Top Stories

BANGKOK (AP) — Asian stock markets were mostly higher Wednesday after investor confidence was boosted by a Federal Reserve official's comments that the U.S. central bank should stick with its super-easy monetary policy.

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Joe Thornton set the tone for the San Jose Sharks with a dominant first period. After that, the Sharks did their best to hang on and tie up their playoff series against the Los Angeles Kings.

PHOENIX (AP) — As a jury deliberates whether Jodi Arias should live or die for killing her one-time boyfriend, the convicted murderer says she deserves a chance at freedom someday.

PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un dispatched a high-profile official and close confidant to China on Wednesday as Beijing faces pressure to rein in its belligerent neighbor.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — An early tally of mail-in ballots and a sprinkle of returns from precincts Tuesday pointed to a tight race for Los Angeles mayor that could leave a winner unknown on Election Day.

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistani cricket star-turned politician Imran Khan has been discharged from the hospital roughly two weeks after he sustained serious back injuries in a fall from a forklift at a campaign event.

BEIJING (AP) — Two emotionless prison guards watch Ai Weiwei as he eats, sleeps, paces, showers — and even sits on the toilet — in the Chinese artist's new obscenity-filled, metaphor-rich music video mocking state power.

CAIRO (AP) — Egyptian state TV says six policemen and a border guard kidnapped by suspected militants in the Sinai Peninsula last week have been freed.

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Mike Trout hit for the cycle and drove in five runs, Josh Hamilton celebrated his 32nd birthday with a homer and a triple, and Howie Kendrick also went deep in the Los Angeles Angels' 12-0 rout of the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday night.

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — When Tony Parker started running low on masterful plays, Tim Duncan was there to take over and lead the San Antonio Spurs to a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference finals.

DETROIT (AP) — Detroit auto factories are forgoing their traditional two-week summer break and speeding up production to meet buyers' growing demand for new cars and trucks.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Early returns showed Portland residents voting to keep their city the largest in the U.S. without fluoride in the water.

(Reuters) - The tornado that slammed into the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore, killing 24 people, was upgraded on Tuesday to a rating of EF5, the category reserved for the most damaging twisters on the Enhanced Fujita Scale, the National Weather Service said. The Enhanced Fujita scale is an updated version of an earlier chart to measure the ferocity of tornadoes published in 1971 by University of Chicago professor Ted Fujita. ...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Disasters such as Monday's tornado that wiped out much of Moore, Oklahoma often prompt people to help victims by collecting goods or launching blood drives, but charitable groups said money, not goods, is the best way to help. AMERICAN RED CROSS: * "What this enables us to do is send those funds to the area where they're needed most immediately," Red Cross spokeswoman Anne Marie Borrego said of financial contributions. * Donating food or clothing can hurt relief efforts as organizations must take time to sort and process them, the Red Cross said. ...

By Mary Wisniewski and David Bailey (Reuters) - The people of central Oklahoma know all too well the destructive power of a tornado, but when a big one rolled toward the town of Moore again on Monday, residents had few basements and storm shelters to run to when the alarm sounded, officials said. Two elementary schools that were hit by the EF-5 tornado - the most powerful category - did not have "safe rooms" where students could shelter from the storm, and no applications for safe rooms had been made, Oklahoma Emergency Management Director Albert Ashwood told reporters. ...

By Carey Gillam and Ian Simpson MOORE, Oklahoma (Reuters) - Rescuers went building to building in search of victims and survivors picked through the rubble of their shattered homes on Tuesday, a day after a massive tornado tore through the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore, wiping out blocks of houses and killing at least 24 people. ...

(Reuters) - A powerful tornado devastated the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore on Monday, killing 24 people, including nine children, according to the Oklahoma medical examiner's office. At one point, as many as 91 were feared dead, but authorities have since scaled back the official death toll. Here are the 10 deadliest tornadoes in U.S. history: 1. March 18, 1925 - Missouri/Illinois/Indiana - 695 dead 2. May 6, 1840 - Natchez, Mississippi - 317 dead 3. May 27, 1896 - St. Louis - 255 dead 4. April 5, 1936 - Tupelo, Mississippi - 216 dead 5. April 6, 1936 - Gainesville, Georgia - 203 dead 6. ...

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Oakland rookie right-hander Dan Straily was well aware of the ace pitcher and the powerful lineup he was facing.

By Emily Flitter NEW YORK (Reuters) - Prosecutors are considering charging Steven A. Cohen's SAC Capital Advisors as a criminal enterprise engaged in a long pattern of insider trading in stocks, according to a person familiar with the matter. Prosecutors may use the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, most commonly associated with prosecutions against the mafia, to move against Cohen's $15 billion hedge fund company, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity. While this is one option under consideration, no final decision has been made, the source added. ...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Now that tech darling Apple Inc. has been dragged front and center into the debate over the U.S. tax code, lawmakers are hoping that the spotlight on such a high-profile company could be the catalyst for Congress to take action to close loopholes or reform the law.