafan, technology editor at Instructables, a website for sharing do-it-yourself projects, calls 3-D printing "mind-blowing. And the technology is adapting, changing...

Forecasters say the first tropical storm of the eastern Pacific hurricane season is strengthening off the coast of Mexico. The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami says Tropical Storm Alvin formed Wednesday. As of 11 p.m. Eastern time, it had maximum sustained winds of about 45 mph and was moving west-northwest at 12 mph. Alvin could become a hurricane in several days. It isn't currently a threat to land. The eastern and north Pacific season began Wednesday and runs through Nov. 30. The...

Chicago's Johnny Oduya and Marcus Kruger scored in the third period as the Blackhawks beat the Detroit Red Wings 4-1 in the opener of their NHL second-round playoff series Wednesday. Goaltender Corey Crawford made 20 saves, Marian Hossa scored the opening goal, and Patrick Sharp had an empty-netter and two assists to give him nine points in the playoffs. Jimmy Howard finished with 38 stops in a terrific performance, but Detroit still lost to rival Chicago for the eighth straight time dating to...

A popular Vietnamese satellite TV provider has stopped broadcasting foreign channels including BBC and CNN as the country begins enforcing a new law that foreign governments fear will limit access to information. The regulation requires international broadcasters to provide translation into Vietnamese of their contents. Industry groups say the law, known as Decision 20, is impractical and prohibitively expensive. Pay TV K+ said it had cut the signals of 21 foreign channels as a result of the...

CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS (Best-of-7) Tuesday, May 14 Pittsburgh 4, Ottawa 1, Pittsburgh leads series 1-0 Los Angeles 2, San Jose 0, Los Angeles leads series 1-0 Wednesday, May 15 Chicago 4, Detroit 1, Chicago leads series 1-0 Thursday, May 16 N.Y. Rangers at Boston San Jose at Los Angeles

The Kings are staying in Sacramento, and Seattle will have to wait for another NBA franchise. League owners voted Wednesday to follow the recommendation of their relocation committee and reject an aggressive bid to move the Kings, and NBA commissioner David Stern promptly announced that he hoped to have a deal in place in 48 hours with a group that wants to buy the team from the Maloof brothers. "And now we think that because the Maloofs have overall been very good for Sacramento and the Kings...

O.J. Simpson made his own case Wednesday for a new trial on armed robbery charges with testimony that he relied on the advice of his trusted attorney when he tried to reclaim mementos from his football glory days. "It was my stuff. I followed what I thought was the law," the 65-year-old former National Football League star and actor said. "My lawyer told me I couldn't break into a guy's room. I didn't break into anybody's room. I didn't try to muscle the guys. The guys had my stuff, even though...

An expert in Afghan culture testified Wednesday that pornography found on the computer of a U.S. Army general then deployed to the Muslim country would be highly offensive to local residents. Former Defense Intelligence Agency adviser Morwari Zafar made the comments at a pre-trial hearing for Brig. Gen. Jeffery Sinclair. A court-martial for the former deputy commander of the 82nd Airborne is set to begin June 25 on charges that include forcible sodomy, indecent acts, violating orders and adultery....

The top U.S. military officer says women in uniform are losing confidence that the problem of sexual assault in the armed forces can be solved. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, says that diminishing confidence is a crisis for the military. Dempsey spoke about the problem Wednesday during a flight from Europe to Washington. His remarks were reported by the Pentagon's internal news service. Dempsey suggests that a deepening of the sexual assault problem may...

Arctic states agreed Wednesday to let nations that are located nowhere near the Earth's north to become observers to their diplomatic council, boosting rising economic powers China, India and South Korea, which are seeking to mine the region for its untapped energy and other natural resources. The European Union also was tentatively granted observer status to the eight-state council but must first address several questions about its bid, including concerns about its ban on Canadian seal exports....

Landon Donovan scored one goal and set up two more to lead the Los Angeles Galaxy past the Philadelphia Union 4-1 Wednesday in Major League Soccer. Robbie Keane and Hector Jimenez also scored for the two-time defending MLS Cup champion Galaxy, who broke a rare two-game losing streak with three second-half goals. In the process, Donovan became the fourth player in club history to play in 200 games. He has 94 goals, the most in club history. Amobi Okugo scored for the Union. The Galaxy went ahead...

Republican Mark Sanford, the former South Carolina governor whose extramarital affair derailed his political career, returned to Congress on Wednesday with his Argentine "soul mate" at his side. "I do," Sanford said, taking his oath. "Congratulations, you are now a member of the 113th Congress," House Speaker John Boehner said. With that, the saga of the gifted politician, husband and father who served three terms in the House beginning in 1995, went on to become governor and threw it all away...

The Cannes Film Festival got off to a blockbuster, if stormy start, as Baz Luhrmann's "The Great Gatsby" opened on a soggy French Riviera. Amid heavy rain, dancing flappers flocked down the Cannes red carpet Wednesday night, bringing a touch of the Jazz Age to the Croisette. "Gatsby" stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan and Tobey Maguire helped give the festival's opening day a strong dose of star power. At the opening ceremony, DiCaprio, joined by his "Gatsby" co-star, Bollywood actor Amitabh...

A stroller carrying a 14-month-old girl has rolled off a Philadelphia train station platform and fallen onto the tracks, injuring her. The girl's mother jumped onto the tracks to rescue her. The girl has been hospitalized with a cut on her forehead. Surveillance video shows the girl's mother on the platform Wednesday afternoon with the girl in a joggling stroller, which slowly rolls forward before tumbling to the tracks about 5 feet (1.6 meters) below. The stroller comes to rest on the outer...

EASTERN CONFERENCE W D L GF GA Pts New York 6 3 4 19 15 21 Houston 6 2 3 17 10 20 Sporting Kansas City 6 2 4 15 9 20 Montreal 6 2 2 15 11 20 Philadelphia 4 3 4 14 18 15 Columbus 3 3 4 12 10 12 New England 2 4 4 6 9 10 Toronto FC 1 4 5 11 15 7 Chicago 2 1 6 6 15 7 D.C. 1 1 8 5 19 4 WESTERN...

American rider Tyler Farrar won the fourth stage of the Tour of California in a mass sprint Wednesday as Colombia's Janier Acevedo topped the overall standings for the third day. Farrar of the Garmin-Sharp team completed the 83.6-mile (134.5-kilometer) stage from Santa Clarita to Santa Barbara in 3 hours, 14 minutes, 9 seconds. Ken Hanson of Optum/Kelly Benefit was second, about a bike-length behind. Belgium's Gianni Meersman, riding for Omega Pharma-Quick Step, was third. "The team did a good...

NASA's planet-hunting Kepler telescope is broken, potentially jeopardizing the search for other worlds where life could exist outside our solar system. If engineers can't find a fix, the failure could mean an end to the $600 million mission's search, although the space agency wasn't ready to call it quits Wednesday. The telescope has discovered scores of planets but only two so far are the best candidates for habitable planets. "I wouldn't call Kepler down-and-out just yet," said NASA sciences...

Brendan Joyce has been hired as the full-time head coach of the Australian Opals women's basketball team in a deal that runs through to the end of the 2016 Olympics in Brazil. Joyce, who worked as an assistant for the national men's team _ the Boomers _ from 2001-09, including two Olympic Games, replaces Carrie Graf in the Opals job. The Opals have won three silver and two bronze medals at the last five Olympics _ including a run of three consecutive final defeats to the U.S. in 2000, '04 and...

Bernd Stange has been hired as Singapore's head coach, the latest in a long list of football appointments for the well-traveled German. The reigning Southeast Asian champions searched for three months before deciding on the 65-year-old Stange, who has coached national teams in the former East Germany, Oman, Iraq and Belarus, and club teams across Europe and in Australia. Stange signed a two-year deal and promises to lift the 165th-ranked Singapore to the next level, saying: "With the experience...

A deadly new respiratory virus related to SARS has apparently spread from patients to health care workers in eastern Saudi Arabia, health officials said Wednesday. The Ministry of Health in Saudi Arabia told world health officials that two health care workers became ill this month after being exposed to patients with the virus. One is critically ill. Since September 2012, the World Health Organization has been informed of 40 confirmed cases of the virus, and 20 of the patients have died. The...

Derby matches in Australia and New Zealand will step up pressure on the Super Rugby conference leaders during the weekend's 14th round. The Hamilton-based Chiefs, hard-hit by injuries, face the Wellington-based Hurricanes in the opening match of the round on Friday as they attempt to continue their season-long stay atop the New Zealand conference. They could lose first place if they are beaten by the Hurricanes in Wellington and if the Auckland-based Blues can beat the Christchurch-based Crusaders...

The largest U.S. retail-industry group on Wednesday criticized an international pact aimed at improving factory conditions in Bangladesh's garment industry, saying it was a "one-size-fits-all" approach promoted by special interests. The National Retail Federation's statement came as more global retailers signed on to the pact backed by about 30 brands including Swedish retailer H&M and French retailer Carrefour. The five-year, legally binding contract requires them to help pay for fire safety...

"Stories We Tell" is a documentary about Sarah Polley's family: her father and mother, sister and brother and the sister and brother she has from her mother's first marriage. It's about moments they've shared that are seemingly prosaic and universally relatable, depicted through the grainy, faded nostalgia of Super 8 _ splashing in the swimming pool, laughing around the dinner table _ as well as the betrayals and losses that shaped and strengthened them. But while it's incredibly specific in its...

People who force others into prostitution and clients of prostitutes will face arrest in the Dominican Republic as part of a crackdown on sex trafficking in the Caribbean country, the attorney general said Wednesday. Prostitution has long been practiced openly in much of the Dominican Republic but the trafficking of people for the sex trade, both within the country and overseas, has become so widespread that the government believes it must now impose controls on the industry, Attorney General...

Circumstances have changed dramatically for Stacy Lewis since last year's Mobile Bay LPGA Classic, and that tournament might have been an impetus to her career surge. The defending champion and No. 2-ranked Lewis returns to The Crossings Course at Magnolia Grove Thursday seeking her third straight win on Alabama's Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail courses. "It's really nice to be back," Lewis said on Wednesday. "You know, about this time last year is when things really kind of started going right...

Jennifer Lopez is the newly appointed chief creative officer of NUVOtv. The versatile J.Lo was announced last fall as a creative partner with the English-language Latino network, but her role was solidified Wednesday as NUVOtv held its upfront for advertisers and prepared for a re-launch of its programming in July. In an interview before the presentation, Lopez said about two years ago she was approached by NUVOtv to serve "probably more as the face of the network. But once we sat down and I...

The crew of the International Space Station is boldly going where no one has gone before _ to see the new "Star Trek" film. The three astronauts were offered a sneak peak of "Star Trek Into Darkness" days before it opens Thursday on Earth, seeing it not in 3-D, but Zero-G. NASA spokesman Kelly Humphries said the movie was beamed up to the outpost Monday and the two Russians and American on board had a day off Tuesday. That gave them a chance to view it on their laptops. It's unclear if they watched...

Jason Dufner outwardly showed little emotion last year when he won the Byron Nelson Championship in the midst of his incredible stretch of golf. The same goes for Dufner when things aren't going as well, such as this season. "I don't show it, but obviously it's going on inside. I played a lot of rounds this year with frustration and anger on my mind," Dufner said Wednesday. "I've got a good way of hiding the good and the bad. But there has been more anger and frustration this year than there...

Britain's prime minister said Wednesday a high-level panel he co-chairs will be making recommendations aimed at ending extreme poverty in the world by 2030 _ and that means improving life for more than one billion people living on less than $1.25 a day. David Cameron told reporters after two days of closed meetings this would require giving the world's poorest clean drinking water, electricity, health care and schools. "Getting to the point where no one at all is that poor is no longer a pipe...

Branislav Ivanovic watched from the stands as Chelsea won its first Champions League last season. He eased the pain of missing that match while suspended by scoring an injury time winner Wednesday as his team beat Benfica 2-1 for the Europa League title. "When you won one time, you want another one, this never stops. It is something in the sport that pushes you forward," the Serbian defender said after his looping header from Juan Mata's corner kick sealed the win in the 93rd minute. Chelsea...

President Barack Obama ousted the acting commissioner of the federal tax agency Wednesday, moving forcefully to quell a growing uproar over revelations that conservative political groups were improperly targeted for scrutiny when they filed for tax-exempt status. Obama, who had been criticized for appearing passive in his response to one of the latest scandals to hit his administration, promised new safeguards would be put in place to prevent a recurrence of the actions at the Internal Revenue...

Today is Thursday, May 23, 2013, the 143rd day of the year. There are 222 days left in the year. Highlights in history on this date: 1430 - Joan of Arc is captured near Compiegne, France, by Burgundians, who sell her to the English. 1785 - Benjamin Franklin creates his own pair of bifocals. 1853 - Constitution of Argentine Republic goes into effect. 1873 - Canada's North West Mounted Police force is established. 1915 - Italy declares war on Austria-Hungary, entering World War I. 1920 - The...

Columbia University is seeking to change the terms of a 93-year-old trust earmarked for white students from Iowa. The Lydia C. Roberts Graduate Fellowship stipulates that money be given only to "a person of the Caucasian race" from Iowa. Roberts left Columbia most of her $509,000 estate when she died in 1920 and created the highly restrictive fellowship. It also stipulates that students must not study law, medicine, dentistry, veterinary surgery or theology. They also must move back to Iowa for...

A judge warned Osama bin Laden's son-in-law Wednesday that a lawyer he hired to represent him on charges he conspired to kill Americans could end up in prison himself. U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan told Sulaiman Abu Ghaith that he could cause himself problems by choosing attorney Stanley Cohen to defend him against charges that he conspired against Americans in his role as al-Qaida's chief spokesman. Cohen was indicted last year in Syracuse, New York, on federal charges that he failed to...

A 37-year-old man convicted of killing a police officer 14 years ago has been put to death, the sixth inmate to be executed in Texas this year. Jeffrey Demond Williams' execution Wednesday evening came just over an hour after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a last-day appeal from his attorneys. Lawyers contended Williams had been failed by previous attorneys at his trial and in early stages of his appeals. Williams was convicted of fatally shooting 39-year-old police officer Troy Blando while...

The new version of the world's most widely used psychiatric guide to mental disorders says grief soon after a loved one's death now can be considered major depression. Extreme childhood temper tantrums get a fancy name. And certain forgetful moments for the aging are called "mild neurocognitive disorder." Those changes are just some of the reasons prominent critics say the American Psychiatric Association is out of control, turning common problems into mental illnesses in a trend they say will...

Google is digging deeper into its technology toolkit to turn its social networking service into a more formidable threat to Facebook, sprucing up its photo features at a time when sharing snapshots online and on mobile gadgets is growing more popular. Many of the 41 new features being added to Google Plus beginning Wednesday will draw upon the computing power, machine learning, algorithms, semantics analysis and other innovations that established Google's search engine as the most influential...

Guan Tianlang is one of five amateur players being honored this week for the Byron Nelson International Junior Golf Awards. While the other four award recipients will be watching the Byron Nelson Championship, the 14-year-old Guan _ already the youngest player to make a cut on the PGA Tour _ is playing in the tournament. This is the second PGA Tour event for the school student from China since making the cut last month at the Masters. He also made the cut at New Orleans, where he first spoke...

Economic losses from disasters since 2000 are in the range of $2.5 trillion, a figure at least 50 percent higher than previous international estimates, according to a U.N. report released Wednesday. The U.N. Office for Disaster Risk Reduction warned in the 246-page report that economic losses from floods, earthquakes and drought will continue to escalate unless businesses take action to reduce their exposure to disaster risks. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon launched the report saying the...

While Borussia Dortmund coach Juergen Klopp lauded his side's progress to the Champions League final as an "incredible journey," the club's advancement off the pitch is no less remarkable. Faced with insolvency in 2005 after years of economic difficulty, Dortmund has recovered by posting club-record revenue figures and expanding its fan-base to make it the most popular club in Germany, with a broadening appeal in Europe. "Perhaps the headline should be `From Ground Zero to Wembley.' Eight years...

Steam and ash clouds are occasionally rising to 20,000 feet (6,100 meters) from an active Alaska volcano. The Alaska Volcano Observatory says in a release that an ash plume was reported rising from Pavlof Volcano on Tuesday evening at about 15,000 feet (4,570 meters). It extended to the northeast about 100 miles (160 kilometers) before it dissipated. The observatory says a pilot reported an ash plume about 20,000 feet (6,100 meters) on Wednesday, extending east-northeast from the volcano, located...

Rafa Benitez proved again that winning is everything in sports. Good for the Spanish coach he's made it a habit. Long reviled and ridiculed by Chelsea fans, Benitez doggedly stuck with his managerial instincts during a nerve wrecking half year in charge of the London club to give wealthy owner Roman Abramovich the Europa League Cup with a 2-1 win over Benfica Lisbon on Wednesday in his last big game in charge. `'You have to win for people," Benitez said. `'OK, we won. People will say `yes, it...

Esteghlal, Lekhwiya, Guangzhou Evergrande and Kashiwa Reysol all scored victories Wednesday in a successful night for the away teams in the first leg of the Asian Champions League's Round of 16. Khosro Haideri scored a goal and set up another as Iran Pro League champion Esteghlal rallied to beat Dubai-based Al Shabab Al Arabi 4-2, Guangzhou beat Australian A-League champion Central Coast Mariners 2-1 at Gosford, Qatari club Lekhwiya edged Saudi heavyweight Al Hilal 1-0 at Riyadh and the J-League's...

"Star Trek Into Darkness" is like fan-boy fiction on a $185 million budget. It's reverential, it's faithful, it's steeped in "Trek" mythology. It's also an excessively derivative what-if rehash of themes and interactions that came before, most of the characters lesser copies and even caricatures of the originals. The scenario's been hijacked and rejiggered from better "Trek" plots of decades ago, the best verbal exchanges lifted nearly verbatim from past adventures. In short, the new chiefs of...

Google's sixth annual conference for software developers opened Wednesday with a chance for the company to showcase its latest services. Announcements included new features for online games, maps and search, a new music-streaming service and enhancements to its Google Plus social network, including tools for editing and sharing photos. The audience of about 6,000 people at "Google I/O" included engineers and entrepreneurs who develop applications and other features that can make smartphones and...

The U.N. General Assembly approved an Arab-backed resolution Wednesday calling for a political transition in Syria, but more than 70 countries refused to vote "yes" because of its support for the main opposition group and fears the resolution could torpedo a new U.S.-Russia effort to end the escalating conflict. The United States co-sponsored the resolution, saying it would promote a political solution. But key Syrian ally Russia urged a "no" vote, saying it was "counterproductive and irresponsible"...

A deer has taken a ride on a Pennsylvania bus. The Johnstown Tribune-Democrat newspaper reports the white-tailed deer crashed through the windshield of a public bus being driven Tuesday evening in Johnstown, about 65 miles (105 kilometers) east of Pittsburgh. The deer hopped around frantically near the driver before jumping on empty seats and running in circles in the aisle. Authorities say the driver stopped the bus and opened the door and the deer got off. County transportation spokesman Josh...

One of the largest eye care companies in the U.S. is expanding its operations in Puerto Rico. Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla says CooperVision will invest $250 million to build 15 new production lines, a project that will create some 350 new jobs. The company currently employs 1,600 workers at a plant in the southern town of Juana Diaz. Garcia also said Wednesday that Irish drug and medical device maker Covidien PLC is investing $3 million to expand production at its plant in the southern coastal...

President Barack Obama says the acting commissioner of federal tax agency has submitted his resignation in the aftermath of an investigation that found the agency improperly targeted conservative groups. Obama says Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew requested Steven Miller's resignation. Obama says he also insists that safeguards be put in place to prevent reoccurrence of improper actions. Obama has been under pressure to act in the aftermath of acknowledgement by top officials at the Internal...

Daimler AG has unveiled the newest version of its S-Class model from luxury brand Mercedes-Benz, a car that will play a key role in the company's effort to restore its earnings performance. The new S-class sedan was shown off Wednesday in Hamburg, Germany. It has a taller grille that changes its exterior appearance, but the major emphasis was on the technology added to increase driver comfort and safety _ and underline Mercedes' image as a maker of advanced vehicles for the well-heeled. The car...

Warren Buffett's company revealed new investments in Chicago Bridge & Iron Co. and Starz on Wednesday, and it sold off some of its stake in snack food maker Mondelez International Inc. Berkshire Hathaway also made several other adjustments to its $85 billion U.S. stock portfolio during the first quarter. The changes were disclosed in documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. At the end of March, Berkshire held 6.5 million shares of engineering and construction firm Chicago...

The Vatican is getting back into its centuries-old tradition of arts patronage with its first-ever exhibit at the Venice Biennale, commissioning a biblically inspired show about creation, destruction and renewal for one of the world's most prestigious contemporary arts festivals. The Holy See on Tuesday unveiled details of its Venice pavilion, which marks the Vatican's most significant step yet in a renewed effort to engage contemporary artists and intellectuals in ways that once created masterpieces...

Activists on Wednesday filed the first legal challenge to recently approved abortion laws that would make the rural state of North Dakota the most restrictive in the country for women to terminate their pregnancies. Supporters of the North Dakota measures have said they are taking aim at the landmark U.S. Supreme Court 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that made abortion legal in most cases. The state and a handful of others are competing to outdo each other in putting restrictions on abortion, which remains...

Cisco's net income jumped 14 percent in the latest quarter as revenue at all four of its divisions rose for the first time in a year and a half. Cisco earned $2.5 billion, or 46 cents per share, in its fiscal third quarter, which ended April 27. That's up from $2.2 billion, or 40 cents per share, a year ago. Excluding one-time items Cisco earned 51 cents per share in the latest quarter, and its revenue increased 5 percent, to $12.2 billion from $11.6 billion. Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected...

A lawsuit filed against a U.S. diocese and its bishop by a girl who was 2 when a priest took pornographic photos of her has tentatively been settled for $600,000, a lawyer for the girl said Wednesday. The Catholic church continues to struggle to handle abuse claims across the country. This case comes after the church paid $10 million to settle earlier, unrelated claims against the diocese and the bishop promised such abuse wouldn't happen again. Gregg Meyers told The Associated Press about the...

Southwest Airlines Co. is delaying delivery of new airplanes and filling the gap with used planes to reduce spending over the next five years. It's also raising its dividend and could soon buy back more of its own shares. Southwest said Wednesday that it will delay 30 firm orders for Boeing 737 jets, which CEO Gary Kelly said would cut capital spending through 2018 by more than $500 million. The airline is also giving up or delaying options for additional planes. Meanwhile Southwest will buy...

A new GPS satellite has been launched into space. An unmanned Atlas V rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station this afternoon. It was the fifth time since December that an unmanned Atlas V rocket has been launched. The GPS 2F-4 spacecraft will join a constellation of other satellites circling already orbiting 11,000 miles above Earth. The GPS satellite will provide navigation for both military and civilian users. When it becomes operational later this summer, the craft will replace...

A public defender for a man accused of killing three Japanese tourists in a car crash and stabbing rampage in Guam is asking for an expert witness to testify about the suspect's psychiatric evaluation. Pacific Daily News reported Wednesday ( http://bit.ly/18LWEVM ) that Judge Ann Sukola held a sealed hearing for the motion and announced afterward that she was considering it and will decide soon. The Public Defender Service Corporation says in court documents that the expert is necessary to assist...

Attorney General Eric Holder told Congress Wednesday that a serious national security leak required the secret gathering of telephone records at The Associated Press as he stood by an investigation in which he insisted he had no involvement. Pestered by Republicans and some Democrats, Holder testified that he has faith in the individuals conducting the broad investigation, driven in large part by GOP outrage last year over the possibility that administration officials leaked information to enhance...

A U.S. appeals court has denied asylum to a Christian family who fled Germany so they could home-school their children, ruling that immigration laws do not grant a safe haven to people everywhere who face restrictions that would be prohibited under the Constitution. Many U.S. home-school families and evangelical Christians have taken up the cause of Uwe and Hannelore Romeike, who faced fines and the threat of losing custody of their children because they refused to comply with Germany's compulsory...

Federal weather forecasts for Superstorm Sandy were exceptionally accurate last fall, but the warnings themselves were confusing, an internal review found. The gigantic October storm lost tropical characteristics hours before landfall in New Jersey, so the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration stopped calling it a hurricane. Instead it shifted focus to flooding and high wind warnings and moved responsibility from the National Hurricane Center in Miami to local weather offices. NOAA's...

The man accused of keeping three women in captivity in his Ohio home for about a decade will plead not guilty, a member of his defense team said Wednesday. Craig Weintraub, a former prosecutor representing Ariel Castro, 52, on rape and kidnapping charges, said in an interview he was concerned his client would not be able to receive a fair trial anywhere, giving the publicity surrounding the case. The location of a trial is "always an issue when you have a case that has such fantastic notoriety,"...

The White House is releasing 100 pages of e-mails and notes related to the Obama administration's response to the attack on a diplomatic facility in Benghazi, Libya, last September. The White House had until now declined to make the documents public and had let congressional investigators review the documents without making copies. The documents describe how the administration developed "talking points" to describe what the administration wanted to discuss publicly immediately after the Sept....

The Vatican on Wednesday ordered a disgraced Scottish cardinal to leave Scotland for several months to pray and atone for sexual misconduct, issuing a rare public sanction against a "prince of the church" and the first such punishment meted out by Pope Francis. Cardinal Keith O'Brien resigned as archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh and recused himself from the March conclave that elected Francis pope after a newspaper reported unnamed priests' allegations that he acted inappropriately toward...

The American Civil Liberties Union is lobbying for the most prominent gay parents on U.S. television to get married. The campaigned aimed at "Modern Family" comes as momentum for gay marriage builds in parts of the country. ACLU Action started a campaign to urge the show's producers to write a wedding episode for Mitchell and Cameron, fathers of an adopted child and one of three couples at the heart of the show. The ACLU says it is appealing to the fictional family to draw more attention to...

A huge diamond unearthed in Botswana commanded an unearthly price of $26.7 million from Christie's auction house Wednesday amid the spring ritual of well-heeled bidders flocking or phoning in to Geneva's luxury sales. The pear-shaped gem accounted for more than a quarter of the $102 million in sales rung up by Christie's Wednesday night, a night after Sotheby's had $78 million in sales. "A perfect diamond commands a perfect price," Christie's trumpeted on Twitter of the record sale price for...

El Salvador's Supreme Court heard opening arguments Wednesday in a landmark abortion case in which a woman suffering from kidney failure and lupus has not been allowed to terminate a pregnancy in which the fetus is given no chance of surviving. The Central American country's laws prohibit all abortions, even when a woman's health is at risk. At present, the woman and any doctor who terminated her 23-week pregnancy would face arrest and criminal charges. Supporters gathered outside the court building...

Brazil's Supreme Court has annulled the trial and conviction of a rancher jailed for ordering the 2005 murder of U.S. nun and Amazon defender Dorothy Stang. In a ruling posted Wednesday, the court said Vitalmiro Moura was not given enough time to prepare his defense in 2010 when he was sentenced to 30 years in prison. The court said Moura will remain behind bars until he his retried at a yet-to be scheduled date. Also convicted of ordering Stang's murder is Regivaldo Galvao. Last year, the Supreme...

Excerpts from recent editorials in newspapers in the United States and abroad: May 15 Sacramento Bee on overreaching federal investigation of leak to AP threatens press freedoms: Protecting national security is one thing. Fishing expeditions that could intimidate and impede important watchdog reporting are another matter entirely. The Justice Department certainly appears to have gone too far in trying to ferret out who leaked information on a secret CIA operation that foiled an al-Qaida plot...

The re-election of British Columbia's Liberal government means a pipeline from Alberta to Canada's Pacific coast that would allow tankers to export oil to Asia now has a better chance of being built, a Canadian senator said Wednesday. British Columbia's Liberal party surprised pundits by winning Tuesday's election. The leftist New Democratic Party, which is against Enbridge's proposed Northern Gateway pipeline, had widely been expected to win. Federal Conservative Sen. Richard Neufeld, British...

The Grammy Award-winning comedy duo Cheech and Chong based their 42-year career on counterculture humor with a particular emphasis on marijuana use. But these days Tommy Chong sees the recreational drug as something more than fodder for jokes about stoned hippies. The 74-year-old comedian thinks legalizing marijuana on a federal level would offer numerous benefits, including a boost to the U.S. economy if it were taxed. "There's little manufacturing cost. You don't have to do anything except...

Two marshals say Tiger Woods never said anything to them about whether Sergio Garcia had played his shot at The Players Championship. Two other marshals disputed that account, one of them saying he told Woods that Garcia had already hit on the second hole. In the days since Woods won at the TPC Sawgrass, the dispute has shifted from players to volunteer marshals. It started Saturday in the third round when Woods was deep in the trees, some 50 yards to the left of Garcia in the fairway. Woods...

Their project might not sound like much: The college students on Wednesday launched a tiny model of a satellite the size of a soda can on a big yellow balloon. It went aloft to a height of 165 meters (yards) and then came back down attached to a parachute. Yet in this developing West African country, ambitious organizers, _who recently launched the Ghana Space Science and Technology Center _ see the test as a sign of bigger things to come. "We hope that this practical demonstration of what...

"Frances Ha" _ On paper it sounds unbearably precious and solipsistic _ a cliche, even. Middle-class, college-educated white girl in her mid-20s wanders around New York City with no real home, job or purpose, and as she struggles to find herself, she ends up even more lost. Wah. But as it turns out, "Frances Ha" is absolutely charming: funny, sad, cringe-inducing and heartbreaking but, above all, brimming with authenticity, thanks in large part to a winning star turn from indie darling Greta Gerwig....

Cecelia Crocker's body provides her with a constant reminder of the most traumatic event of her life _ one that she doesn't otherwise remember. At only 4 years old, Crocker was the lone survivor of a 1987 plane crash that killed 154 people aboard and two on the ground near Detroit Metropolitan Airport. Her parents and brother were among those killed. In the new documentary, "Sole Survivor," Crocker breaks her silence, discussing how the crash of the Phoenix, Arizona-bound jetliner has affected...

LATAM Airlines Group's first quarter net profit has dropped by nearly half from the same period last year on lower cargo revenue and sudden changes in foreign exchange. LATAM was created when Chile's LAN took over Brazil's TAM last year. The carrier reported Tuesday a net income of $42.7 million compared to a pro forma consolidated _ or simulated net income for both carriers _ of $83.7 million a year ago. That represents a 48.9 percent drop. LATAM said its international operations continued...

Diego Maradona is back in Argentina and, as usual, his return has been surrounded by controversy. The Argentine football great arrived late Tuesday from Dubai with his new girlfriend _ Rocio Oliva _ on his first visit to see his new son Diego Fernando, who was born three months ago to his former partner Veronica Ojeda. Several media reports on Wednesday said that Maradona, on the road from Buenos Aires' international airport, stopped the car in the road and threw stones at photographers who were...

It may have been the most anticipated package ever delivered to the zoo in Buffalo, New York: an orphaned polar bear cub that arrived Wednesday from Alaska and will spend the summer with another cub born six months ago. Kali arrived aboard a UPS flight at Buffalo Niagara International Airport shortly before 5:30 a.m., ending a 14-hour trip that was set in motion in March when a hunter in Alaska realized an adult female bear he'd killed was nursing. "He followed the tracks back to the den, crawled...

Britain's Prince Harry complimented the American people for their generosity and touted the successes of his charity for African children as he wrapped up a weeklong trip to the U.S. in an affluent New York City suburb. The prince is in Greenwich, Connecticut, on Wednesday to compete at the Greenwich Polo Club to benefit Sentebale, the charity he co-founded to help poor children and AIDS orphans in the small African nation of Lesotho. The invitation-only polo match drew hundreds of guests including...

Whites would lose their majority in the U.S. three years later than expected if immigration growth slows, according to census estimates released Wednesday. The new numbers show how projections could vary from last year's government prediction that white children will become a minority in 2018 and the overall white population will become a minority in 2043, based on what happens to the country's economy and immigration policy. Immigration laws now face their first major overhaul in two decades....

The price of oil rose back above $94 Wednesday after dropping earlier on disappointing economic reports from Europe and the U.S. Benchmark oil for June delivery was up 9 cents to finish at $94.30 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It fell as low as $92.13 in the morning before rising in tandem with U.S. stock markets. Recently the stock market and, to a lesser degree, the oil market have shrugged off reports of sluggish economic growth, because it suggests that the Federal Reserve...

Tires shredded like paper, rubber flew everywhere and cars flitted in and out of pit lane like shoppers in a supermarket parking lot. On a frustrating day for drivers and fans alike, nearly 80 pit stops were made during Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix, highlighting what has become a major concern for Formula One teams five races into the season _ the vulnerability of Pirelli's tires. "At this rate, F1 is going to become a pit-stop contest with a few race laps thrown in," 1997 F1 champion Jacques...

I'd been at sea on Norwegian Cruise Line's new ship, Norwegian Breakaway, for more than 14 hours but I didn't feel the ship moving until I tried to do a dance move with the Rockettes. Yes, the Rockettes, of Radio City Christmas Spectacular fame, those lithe and lovely young women known for a perfectly synchronized kick line. The Rockettes are the godmothers for the ship, and a dozen of them performed their famous moves at the ship's christening last week in New York. Several of them then accompanied...

The Brazilian government has bought 30 security robots to improve public safety during the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Rio Olympics. The government paid nearly $3.5 million for the small unmanned ground vehicles which can provide surveillance, bomb removal and other law-enforcement missions. The company which won the tender from the Brazilian government, iRobot, said Wednesday that the equipment will be delivered by the end of the year, along with spares and other support gear. Brazil will be...

The crew of the International Space Station is boldly going where no one has gone before _ to see the new "Star Trek" film. The three astronauts were offered a sneak peak of "Star Trek Into Darkness" days before it opens Thursday on Earth, seeing it not in 3-D, but Zero-G. NASA spokesman Kelly Humphries said the movie was beamed up to the outpost Monday and the two Russians and American on board had a day off Tuesday. That gave them a chance to view it on their laptops. It's unclear if they watched...

For some hopeful parents, summertime is "tinkle time," as in setting toddlers free and diaperless outside while potty training. And like so many aspects of life with kids, potty training means gear, lots of gear. Something happened on the road to bathroom independence. The choices in potty seats and chairs proliferated and sprouted all manner of bells and whistles. Many convert like Transformers to serve multiple functions. One has a voice recorder to add a personal message (Go Jacob!). Others...

The IMF's executive board has approved a $1.3 billion loan for Cyprus as part of a larger bailout package meant to avert a debt default. The IMF, one of the "troika" of international lenders behind the bailout, said Wednesday it had agreed to provide a 3-year loan of $1.33 billion for the small Mediterranean country, its contribution to a 10 billion euro ($13.3 billion) total bailout. The approval allows an immediate payout of $110.7 million. The IMF said the loan was "intended to stabilize...

U.S. manufacturers cut back on production in April, as auto companies cranked out fewer cars, factories made fewer consumer goods and most other industries reduced output. The weakness suggests economic growth may be slowing. The Federal Reserve said Wednesday that factory output dropped 0.4 percent in April, the third decline in four months. Production of autos and auto parts fell 1.3 percent in April. The drop is likely temporary because automakers are reporting stronger sales. Still, the...

The 2013 cruise season began with a nightmare: A Carnival ship adrift with no power. But in the last month or so, several cruise companies _ including Carnival _ have announced major overhauls to old ships and exciting innovations on new ships, from engineering upgrades to theme park-style rides. And the industry's biggest splash of good news is yet to come: On June 13, the former Kate Middleton, nearing the end of her pregnancy, is scheduled to christen the Royal Princess, a new ship from Princess...

Attorney General Eric Holder says the FBI's criminal investigation of the U.S. tax collecting agency could include potential civil rights violations, false statements and potential violations of the Hatch Act, which prohibits federal employees from engaging in some partisan political activities. Holder, testifying to the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, was asked what criminal charges could be pursued against employees of the agency. Holder announced on Tuesday that the Justice Department...

Police have started dismantling a Bangladesh-based human trafficking ring that brought people from that country to work illegally in Brazil. The Federal Police agency says in a Wednesday statement that the gang recruited Bengalis to work in construction under slave-like conditions. The statement says that gang lured workers with promises of good wages. Each person paid traffickers a fee of up to $10,000. It says the workers first arrived in Guyana, Peru or Bolivia and then were brought across...