Top Stories - AP

BERLIN - Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama arrived in Berlin on Thursday, meeting German Chancellor Angela Merkel and kicking off the European leg of his overseas trip amid high expectations.

DEARBORN, Mich. - Ford Motor Co. said Thursday it lost $8.67 billion in the second quarter largely because of a reduction in the value of assets.

WASHINGTON - About 2 million Americans get a raise Thursday as the federal minimum wage rises 70 cents. The bad news: Higher gas and food prices are swallowing it up, and some small businesses will pass the cost of the wage hike to consumers.

WASHINGTON - The towering trucks that give U.S. troops the best protection against roadside bombs and enemy bullets also make them vulnerable to routine hazards like sharp turns, rutted roads and rickety bridges.

TOKYO - Japanese and Mongolian scientists have successfully recovered the complete skeleton of a 70-million-year-old young dinosaur, a nature museum announced Thursday.

NEW YORK - 50 Cent has sued Taco Bell, claiming the fast-food restaurant chain is using his name without permission in advertising that asks him to call himself 99 Cent.

ST. LOUIS - CC Sabathia threw a three-hitter, his third straight complete game for his new team, and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the St. Louis Cardinals 3-0 on Wednesday night.

SAN FRANCISCO - The scene repeats itself daily on city streets: a driver gets stuck bumper to bumper, blocking an intersection and preventing another car from turning left.

LOS ANGELES - Jessica Hardy's first trip to the Olympics could be over before it began. The swimmer tested positive for a banned substance, leaving her just two weeks to pursue any appeals before the Beijing Games begin.

WASHINGTON - It's so easy to fabricate the medical certificates required to operate commercial trucks on the nation's highways that there's almost no incentive for truckers to obtain a legitimate document, according to a congressional study.

BERLIN - German Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman says the German leader had "very open" and wide-ranging talks with presidential candidate Barack Obama.

PITTSBURGH - The head of a prominent cancer research institute issued an unprecedented warning to his faculty and staff Wednesday: Limit cell phone use because of the possible risk of cancer.

NEW YORK - The weak U.S. dollar has not dissuaded Americans from planning trips abroad this year, but they may be heading to destinations closer to home, according to a survey released Thursday by Visa Inc.

FORT STANTON CAVE, N.M. - Hundreds of feet beneath Earth's surface, a few seasoned cave explorers venture where no human has set foot. Their headlamps illuminate mud-covered walls, gypsum crystals and mineral deposits.

LONDON - Motor racing boss Max Mosley won a closely watched privacy-invasion lawsuit Thursday over a British tabloid's claims he took part in a Nazi-themed orgy, and the judge ordered the newspaper to pay over $1 million.

SINGAPORE - Asia-Pacific powers on Thursday announced an ambitious plan to pool their military and civilian resources for disaster responses in a region beset by cyclones, earthquakes and floods.

QUITO, Ecuador - A proposed new constitution grants Ecuador's leftist President Rafael Correa broad powers including the ability to dissolve Congress and set monetary policy, and would let him stay in office through 2017.

SDEROT, Israel - From the solemnity of a Holocaust museum to a dusty village battered by Hamas rockets, Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama on Wednesday professed "an unshakable commitment to the security" of Israel, whether the threat comes from terrorists, Iran or elsewhere.

WASHINGTON - Rescue legislation sailed through the House on Wednesday aimed at helping 400,000 strapped homeowners avoid foreclosure and preventing the collapse of troubled mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Republican John McCain pushed back on Wednesday against Democratic criticism that he misstated when the troop buildup ordered by President Bush began, saying elements were put in place before Bush announced the strategy in early 2007.

WASHINGTON - Al-Qaida's foreign fighters who have for years bedeviled Iraq are increasingly going to Afghanistan to fight instead, the Iraqi ambassador to the United States said Wednesday.

LOS ANGELES - A woman mauled by a bear in a rural area of Southern California was recovering Wednesday as game wardens sought to trap and kill the animal.

SEATTLE - Mike Lowell hit a two-run single off Sean Green in the 12th inning, and the Red Sox took advantage of two outfield errors to beat the lowly Mariners 6-3 on Wednesday and complete Boston's first series sweep at Seattle in 15 years.

MELBOURNE, Australia - A pet rabbit is credited with saving a couple from a fire that swept through their home in the southern city of Melbourne.

BARCELONA, Spain - Christian Bale swept into Barcelona on Wednesday night to attend a glittering Spanish premiere of "The Dark Knight," appearing calm as he greeted fans a day after reports surfaced that his mother and sister had accused him of assault.

WASHINGTON - Top Pentagon leaders are expected to recommend soon that Defense Secretary Robert Gates order hundreds of additional U.S. troops to Afghanistan over the next month or so, according to a senior military official.

MILWAUKEE - NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is monitoring the ongoing rift between the Green Bay Packers and Brett Favre. A person with direct knowledge of Goodell's interest said the commissioner has spoken with Packers management several times recently as tensions mounted between the three-time MVP and his team.

MILFORD, Mass. - Dozens of pairs of pantyhose have been left near a Milford school bus stop — causing sheer annoyance in the neighborhood. The pantyhose — sometimes new, sometimes used — has been left on Camp Street for more than two years. They're almost always black and queen sized.