• 
  Anger, drama at Ratko Mladic's genocide trial

  He's no longer the swaggering general who held Sarajevo "in the palm of his hand" during Bosnia's 1992-95 war. Yet as his long-awaited genocide trial began Wednesday, Ratko Mladic still managed to reopen old wounds with the flick of his hand.

• 
  War crimes charges against Mladic

  The indictment against Ratko Mladic — who went on trial Wednesday at the U.N. war crimes tribunal in the Hague, Netherlands — holds the former Bosnian Serb army commander "individually criminally responsible for planning, instigating, ordering and/or aiding and abetting the crimes charged in this idictment.

• 
  Defense rests without calling Edwards, mistress

  John Edwards' defense team rested Wednesday without calling the two-time Democratic presidential candidate or his one-time mistress to the witness stand, a sign of confidence after presenting little more than two days of testimony and evidence.

• 
  Don't bet on Mitt Romney winning in Massachusetts

  Don't bet on Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney winning his home state or even trying.

• 
  APNewsBreak: Suspect groom made odd phone call

  The sister of a bride found stabbed to death in suburban Chicago said her new brother-in-law called a relative on the day the body was found and said he left his new wife bleeding after a "bad fight."

• 
  FTC: Skechers deceived consumers with shoe ads

  The government wants you to know that simply sporting a pair of Skechers' fitness shoes is not going to get you Kim Kardashian's curves or Brooke Burke's toned tush.

• 
  Clemens accuser McNamee: 'I didn't make it up'

  Roger Clemens' lawyer toyed with Brian McNamee's memory and attacked him from several directions at once. The attorney even put an easel next to the witness with the words: "MISTAKE. BAD MEMORY. LIE." Eventually, there came the inevitable question: "Do you sometimes just make stuff up?"

• GI killed in Cambodia clash to get Medal of Honor

  President Barack Obama is awarding the Medal of Honor to a Pennsylvania Army specialist killed in combat in 1970 while serving as a rifleman in Cambodia during the Vietnam War.

• 
  As 'SNL' season ends, signs of a coming shift

  How can "Saturday Night Live" possibly replace (fill in the blank)?

• Ex-Syracuse hoops coach's wife: Life is ruined

  The wife of fired Syracuse University assistant basketball coach Bernie Fine claimed Wednesday that ESPN maliciously trampled her reputation by broadcasting salacious stories about her and about claims that her husband molested ball boys.

More

• 
  Insight: In Ohio, "fracking" boom a delicate issue for Obama

  Out past the vacant storefronts and abandoned buildings, beyond the shuttered steel mills and decaying industrial plants, residents of eastern Ohio suddenly are seeing dollar signs.

• 
  Exclusive: Order knew for months about priest scandal: Vatican official

  Leaders of the scandal-plagued Legionaries of Christ religious order knew that their most famous priest had fathered a child for many months before they acknowledged it this week, a top Vatican official told Reuters on Wednesday.

• 
  Housing starts, industrial output rise

  Groundbreaking for homes rebounded in April and factory activity gained steam, suggesting the economy remains on a steady, if unspectacular recovery course.

• 
  Fed keeps bond-buying door open: minutes

  (Reuters) - Federal Reserve policymakers kept the door open to a fresh round of monetary stimulus, citing downside risks to a moderately expanding economy, according to minutes for the central bank's April meeting.

• 
  Greek leftist rejects new coalition talks

  Greece's radical leftist leader spurned an invitation from the president for a final round of coalition talks on Monday, all but ensuring a new election that he is poised to win.

• 
  Exclusive: Syria remains top destination for Iran arms transfers

  Syria remains the top destination for Iranian arms shipments in violation of a U.N. Security Council ban on weapons exports by the Islamic Republic, according to a confidential draft report by a U.N. panel of experts seen by Reuters on Wednesday.

• 
  Exclusive: ECB stops operations with some Greek banks: sources

  The European Central Bank has stopped providing liquidity to some Greek banks as they have not been successfully recapitalized, euro zone central bank sources said on Wednesday.

• 
  Apple readies iPhone with larger screen: sources

  Apple Inc plans to use a larger screen on the next-generation iPhone and has begun to place orders for the new displays from suppliers in South Korea and Japan, people familiar with the situation said on Wednesday.

• Hedge fund managers reveal "best ideas" at event

  Larry Robbins, founder of Glenview Capital Management, is bullish on Tenet Healthcare Corp. Meanwhile, Jonathan Kolatch, founder of Redwood Capital Management, is recommending buying Argentine government debt.

• Syrian army shells Rastan, nine killed: rebels

  Forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad shelled the town of Rastan on Syria's main northern highway on Monday, killing at least nine people and wounding 40 in an offensive to retake the area from Free Syrian Army rebels, opposition sources said.

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  Death as bargaining chip? Ohio prosecutor slammed

  Within days of a drug-related slaying in suburban Cleveland, six men were indicted on charges that carried the possibility of a death sentence. Six months later, all had been allowed to plead to lesser charges, including four who received probation and never went to prison.

• 
  Paralyzed woman uses her mind to control robot arm

  Using only her thoughts, a Massachusetts woman paralyzed for 15 years directed a robotic arm to pick up a bottle of coffee and bring it to her lips, researchers report in the latest advance in harnessing brain waves to help disabled people.

• 
  Jury convicts Steve Powell of voyeurism charges

  A jury has convicted Steve Powell of voyeurism charges that stemmed from an investigation into the 2009 disappearance of his daughter-in-law Susan Powell, a mother of two from Utah who has never been found.

• 
  APNewsBreak: Suspect groom made odd phone call

  The sister of a bride found stabbed to death in suburban Chicago said her new brother-in-law called a relative on the day the body was found and said he left his new wife bleeding after a "bad fight."

• 
  NATO summit gives Chicago coveted global spotlight

  The famous skyline is etched with distinctive buildings. The downtown boasts a vibrant cultural district. And the stunning lakefront and art-filled parks attract thousands of visitors every day.

• 
  Ex-Houston cop not guilty in teen suspect beating

  A former Houston police officer was found not guilty Wednesday of official oppression in the videotaped beating of a 15-year-old burglary suspect, prompting an outraged response from black community leaders who called the verdict an injustice.

• GI killed in Cambodia clash to get Medal of Honor

  President Barack Obama is awarding the Medal of Honor to a Pennsylvania Army specialist killed in combat in 1970 while serving as a rifleman in Cambodia during the Vietnam War.

• 
  Obama warns against political disruption in Yemen

  President Barack Obama served notice Wednesday that he would punish those trying to disrupt the political transition in Yemen, a strategically important Middle Eastern nation, by freezing their U.S.-based assets.

• 
  Clemens accuser McNamee: 'I didn't make it up'

  Roger Clemens' lawyer toyed with Brian McNamee's memory and attacked him from several directions at once. The attorney even put an easel next to the witness with the words: "MISTAKE. BAD MEMORY. LIE." Eventually, there came the inevitable question: "Do you sometimes just make stuff up?"

• Congress considers threats from airport employees

  Commercial air travel is at risk from terrorists who quietly get jobs at airports so that they can attack from within sensitive areas, a senior Homeland Security Department official told lawmakers Wednesday.

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  Syrian leader says terrorists are behind unrest

  In his first interview since December, Syrian President Bashar Assad insisted Tuesday his regime is fighting back against foreign mercenaries who want to overthrow him, not innocent Syrians aspiring for democracy in a yearlong uprising.

• 
  Greece gets caretaker PM until next vote in June

  A senior judge was sworn in Wednesday to head Greece's caretaker government for a month as the debt-crippled country lurches through a political crisis that threatens its membership in the 17-nation eurozone.

• 
  Charles Taylor: Sorry for those hurt by war crimes

  Convicted war criminal and former Liberian President Charles Taylor said during his sentencing hearing Wednesday that he sympathizes with victims of the civil war in Sierra Leone he helped foment, and asked judges to render their sentence against him in a spirit of "reconciliation, not retribution."

• 
  Military hopes for 'great leader' from Egypt vote

  Egypt's military ruler said Wednesday he hopes that a "great leader" will emerge from the country's upcoming presidential election, and said it will be a free and fair vote that will reflect the will of the people.

• 
  Anger, drama at Ratko Mladic's genocide trial

  He's no longer the swaggering general who held Sarajevo "in the palm of his hand" during Bosnia's 1992-95 war. Yet as his long-awaited genocide trial began Wednesday, Ratko Mladic still managed to reopen old wounds with the flick of his hand.

• 
  Exclusive: Syria remains top destination for Iran arms transfers

  Syria remains the top destination for Iranian arms shipments in violation of a U.N. Security Council ban on weapons exports by the Islamic Republic, according to a confidential draft report by a U.N. panel of experts seen by Reuters on Wednesday.

• 
  Greek leftist rejects new coalition talks

  Greece's radical leftist leader spurned an invitation from the president for a final round of coalition talks on Monday, all but ensuring a new election that he is poised to win.

• 
  Hollande to be sworn in as new French president

  Francois Hollande will be sworn in as France's first Socialist president in 17 years in a hurried ceremony on Tuesday before a dash to Berlin to challenge German Chancellor Angela Merkel's focus on austerity policies.

• Syrian forces kill 7 civilians in rural attack: activists

  Syrian troops backed by tanks shot dead seven civilians when they overran a rebellious Sunni Muslim village west of the city of Hama on Sunday, activists' organizations said, in a crackdown on the rural epicenter of the 14-month anti-government revolt.

• 
  Unrepentant Mladic proud of his Bosnian "legacy"

  (Reuters) - There is something shocking about Ratko Mladic in court. Old and infirm, he is a shadow of the strutting Bosnian Serb general who once struck fear into the hearts of Muslims and Croats.

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• 
  Romney keeps media at bay as he sticks to script

  Mitt Romney is trying harder than ever these days to stay on script — and keep his traveling national press corps at arms' length.

• 
  THE RACE: Endorsements slow as Romney closes in

  As Mitt Romney closes in on nailing down the Republican presidential nomination, endorsements from prominent Republicans are slowing to a trickle. And some endorsements come with noticeable reservations.

• 
  Don't bet on Mitt Romney winning in Massachusetts

  Don't bet on Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney winning his home state or even trying.

• 
  Biden attacks Romney tenure as venture capitalist

  Vice President Joe Biden has criticized the background of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney during a speech in swing state Ohio.

• 
  NJ gov., mayor channel Seinfeld in video parody

  New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and the mayor of New Jersey's largest city are channeling the Seinfeld-Newman rivalry in a video parody that spoofs the mayor's heroics and Christie's vice presidential potential.

• Wisconsin governor releases better 2011 jobs data

  Republican Gov. Scott Walker released updated employment figures Wednesday that show Wisconsin actually added a small number of jobs during his first year in office, hoping to undermine a central argument of those trying to recall him who argue he has hurt the state economy.

• Obama calls on Congress to help small businesses

  President Barack Obama says Congress could help sustain the economy's "momentum" by passing legislation that would give businesses a 10 percent income tax credit if they create new jobs or increase wages this year.

• 
  SPIN METER: Rivals airbrush anti-Romney words

  Remember Newt Gingrich calling Mitt Romney a liar? Michele Bachmann saying Romney's unelectable? Rick Santorum calling Romney "the worst Republican in the country" to run against President Barack Obama?

• 
  Obama raises $44M for campaign, Dems in April

  President Barack Obama raised a combined $43.6 million in April for his campaign and the Democratic Party as he faces a unifying Republican effort around Mitt Romney for the White House.

• 
  Crossroads announcing $25 million ad push

  An independent group favoring Republican Mitt Romney is launching a $25 million, monthlong advertising campaign against President Barack Obama in 10 states, further escalating an expensive TV ad war in presidential battleground states less than six months before Election Day.

More

• 
  Healthy eating can cost less, study finds

  Is it really more expensive to eat healthy?

• US lowers cutoff for lead poisoning in young kids

  For the first time in 20 years, U.S. health officials have lowered the threshold for lead poisoning in young children.

• 
  Scientists hunt ways to stall Alzheimer's earlier

  Look for a fundamental shift in how scientists hunt ways to ward off the devastation of Alzheimer's disease — by testing possible therapies in people who don't yet show many symptoms, before too much of the brain is destroyed.

• 
  Iraq veteran uses rap to treat his PTSD

  On one of the many days Leo Dunson wanted to die, the Iraq veteran put a gun to his temple and pulled the trigger. The loaded weapon misfired. For the troubled former soldier, it was another inexplicable failure, like his divorce or inability to make friends after returning from the war.

• 
  Flesh-eating germ rare, especially for the healthy

  Aimee Copeland, a Georgia grad student, is fighting for her life because of the flesh-eating bacteria that infected her after she gashed her leg in a river two weeks ago. One of her legs was amputated and her fingers will be too, her father says, because of the spreading infection.

• 
  French trial opens in diabetes-diet drug scandal

  Lawyers for a French pharmaceutical group suspected in the deaths of at least 500 people argued Monday that a trial against their client should be halted as two separate cases should be rolled into one before the court can proceed.

• Ind. diocese denies discrimination over IVF

  An Indiana diocese asked a federal court on Monday to reject a lawsuit by a former parochial school teacher who claims she was fired for violating Roman Catholic doctrine by using in vitro fertilization to try to get pregnant.

• 
  1 in 3 autistic young adults lack jobs, education

  One in 3 young adults with autism have no paid job experience, college or technical schooling nearly seven years after high school graduation, a study finds. That's a poorer showing than those with other disabilities including those who are mentally disabled, the researchers said.

• 
  Britain bedeviled by binge drinking

  The girls slumped in wheelchairs look barely conscious, their blond heads lolling above the plastic vomit bags tied like bibs around their necks.

• 
  French trial opens in diabetes-diet drug scandal

  The first French trial has begun over a diabetes drug that was also used to lose weight and is suspected in the deaths of at least 500 people.

More

• 
  Paralyzed woman uses her mind to control robot arm

  Using only her thoughts, a Massachusetts woman paralyzed for 15 years directed a robotic arm to pick up a bottle of coffee and bring it to her lips, researchers report in the latest advance in harnessing brain waves to help disabled people.

• 
  AP IMPACT: Evacs and drills pared near nuke plants

  Without fanfare, the nation's nuclear power regulators have overhauled community emergency planning for the first time in more than three decades, requiring fewer exercises for major accidents and recommending that fewer people be evacuated right away.

• 
  Some attack plans bolstered, others eased at nukes

  The U.S. government has adopted the first set of comprehensive changes in the emergency planning program for communities near nuclear power plants since its creation after the Three Mile Island accident in 1979.

• April 2012 heats up as 5th warmest month globally

  Unseasonable weather pushed last month to the fifth warmest April on record worldwide, federal weather statistics show.

• 
  Three-man Soyuz crew departs for space station

  A three-man crew blasted off from a space center in southern Kazakhstan Tuesday morning on board a Russian-made Soyuz craft for a four-and-half-month stay at the International Space Station.

• 
  U.S., Russian crew blast off for space station

  A Soyuz spaceship carrying two Russians and one American astronaut blasted off for the International Space Station (ISS) on Tuesday after more than a month's delay over a problem with the hull of the Russian-built capsule.

• Children at risk as "button" battery use grows: study

  (Reuters) - Children face a growing risk from "button" batteries, according to a U.S. study showing a near doubling of emergency room visits in the past two decades as the objects can cause electrical or chemical burns if swallowed.

• UK climate experiment canceled on patent concerns

  British scientists have abandoned an experiment to test the possibility of spraying particles into the upper atmosphere to stem global warming, largely due to concerns over a patent for some of the technology, the project's leader said.

• Google-backed wind power line clears hurdle

  (Reuters) - A planned $5 billion transmission line to send power from wind farms off the East Coast cleared a hurdle, allowing the Google Inc-backed project to move to the next step in the approval process, officials said.

More

• 
  NJ gov., mayor channel Seinfeld in video parody

  New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and the mayor of New Jersey's largest city are channeling the Seinfeld-Newman rivalry in a video parody that spoofs the mayor's heroics and Christie's vice presidential potential.

• Workers go trash-picking for Mass. woman's rings

  An Attleboro, Mass., woman is praising the city's trash collection company after its workers helped her dig through mountains of stinking garbage to find five valuable rings she inadvertently threw away, including her engagement and wedding bands.

• Baby red crabs invade Cayman Islands

  Hundreds of thousands of baby red crabs are invading the Cayman Islands in an annual migration that residents say is more pronounced this year.

• Horse runs into sea, rescued a mile offshore

  Maybe he should be named Bob.

• Zimbabwe politician drives off in motor show car

  State prosecutors in Zimbabwe say an opposition politician at a Ford Motor Company car show got into the latest model on display and drove it away. He faces car theft charges in court next month.

• Ex-teacher charged with stealing Ohio prom money

  A former high school teacher in southwest Ohio has been charged with stealing money meant for a school prom in a cash-strapped district.

• Truck crashes on NY highway, spills tons of yogurt

  A tractor-trailer crash in upstate New York has sent 18 tons of Greek yogurt spilling alongside a highway.

• Man freed on bond but must write book reports

  A man charged in an undercover sting operation in Northern California that ended in gunfire has been ordered released on bond on the condition that he read and write book reports.

• Cops: NY man shoots friend in leg at his request

  Authorities say a northern New York man had his friend shoot him in the leg with a rifle because he wanted to know what it feels like to be shot.

• Dozens of flyswatters wash up on Alaska beaches

  Dozens of fly swatters bearing logos of collegiate and professional sports teams have been washing up on the beaches of an Alaska island.

More

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  Paralyzed woman uses her mind to control robot arm

  Using only her thoughts, a Massachusetts woman paralyzed for 15 years directed a robotic arm to pick up a bottle of coffee and bring it to her lips, researchers report in the latest advance in harnessing brain waves to help disabled people.

• Google strives to enlighten with new search tool

  Google is introducing a new tool, designed to make its search engine smarter.

• 
  Zuckerberg's Facebook story is study in contrasts

  When Hollywood set out to tell the story of how Mark Zuckerberg launched Facebook, it enjoyed the flexibility of portraying a man who, despite his social network's worldwide reach, was all but unknown to the public.

• 
  Facebook investors to cash out more shares

  Insiders and early Facebook investors are taking advantage of increasing investor demand and selling more of their stock in the company's initial public offering, the company said Wednesday.

• 
  Poll: Half of Americans call Facebook a fad

  Half of Americans think Facebook is a passing fad, according to the results of a new Associated Press-CNBC poll. And, in the run-up to the social network's initial public offering of stock, half of Americans also say the social network's expected asking price is too high.

• Saverin dumps US citizenship ahead of Facebook IPO

  Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin has renounced his U.S. citizenship, a move expected to save him hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes stemming from the company's impending initial public offering.

• 
  Yahoo soap opera features new cast of leaders

  Yahoo's dysfunctional turnaround efforts have morphed into a Silicon Valley soap opera, one that has taken another strange twist with the Internet company's ousting of CEO Scott Thompson just four months after his arrival.

• 
  Facebook IPO shares tough task for small investors

  Hoping to get in on Facebook's hotly anticipated public stock offering? You'll need Facebook friends at very high levels — or a lot of money.

• Report: Nokia loses cellphone top spot to Samsung

  Nokia has been bumped off its 14-year top spot as the world's largest cellphone company by Samsung, according to a British research firm.

• Early Facebook employee has memoir deal

  An early Facebook employee and former assistant to Mark Zuckerberg will have a memoir out this summer.

More

• 
  Clemens accuser McNamee: 'I didn't make it up'

  Roger Clemens' lawyer toyed with Brian McNamee's memory and attacked him from several directions at once. The attorney even put an easel next to the witness with the words: "MISTAKE. BAD MEMORY. LIE." Eventually, there came the inevitable question: "Do you sometimes just make stuff up?"

• Ex-Syracuse hoops coach's wife: Life is ruined

  The wife of fired Syracuse University assistant basketball coach Bernie Fine claimed Wednesday that ESPN maliciously trampled her reputation by broadcasting salacious stories about her and about claims that her husband molested ball boys.

• Pacers' Larry Bird is NBA Executive of the Year

  Indiana Pacers president Larry Bird was voted the NBA's Executive of the Year on Wednesday, becoming the first person to win that award, plus the MVP and Coach of the Year honors.

• 
  Trainer Lukas 'disappointed' with peers' behavior

  Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas criticized the behavior of a few of his peers Wednesday, saying the actions of a few recent Kentucky Derby winners have tarnished the reputation of his profession.

• 
  70 days, iconic sites: Olympic torch coming to UK

  Time to get out the cameras: Britain's most photogenic man will be bringing the Olympic flame back from Greece.

• 
  MLB announces Mets as 2013 All-Star host

  Major League Baseball finally announced Wednesday that the 2013 All-Star game will be hosted by the New York Mets at Citi Field on July 16.

• 
  Delany: National title game likely to be bid on

  Big Ten administrators could see a national championship game being played in cities that aren't necessarily traditional hosts.

• Sandusky renews effort to have charges thrown out

  Jerry Sandusky again asked a judge to throw out the child sexual abuse charges against him on Wednesday, arguing that some counts are too vague to defend and others involve alleged victims whose identities have not been determined.

• Junior Seau's garage burglarized

  Police say a thief burglarized the garage of Junior Seau's Oceanside, Calif., home days after the former NFL star's suicide.

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