Tens of thousands of Brazilians again flooded the streets of the country's biggest city to raise a collective cry against a longstanding lament _ people are weighed down by high taxes and high prices but get low-quality public services and a system of government infected with corruption.

President Barack Obama is calling for a one-third reduction of the U.S. and Russia's nuclear stockpiles.

The historic wave of protests that has swept across Brazil in recent days has gained some important allies _ the players of the Brazilian national football team.

Trying to tamp down concerns about government over-reach, President Barack Obama on Wednesday defended U.S. Internet and phone surveillance programs as narrowly targeted efforts that have saved lives and thwarted at least 50 terror threats.

The zoo in Novosibirsk, Russia's third-largest city, is home to a unique animal _ the liliger. That's a big cat breed where the father is a lion and the mother is a lion-tiger hybrid, called a liger.

The image was stark: a silent, solitary figure standing in passive defiance to the Turkish prime minister's demand for protesters to clear Taksim Square in central Istanbul.

When LeBron James' greatness almost wasn't good enough, officials began preparing for a San Antonio celebration.

Supporters of a far-reaching immigration bill in the Senate see fresh momentum from a report by the Congressional Budget Office that says the measure would boost the economy and reduce federal deficits by billions of dollars.

The Internal Revenue Service is about to pay $70 million in employee bonuses despite an Obama administration directive to cancel discretionary bonuses because of automatic spending cuts enacted this year, according to a GOP senator.

State and local police spent hours at the home of New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez on Tuesday night as another group of officers searched an industrial park about a mile away where a body was discovered the day before.

Stocks edged lower in early trading on Wall Street Wednesday as investors waited for word from the Federal Reserve.

Japan's nuclear watchdog formally approved a set of new safety requirements for atomic power plants Wednesday, paving the way for the reopening of facilities shut down since the Fukushima disaster in a move critics charge is too hasty.

Cyprus' deputy government spokesman says the Cabinet has ratified a preliminary agreement with U.S. firm Noble Energy and its Israeli partners Delek Drilling and Avner Oil Exploration on their participation in the development of a planned natural gas processing facility.

Air France-KLM ordered 25 Airbus A350 jets on Wednesday, saying the wide-body plane that flew for the first time last week will be central to its plan to expand long-haul flights after years of struggling against discount carriers in Europe.

President Barack Obama is suggesting Europe may need to adjust its economic policies to tackle high youth unemployment.

A Boeing 787 flying from Denver to Tokyo diverted to Seattle because of an oil filter issue, a United Airlines spokeswoman said.

Worry and speculation have consumed investors since Chairman Ben Bernanke spoke to Congress last month about the Federal Reserve's drive to keep long-term interest rates at record lows.

Satellite TV operator Dish Network Corp. said Tuesday it would not submit a revised bid for Sprint, leaving the path open for the wireless carrier to accept what it already considers a superior offer from Japan's Softbank.

A Boeing 787 flying from Denver to Tokyo diverted to Seattle because of an oil filter issue, a United Airlines spokeswoman said.

Michael Hastings, the war correspondent whose unflinching reporting from Afghanistan led to the resignation of a top U.S. army general, has died in a car accident in Los Angeles, according to his employer and family.