Despite controversies, Obama agenda marches on

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.

A Native American tale with international pedigree

CANNES, France (AP) ? It took an international production starring a Puerto Rican and a Frenchman to bring the Native American tale "Jimmy P.: Psychotherapy of a Plains Indian" to the big screen.

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 on Saturday, which also features a bizarre opera pop number from Romania and an Armenian rock song written by the guitarist of Black Sabbath.

Will Boy Scouts accept gay youth? Vote is imminent

With its ranks deeply divided, the Boy Scouts of America is asking its local leaders from across the country to decide whether its contentious membership policy should be overhauled so that openly gay boys can participate in Scout units.

Ryder Cup players into last 8 at World Match Play
KAVARNA, Bulgaria (AP) ? Ryder Cup-winning teammates Graeme McDowell, Nicolas Colsaerts and Francesco Molinari are through to the quarterfinals of the World Match Play Championship.

Gunmen seize elderly father of Syria's deputy FM

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) ? Gunmen on Saturday abducted the elderly father of Syria's deputy foreign minister, his office and a Lebanese TV station said.

Merkel and Pope talk about a 'strong' Europe

VATICAN CITY (AP) ? German Chancellor Angela Merkel, mindful of the weight of Christian voters in September elections, made a quick trip to Rome Saturday for a private meeting with Pope Francis, focusing on how Europe's struggling economy should be at the service of the people.

Afghan lawmakers block law on women's rights

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) ? Conservative religious lawmakers in Afghanistan blocked legislation on Saturday aimed at strengthening provisions for women's freedoms, arguing that parts of it violate Islamic principles and encourage disobedience.

Enraged by kidnapping, Egyptian police block Gaza border

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian police angered by the kidnapping of seven colleagues by Islamist gunmen kept a crossing into the Gaza Strip closed again on Saturday, stranding hundreds of Palestinian travelers, witnesses said. The protest began on Friday when police strung barbed wire across the Rafah border post and chained up the gates, local residents said, a day after the abductions. Gunmen demanding the release of jailed Islamist militants had seized seven policemen and soldiers on a road between the Sinai towns of el-Arish and Rafah. ...

Powerball jackpot closing in on another record

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) ? A little more than a year after three tickets split a world-record lottery prize, the jackpot for Saturday's Powerball drawing was nearing historic territory.

A look at why the Benghazi issue keeps coming back
WASHINGTON (AP) ? The night of smoke, chaos, gunfire and grenades that killed four Americans in Benghazi, Libya, is well-documented. Eight months later, it is the decisions made back in Washington that remain murky and in perpetual dispute.

Merkel and Francis talk about a 'strong' Europe

VATICAN CITY (AP) ? German Chancellor Angela Merkel, mindful of the weight of Christian voters in September elections, made a quick trip to Rome Saturday for a private meeting with Pope Francis, focusing on how Europe's struggling economy should be at the service of the people.

Armed Tuareg and Arab groups clash in northern Mali

By David Lewis BAMAKO (Reuters) - Fighting has broken out in northern Mali between Tuareg separatists and local Arab-led gunmen, only days after the African country won a $4.2 billion aid pledge to help it recover from a conflict with Islamists affiliated to al Qaeda. Rebel and military sources both confirmed the clashes, although they differed over precisely which groups were involved. ...

Egyptians targeted with blasphemy charges

CAIRO (AP) ? The pale, young Christian woman sat handcuffed in the courtroom, accused of insulting Islam while teaching history of religions to fourth-graders. A team of Islamist lawyers with long beards sang in unison, "All except the Prophet Muhammad."

IRS probe ignored most influential groups

WASHINGTON (AP) ? There's an irony in the Internal Revenue Service's crackdown on conservative groups.

Egypt Muslim-Christian clashes leave 1 dead
CAIRO (AP) ? Egyptian security officials say clashes between Muslims and Christians in the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria left one man dead of a heart attack.

What to watch for at the Preakness

BALTIMORE (AP) ? All eyes will be on Kentucky Derby winner Orb in the Preakness Stakes on Saturday. The 3-year-old colt will take on eight challengers in the second leg of the Triple Crown. If he wins, Orb will attempt to become the first Triple Crown champion since Affirmed in 1978 at the Belmont Stakes on June 8. In the Preakness, Orb will be facing five horses he defeated in the Derby and three who did not run in the race.

8 police kidnapped in western Iraq
BAGHDAD (AP) ? Police officials say gunmen have kidnapped eight Iraqi policemen who were guarding a post on the main highway to Jordan and Syria.

Germany's Merkel visits Pope, urges tougher market controls

By James Mackenzie VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel met Pope Francis on Saturday and, apparently responding to his criticism of a heartless "dictatorship of the economy", called for stronger regulation of financial markets. On Thursday, Francis appealed in a speech for world financial reform, saying the global economic crisis had made life worse for millions in rich and poor countries. Merkel visited Rome for a few hours specifically to meet the pontiff and spoke with him privately in his library for 45 minutes, unusually long for a private papal audience. ...

Activists: Rebel groups clash in northern Syria

BEIRUT (AP) ? A wave of tit-for-tat kidnappings between rival Islamic militant groups in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo risks sparking large-scale internal fighting between rebels after clashes killed at least four militants earlier this week, activists said Saturday.

Ex-NBA player stabbed, seriously injured in fight

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) ? Serbian police say Predrag Danilovic, who played for the Miami Heat and Dallas Mavericks, is seriously injured after being stabbed in a fight.

Conn., NTSB officials to tour train crash site
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) ? Officials in Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's office say the governor will meet with representatives from the National Transportation Safety Board and Connecticut's two U.S. senators at the site of a Metro-North Railroad crash that injured 70 people.

Probe begins after Conn. commuter trains crash

FAIRFIELD, Conn. (AP) ? Two commuter trains packed with rush-hour commuters collided in an accident that sent about 70 people to the hospital, severely damaged the tracks and threatened to snarl travel in the congested Northeast Corridor.

Hot off the press: Seen and heard in Cannes

CANNES, France (AP) ? Associated Press journalists open their notebooks at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival:

Eight killed, 10 policemen kidnapped in Iraq's Sunni heartland
RAMADI, Iraq (Reuters) - Suspected Sunni Muslim militants killed four state-backed Sunni fighters in Iraq on Saturday, security sources said, apparently viewing them as collaborators with the Shi'ite-led government of a nation plagued by sectarian hatred. Sunni-Shi'ite tensions in Iraq have been amplified by the conflict between mostly Sunni rebels and President Bashar al-Assad's Alawite-dominated forces in neighboring Syria. ...

Hard-line Afghan MPs block law protecting women
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) ? Conservative religious lawmakers in Afghanistan blocked a law on Saturday that aims to protect women's freedoms, with some arguing that parts of it violate Islamic principles or encourage women to have sex outside of marriage.

U.S. chides Russia over missiles as peace plans suffer

By Erika Solomon BEIRUT (Reuters) - The United States chided Russia for sending missiles to the Syrian government as plans for a peace conference promoted by Washington and Moscow were hit by diplomatic rifts over its scope and purpose. Sectarian bloodshed in neighboring Iraq during Friday prayers, a hacking attack on a Western newspaper by sympathizers of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and defiant comments by a rebel commander filmed eating a slain soldier's flesh were all reminders of how the two-year-old civil war is metastising. ...

Serena Williams reaches Italian Open final

ROME (AP) ? A week out from the French Open, Serena Williams is one victory away from winning her fourth consecutive title this year.

Rome protest turns up heat on new PM Letta

ROME (Reuters) - Thousands of people protested in Rome on Saturday against austerity policies and high unemployment, urging new Prime Minister Enrico Letta to focus on creating jobs to help pull the country out of recession. "We hope that this government will finally start listening to us because we are losing our patience," said Enzo Bernardis, who joined the sea of protesters waving red flags and calling for more workers' rights and better contracts. ...

Iraq attacks leave 8 dead
BAGHDAD (AP) ? Gunmen killed the entire family of an anti-terrorist policeman in Baghdad and a Sunni cleric in the Shiite-majority south on Saturday, part of a wave of attacks across Iraq that left eight dead, said officials.

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.

Activists: Rebel groups kidnap in Syria's Aleppo

BEIRUT (AP) ? Syrian activists say that a wave of tit-for-tat kidnappings between rival Islamic militant groups in the northern city of Aleppo risks sparking large-scale internal fighting between rebels.

Obama talks jobs, says politics misplace focus

WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Barack Obama is calling attention to his economic proposals and efforts to expand the middle class.

Workers on illegal strike at chrome mine in S.Africa-union

By Agnieszka Flak JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Operations at a chrome mine in South Africa owned by chemicals group LANXESS have been suspended since Thursday after workers started an illegal strike over bonus payments, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) said on Saturday. The dispute at the mine in Rustenburg, 120 km (70 miles) northwest of Johannesburg, adds to growing labour tensions around South Africa's platinum belt, which are set to intensify over looming job cuts and wage talks in the sector. ...

Outraged by kidnapping, Egyptian police block Gaza crossing

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian police angered by the kidnapping of seven colleagues by Islamist gunmen kept a crossing into the Gaza Strip closed again on Saturday, stranding hundreds of Palestinian travellers, witnesses said. The protest began on Friday when police strung barbed wire across the Rafah border post and chained up the gates, local residents said, a day after the abductions. Gunmen demanding the release of jailed Islamist militants had seized seven policemen and soldiers on a road between the Sinai towns of el-Arish and Rafah. ...

FILA approves new rules to keep wrestling in games

MOSCOW (AP) ? Wrestling's governing body has approved new rule and constitutional changes aimed at modernizing the sport and keeping it in the Olympics after 2016.

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.

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. ...

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.

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.