Obama declines to discuss Chinese dissident's case

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• Obama declines to discuss Chinese dissident's case
• Federal judge stops Texas law on women's health
• HBO orders second season for 'Girls,' 'Veep'
• AP EXCLUSIVE: US not reporting all Afghan attacks
• Top EPA official resigns over 'crucify' comment
• Diplomats visits foreigners detained in Sudan
• Suu Kyi's party ends boycott of Myanmar's parliament
• Barnes & Noble and the e-reader competition
• U.N. chief condemns "terrorist bomb attacks" in Syria
• Lebanese skier shot by Syrian border guards
• Outgunned Syria rebels make shift to bombs
• Deadly bombs in Syria's Idlib target security
• Natural gas prices up 5 pct. on production report
• Israeli defense minister talks tough on Iran
• Problems in pacifying Rio de Janeiro slums
• RPM's hiring of Ford marks start of silly season
• Mobile app helps report unfair airport screeners
• World Trade Center is back on top in NYC
• Sleepless Grizzlies try to shake off blown lead
• Chinese activist in US embassy: fellow dissident
• Romney says he would have ordered bin Laden killed
• Invisible man casts shadow over US-China talks
• 3rd fugitive sibling sentenced in Colorado
• THE RACE: Gas price drop may offer political bonus
• Running blind: China activist's dramatic escape
• Drifter heads to trial in Flint stabbing spree
• Spain's Central Bank consults experts on toxic assets: sources
• Bobcats: Coach Paul Silas not returning next year
• Iowa case asks: Is it a crime to harass animals?
• Brooklyn Nets unveil black and white logo
• Political calendar offers opportunities, pitfalls
• Judge dismisses lawsuit over Grammy cuts
• Driver in Bronx crash was speeding, clipped wall
• Judge releases Jennifer Hudson's sister's 911 call
• Summertime political lull offers opportunities
• Guilty verdict in US double murder case
• 1Q US home video spending up 2.5 percent
• Mobile app reports unfair airport screeners
• Pepsi partners with Twitter for online concerts

Obama declines to discuss Chinese dissident's case Posted: The United States faces a tense week in China as high-level talks on trade and global hot spots like Iran and North Korea open in the shadow of a blind Chinese activist's bold escape from house arrest to seek U.S. protection in Beijing. The trip to Beijing would have been challenging for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner even without a human rights dispute over Chen Guangcheng, who a U.S.-based group says is hiding in the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. ...

Federal judge stops Texas law on women's health Posted: A federal judge on Monday stopped Texas from preventing Planned Parenthood from getting state funds through the Women's Health Program.

HBO orders second season for 'Girls,' 'Veep' Posted: "Veep" is getting a second term on HBO, as is the comedy "Girls."

AP EXCLUSIVE: US not reporting all Afghan attacks Posted: The military is under-reporting the number of times that Afghan soldiers and police open fire on American and other foreign troops.

Top EPA official resigns over 'crucify' comment Posted: The Obama administration's top environmental official in the oil-rich South and Southwest region has resigned after Republicans targeted him over remarks made two years ago when he used the word "crucify" to describe how he would go after companies violating environmental laws.

Diplomats visits foreigners detained in Sudan Posted: Sudan's Foreign Ministry has permitted diplomats from Britain, Norway and South Africa to meet their nationals detained in a disputed region along the border with South Sudan.

Suu Kyi's party ends boycott of Myanmar's parliament Posted: YANGON (Reuters) - Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi agreed on Monday to end her party's boycott of parliament, setting aside her first major dispute with the government since winning by-elections and clearing the way for what could be an acceleration of reforms. Suu Kyi and her party will make their historic debut in the assembly on Wednesday after backing down over the wording of an oath for new members of parliament. She agreed to swear to protect a constitution drafted under military control that she says is undemocratic and needs to be amended. ...

Barnes & Noble and the e-reader competition Posted: Barnes & Noble Inc. makes a variety of Nooks with black-and-white screens, dedicated to reading, and the Nook Color and Nook Tablet, which add color screens, third-party applications and Internet browsing to the mix.

U.N. chief condemns "terrorist bomb attacks" in Syria Posted: UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon condemned on Monday "terrorist bomb attacks" in the Syrian cities of Damascus and Idlib, and noted that while there had been security improvements in areas monitored by U.N. observers, he was "gravely concerned" by the continued violence. "The Secretary-General condemns the terrorist bomb attacks in the cities of Idlib and Damascus which took place today and on 27 April 2012, killing and injuring scores of people," Ban's press office said in a statement "While noting improvements in areas where U.N. ...

Lebanese skier shot by Syrian border guards Posted: BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian soldiers fired at a group of one Swiss and three Lebanese skiers along the mountainous border on Monday, wounding one, after they mistook them for smugglers, Lebanese security sources said. The group of four were skiing on Mount Herman in Lebanon's east when one of the Lebanese men, Antoine Hajj, was shot in the shoulder, they said. "Once they came under fire from the Syrian army post, the skiers started screaming to them to hold fire," the security source said on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to the press. ...

Outgunned Syria rebels make shift to bombs Posted: * Bombs give rebels more bang for buck * Tactical switch in response to army strength * Price of guns in region has soared BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian rebels fighting to topple President Bashar al-Assad say they are shifting tactics towards homemade bombs, hoping to even the odds between their outgunned forces and his powerful army. A series of deadly blasts in the past week suggests they are getting better at it. Suicide bombs, booby-trapped cars and roadside explosions, including blasts in Idlib on Monday and the capital Damascus last week, have rocked the Arab state. ...

Deadly bombs in Syria's Idlib target security Posted: BEIRUT (Reuters) - Explosions blew the fronts off buildings in the Syrian town of Idlib on Monday, with state TV reporting nine people killed and 100 wounded including security services personnel targeted by an intensifying rebel bombing campaign. Images on state television showed flattened cars and mangled bodies lying under tarpaulins near the site of a pair of bombings. Craters had been blasted in the road. "My wife and I were asleep in bed and then there was a loud explosion. It rocked the whole house and woke us all up," said one man, standing amid rubble. ...

Natural gas prices up 5 pct. on production report Posted: The price of natural gas jumped by nearly 5 percent Monday after government data showed that producers are making good on promises to cut supplies.

Israeli defense minister talks tough on Iran Posted: Israel's defense minister warned Monday that as long as Iran poses a threat to Israel with its nuclear program, all options are on the table, a reference to a possible Israeli attack.

Problems in pacifying Rio de Janeiro slums Posted: Jose Martins de Oliveira has lived with plenty of weapons and violence during his 45 years in the sprawling hillside shantytown of Rocinha. For most of that time, it was drug traffickers who controlled the giant slum with brutal force.

RPM's hiring of Ford marks start of silly season Posted: Nobody thought Mike Ford would be out of work very long when Joe Gibbs Racing dismissed the crew chief in December after a disappointing 2011 season with Denny Hamlin.

Mobile app helps report unfair airport screeners Posted: A Sikh advocacy group launched a free mobile application Monday that allows travelers to complain immediately to the government if they feel they've been treated unfairly by airport screeners.

World Trade Center is back on top in NYC Posted: Workers have raised a steel column to the top of the building that's been called the Freedom Tower to make it New York City's tallest skyscraper.

Sleepless Grizzlies try to shake off blown lead Posted: The Memphis Grizzlies have a hangover so bad sleep was almost impossible, and they can only hope two days can help them shake the sick feeling of blowing a 27-point lead right along with home-court advantage to open the playoffs.

Chinese activist in US embassy: fellow dissident Posted: Blind Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng is holed up in the US embassy in Beijing but is not seeking asylum, another rights activist said Monday as the spectre of a China-US diplomatic wrangle loomed.

Romney says he would have ordered bin Laden killed Posted: Once a moment of national unity, the political battle over Osama bin Laden's death intensified Monday as presumptive Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney sought to minimize the role President Barack Obama has carved out for himself in killing the terrorist leader.

Invisible man casts shadow over US-China talks Posted: The blind Chinese lawyer at the center of a diplomatic storm between Washington and Beijing is a taboo topic in each capital. Neither side wants the biggest human-rights issue between the two since Tiananmen Square to disrupt high-level strategic and economic talks set to begin on Thursday.

3rd fugitive sibling sentenced in Colorado Posted: The last of three siblings accused in a multistate crime spree was sentenced Monday to 18 years in prison on charges related to their capture in Colorado.

THE RACE: Gas price drop may offer political bonus Posted: You wouldn't know it from campaign rhetoric, but gasoline prices have been trending down.

Running blind: China activist's dramatic escape Posted: Chen Guangcheng's blindness was a help and a hindrance as he made his way past the security cordon ringing his farmhouse.

Drifter heads to trial in Flint stabbing spree Posted: Tom Booker had made the walk to a nearby store countless times. He wanted cigarettes, candy, maybe a can of beer. On his way home around midnight, a motorist asked him to help open a stubborn hood on a Chevy Blazer.

Spain's Central Bank consults experts on toxic assets: sources Posted: MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's Central Bank is consulting with international bankers and property experts on setting up a holding company to value and sell off toxic real estate assets from the country's troubled financial sector, two sources said on Monday. The consultation process will last a few weeks, one of the sources, from the central bank, said. "When we have those opinions we will use them for input on the formula for the entity," the source told Reuters. ...

Bobcats: Coach Paul Silas not returning next year Posted: Paul Silas is out as Charlotte Bobcats coach Paul Silas after the worst season in NBA history.

Iowa case asks: Is it a crime to harass animals? Posted: Prosecutors hope to use a rarely enforced federal law to punish two Iowa pilots whose low flying disturbed thousands of resting migratory birds in a case that centers on this question: Is it a crime to harass animals?

Brooklyn Nets unveil black and white logo Posted: The Nets have changed their colors to black and white as part of their relocation to Brooklyn.

Political calendar offers opportunities, pitfalls Posted: The long, grueling GOP primary race is over. Now comes a summertime lull the candidates could find just as difficult — not because the schedule is crowded but because it isn't.

Judge dismisses lawsuit over Grammy cuts Posted: A lawsuit filed against the Recording Academy over its decision to trim the Grammy Award categories from 109 to 78 has been dismissed.

Driver in Bronx crash was speeding, clipped wall Posted: New York City police say the crash that killed seven members of a family happened after the speeding driver clipped the highway divider and damaged a tire.

Judge releases Jennifer Hudson's sister's 911 call Posted: Moments after finding her mother's body, the sister of Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Hudson sobs as she pleads for help in a disturbing 911 recording released to the news media Monday.

Summertime political lull offers opportunities Posted: The long, grueling GOP primary race is over. Now comes a summertime lull the candidates could find just as difficult — not because the schedule is crowded but because it isn't.

Guilty verdict in US double murder case Posted: A court in Ecuador has found an Ecuadorean man guilty of premeditated murder in last year's bludgeoning death in Massachusetts of a woman and her toddler son, a case controversial for its venue.

1Q US home video spending up 2.5 percent Posted: American spending on home videos rose 2.5 percent to $4.45 billion in the first quarter as the increasing popularity of subscription streaming plans and Blu-ray discs made up for falling DVD sales.

Mobile app reports unfair airport screeners Posted: A Sikh advocacy group has launched a free mobile application that allows travelers to complain immediately to the government about unfair treatment by airport security screeners.

Pepsi partners with Twitter for online concerts Posted: PepsiCo Inc. is tweeting to a new generation of music lovers.

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