U.S. officials called for calm Wednesday ahead of this weekend's election in Senegal, where opposition leaders are vowing to render the West African nation ungovernable if its 85-year-old incumbent president seeks a third term.

"We certainly condemn the use of any violence, or the threat of violence," said the State ...

RICHMOND — Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell on Wednesday announced his support to amend a bill requiring women to undergo ultrasound imaging before having an abortion. He said nobody should have to undergo an invasive procedure by the state without their consent as a precondition for another medical procedure.

Since most ...

NORTH KOREA

U.S., N. Korea to hold first post-Kim Jong-il talks

BEIJING — The U.S. and North Korea will reopen nuclear talks Thursday that will provide a glimpse into where Pyongyang's opaque government is heading after Kim Jong-il's death and test its readiness to dismantle nuclear programs for much-needed aid.

PARIS (AP) — French police released former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn on Wednesday after nearly 30 hours in custody for questioning about a suspected hotel prostitution ring.

Mr. Strauss-Kahn, 62, is expected to be summoned again next month by judges who will decide if there is enough evidence ...

CAIRO (AP) — An Egyptian judge on Wednesday set June 2 as the date for the verdict and sentencing in the trial of ousted President Hosni Mubarak, which could put the man who spent nearly 30 years as one of the Arab world's key strongmen on death row.

Mr. Mubarak ...

KENYA

U.S. troops now in 4 African countries

NAIROBI — A top military official said U.S. troops now are deployed in four central African countries as part of U.S. efforts against a brutal rebel group called the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA).

Navy Rear Adm. Brian L. Losey, the top U.S. ...

NEW YORK — Treasurys are edging higher as Greece scrambles to implement emergency budget laws required for the country to receive its latest financial rescue package.

Greece's coalition government is pushing through legislation that will further cut incomes and state spending. The changes were demanded by other European countries in ...

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Lindsay Lohan drew praise Wednesday from a judge who said the actress was one court hearing away from putting a long-running drunken-driving case behind her.

"Ms. Lohan, you're in the home stretch," Superior Court Judge Stephanie Sautner told the actress. "The probation officer is pleased with ...

JERUSALEM — Israel gave preliminary approval on Wednesday to a plan to build 600 new homes in a settlement deep inside the West Bank, a move that drew rebukes from the United Nations and Palestinians and threatened to raise tensions with the U.S. as the prime minister prepares to head ...

ST. LOUIS — Methamphetamine lab seizures rose nationally again in 2011, further evidence the powerfully addictive and dangerous drug is maintaining a tight grip on the nation's heartland, according to an Associated Press survey of the nation's top meth-producing states.

Missouri regained the top national spot for lab seizures in ...

President Obama celebrated the groundbreaking of the new National Museum of African American History and Culture on Wednesday, saying it will remind all Americans of the ordeals and triumphs of blacks.

"It should stand as proof that the most important things in life rarely come quickly or easily," Mr. Obama ...

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court appeared sharply divided Wednesday over a law that makes it a crime to lie about having been awarded top military honors.

The justices engaged in spirited debate over the constitutionality of a 2006 law aimed at curbing false claims about military exploits.

Some justices ...

LONDON — The wife of former Prime Minister Tony Blair is suing Rupert Murdoch's British newspaper company over phone hacking, her lawyer said Wednesday.

Cherie Blair was suing "in relation to the unlawful interception of her voice mails," lawyer Graham Atkins said in an email, making her one of the ...

The effort to reintegrate former insurgents into Afghan society is working, the British Royal Marine officer in charge of the program said Wednesday at the Pentagon.

Maj. Gen. David Hook said about 3,100 ex-fighters are currently in the program, which began in October 2010. There have been as many as ...

Police have identified the driver killed when her BMW ran off the road Monday night and crashed into a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant in Landover.

She has been identified as District resident Hellena Louise Smith, 29, Prince George's County Police Department said Tuesday.

Ms. Smith was declared dead on the ...

President Obama's plan to overhaul the country's corporate tax system — unveiled by Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner on Wednesday — calls for cutting the overall tax rates for businesses while eliminating loopholes and special subsidies for certain industries.

The Obama plan lowers most corporate tax rates from 35 to ...

ANNAPOLIS — The Senate postponed discussion Wednesday of a same-sex marriage bill, allowing opponents another day to gather proposed amendments to the legislation.

The chamber will begin debate Thursday on the bill, which passed the House last week by a 72-67 vote and was approved Tuesday by a Senate committee.

LONDON — Somalia's fragile leadership, its neighbors and international allies are meeting in London in the hope of speeding the troubled east African nation's progress toward a stable government and containing the threat from Islamic militants who some fear could export terrorism to Europe and the United States.

About 50 ...

WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner says the current business tax system is bad for business and job creation and that a plan by President Obama to reduce corporate tax rates would make the tax system more globally competitive.

The Obama administration is proposing to lower the corporate tax rate ...

DALLAS (AP) - A comic collection that includes a staggering array of some of the most prized issues ever published was headed for auction Wednesday in New York City, where it was expected to fetch more than $2 million.

Among the 345 well-preserved comics bought decades ago by a Virginia boy ...

OTTAWA — Alex Ovechkin stepped onto the Scotiabank Place rink before the Zamboni was even off. The Washington Capitals captain skated around in circles and appeared to be testing something out with his stride. After just eight minutes, Ovechkin skated to the bench, shaking his head in frustration before going ...

ORLANDO, FLA. (AP) - Attorney Jose Baez says he no longer represents Casey Anthony, the Florida mother whose 2011 murder trial made him one of the best known criminal defense lawyers in the country.

In a statement Wednesday, Baez says he has withdrawn from the Anthony case and must attend to ...

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The superintendent of the West Virginia coal mine where an explosion killed 29 men was charged Wednesday with conspiracy to defraud the federal government, becoming the highest-ranking Massey Energy employee to face criminal prosecution so far over the deadly blast.

Former Upper Big Branch mine boss Gary ...

KABUL, Afghanistan — Clashes between Afghan troops and protesters angry over the burning of Muslim holy books at a U.S. military base left at least seven people dead and dozens wounded Wednesday as anger spread despite U.S. apologies over what it said was a mistake.

The demonstrations across four eastern ...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is trying to ramp up diplomatic efforts against Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime on a trip to North Africa this week, as some countries begin to explore the possibility of arming Syria's rebels.

Mrs. Clinton is traveling to London on Wednesday ...

DALLAS, ORE. (AP) - Drummer Deen Castronovo from the rock group Journey was sentenced to 80 hours of community service in Oregon and ordered to attend anger-management classes for a domestic violence dispute.

The Statesman Journal reported ( http://stjr.nl/xAQrd7) the sentence Wednesday based on court documents from a diversion agreement.

The ...

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Jury deliberations began Wednesday morning in the murder trial of former University of Virginia lacrosse player George W. Huguely V with the judge saying all of the proceedings could be concluded by the end of day.

The deliberations began with the jury of 14 being randomly divided ...

ROME (AP) — Divers searching the capsized Costa Concordia cruise ship off a Tuscan island found eight bodies Wednesday on one of the passenger decks, including that of a missing 5-year-old Italian girl, authorities said.

Italy's national civil protection agency, which is monitoring the operation off the island of Giglio, ...