The news was quickly carried on the official New China News Agency website, indicating there was some level of central coordination and credibility to the remarks. Speaking at a news conference later, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she was encouraged by the Chinese government's statement and added that the U.S. would stay in contact with Chen.

500 by David Pierson in Beijing. MOVED

^<

Also moving as:

^CHINA-DISSIDENT-1ST-LEDE:WA_<950 (with trims) by Tom Lasseter in Beijing. MOVED

^Rioting Egyptians at Defense Ministry say street protests are more effective than elections<

^EGYPT:WA_

The Egyptian military, which has ruled this country by decree for 15 months, "only responds to protests," Emad Behnessy, 38, a nutritionist, said Friday as protesters and security forces clashed outside the Ministry of Defense.

700 (with trims) by Nancy A. Youssef in Cairo. MOVED

^<

Also moving as:

^EGYPT:LA_<400 by Jeffrey Fleishman and Amro Hassan in Cairo. MOVED

^Greece and France expected to reject austerity measures, roiling Europe's leaders<

^EUROPE-ELECTIONS:WA_

In France, President Nicolas Sarkozy was trailing his Socialist challenger, Francois Hollande, by 6 percentage points in polls Friday and appealed to the country's "silent majority" to save his government and give him a second term in office.

In Greece, the two centrist parties that have ruled in an uneasy interim government since late last year may see their popular support collapse.

850 (with trims) by Roy Gutman in Athens, Greece. MOVED

GRAPHIC

^WORLD NEWS<

^Gay leader in Russia convicted, fined<

^RUSSIA-GAYS:LA_

Nikolay Alexeyev had been accused of spreading homosexual "propaganda" after picketing St. Petersburg city hall in April with a poster that read: "Homosexuality is not a perversion. Perversion is hockey on the grass and ballet on ice."

The new law calls for fines ranging from $167 to $16,700 for "publicly spreading information capable to harm the health, moral and spiritual development of under-age persons including forming in them deformed notions of social equality of traditional and nontraditional marital relations."

450 by Sergei L. Loiko in Moscow. MOVED

^Balloons explode at rally in Armenia; more than 140 injured<

^ARMENIA:LA_

The balloons were supposed to be filled with helium but may have instead been filled with methane, said Aghasi Yenokyan, director of the Center for Political and International Studies, a Yerevan-based think tank.

The incident occurred in downtown Republic Square during events organized by the ruling Republican Party of Armenia as part of the parliamentary election campaign.

300 by Sergei L. Loiko in Moscow. MOVED

^Hillary Clinton to visit India, Bangladesh with modest agenda<

^USINDIA:LA_

But Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's three-day trip to India, starting Sunday after a weekend stop in Bangladesh, comes amid reduced expectations and political distraction on both sides and a relationship increasingly marked by incremental movement on a variety of issues.

Although India remains an important ally, few big-ticket nuclear and defense deals that the United States had hoped for have materialized. India is wary of becoming too closely aligned with the U.S. to the detriment of its relations with Russia and Iran. And politics, including the U.S. presidential campaign and the growing weakness of India's Congress Party-led government, has limited the scope of agreements.

700 by Mark Magnier in New Delhi. MOVED

^Suicide bombing in northwest Pakistan kills at least 17<

350 by Zulfiqar Ali in Peshawar, Pakistan, and Alex Rodriguez in Islamabad, Pakistan. MOVED

^Syria activists say 37 killed as cease-fire continues to unravel<

^SYRIA:LA_

Protesters calling for the ouster for President Bashar Assad came out across Syria, and many were met with gunfire, which activists say is evidence that the government is violating the 3-week-old United Nations-backed cease-fire.

200 in Beirut. MOVED

^Jordanians protest to demand end to ties with Israel<

^JORDAN:DPA_

In a series of nationwide protests, leftist and Islamist activists urged Amman to cut ties with the Jewish state. They burned Israeli flags and chanted "death, death to Israel" and "the people want an end to Wadi Araba."

300 in Amman, Jordan. MOVED

^Most of Norway gunman's victims died instantly, medical examiner testifies<

^NORWAY-GUNMAN:DPA_

"In some cases, the injuries resulted in massive bleeding and they might have lived a short while but when you lose a lot of blood you lose consciousness," Torleiv Ole Rognum told the prosecution in response to a query if any of the victims suffered before they died.

300 by Lennart Simonsson in Oslo, Norway. MOVED

^Ukraine's Tymoshenko to be treated by German doctors<

^UKRAINE:DPA_

Karl Max Einhaeupl, the head of Berlin's Charite Clinic, and the German orthopaedic surgon Norbert Haas examined Tymoshenko in the prison in Kharkiv, about 250 miles east of the capital Kiev, according to Ukraine media.

200 by Christoph Sator in Berlin. MOVED

^Nigeria state seeks husbands for 1,000 brides-to-be<

^NIGERIA-HUSBANDHUNT-ADV06:LA_

"A little handsome," but not too much, says Altine Abdullahi. "It's a danger."

In northern Nigeria, it is a truth almost universally acknowledged that a woman of a certain age, and in a certain situation in life, must be in want of a husband.

But if the woman in that certain situation is a divorcee or a widow, finding a husband isn't easy, even without the shopping list of desirable qualities ticked off by Abdullahi (a divorcee).

That's why 1,000 women have thrown their fates into the hands of the Kano state government, which will act as their matchmaker. The religious authority in the Muslim-dominated state, the Hisbah Board, has embarked on a massive husband hunt for divorcees and widows.

1450 (with trims) by Robyn Dixon in Kano, Nigeria. MOVED

PHOTO, GRAPHIC

^Mexico's PRI, leading to retake presidency, vows not to return to old ways<

^MEXICO-ELECTION-ADV06:WA_

Competitors deride the idea of a "new PRI," saying the party's old practices will reappear if its candidate, Enrique Pena Nieto, wins and takes office Dec. 1.

Pena Nieto, a telegenic politician with a 100-watt smile, bristles, however, at suggestions that the PRI hasn't adapted.

1050 (with trims) by Tim Johnson in Mexico City. MOVED

PHOTOS, GRAPHIC

^More Mexicans are finding opportunities at home<

^MEXICO-LIVELIHOOD-ADV06:DA_

Instead of the end, he's sure he's found a beginning _ in Mexico's booming south.

"As a kid, like everyone else, I dreamed of going north to the United States," he said. "Not anymore. I know it's hard to believe, but this part of Mexico doesn't feel like Mexico. It's something else."

Generations of men and women have chosen the north _ the United States _ as their escape valve, a place of reinvention and new jobs. But with U.S. jobs largely dried up because of the bad economy, especially in the construction sector, Mexicans are increasingly staying in their hometowns, finding jobs and carving out a livelihood, or, like Tejada, migrating inside Mexico in search of work.

1050 (with trims) by Alfredo Corchado in Tulum, Mexico. MOVED

PHOTOS

^How to live easy in China on $475 a month<

^CHINA-CONSUMERS-ADV06:WA_

While average salaries remain low by Western standards _ about $760 a month _ they are rising quickly, and even people earning as little as $475 a month, a common wage for new workers right out of college or those going into factories, get by without much stress.

1400 (with trims) by Mark Melnicoe in Shanghai. MOVED

PHOTOS

^UNITED STATES<

^Defense chief Leon Panetta implores US troops to avoid misconduct<

^PANETTA:TBW_

In a speech at Fort Benning, Ga., Panetta was blunt in his assessment of the breakdown of discipline, saying these incidents "show a lack of judgment, a lack of professionalism and a lack of leadership."

Panetta's admonition is part of a broader effort by military commanders to tighten discipline within the ranks of the Army and Marine Corps.

450 by Brian Bennett in Washington. MOVED

^Accused 9/11 conspirators don't want to make plea deal, lawyer says<

^GUANTANAMO-1ST-LEDE:MI_

In the short history of the military commissions, since President George W. Bush had them created, most have not pleaded at all.

That's because, just like at a military court-martial, entering a plea at a military commission cuts short an accused war criminal's rights at the Guantanamo war court _ the right, for example, to argue that some charges are not lawful, and to see at least some of the evidence the prosecution has built.

750 by Carol Rosenberg at Guantanamo Bay Navy Base, Cuba. MOVED

^Super moon 2012: 'Gloriously full,' with 14 percent more lunar excitement<

^SCI-SUPERMOON:LA_

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is letting its enthusiasm show in a new video on the subject. "The timing is almost perfect," it notes. At 11:34 p.m. EDT, May's full moon will reach perigee _ the closest point to Earth in its elliptical pattern _ and "only one minute later, the moon will line up with the Earth and the sun to become gloriously full."

The moon will appear 14 percent larger than other full moons of 2012.

350 by Amy Hubbard in Los Angeles. MOVED

GRAPHIC

^U.S. troops' organ donations save European lives<

^ORGANDONATION:USA_

"I said, 'Oh, yes,' " the junior high school counselor recalls, memories still fresh of that December in 2010 when she last saw her son, Marine Cpl. Sean Osterman, 21, of Princeton, Minn., "because something good has to come out of something bad."

Since 2006, about 140 European lives have been saved because organs _ hearts, lungs, livers, kidneys and pancreases _ were harvested from 36 U.S. service members determined to be brain dead from wounds suffered in Iraq or Afghanistan, according to statistics from the German foundation that oversees organ removal and implantation.

400 by Gregg Zoroya. MOVED

^Keystone XL pipeline: Canadian firm seeks U.S. permission, again<

800 (with trims) by Kim Murphy in Seattle. MOVED

^Honors student pleads guilty in 'Jihad Jane' case<

Khalid, who was indicted in October along with Ali Charafe Damache, is the youngest terrorism suspect charged in the United States.

450 by Michael Hinkelman in Philadelphia. MOVED

^Adam Yauch, founding member of the Beastie Boys, dies at 47<

^YAUCH-OBIT-1ST-LEDE:LA_

A Beastie Boys representative confirmed that Yauch "passed away in his native New York City this morning after a near-three-year battle with cancer."

Yauch, who had been battling cancer for the last three years, was part of a trio of New York rappers whose music starting in the 1980s transformed the budding genre and helped take hip-hop nationwide.

Yauch, who was 47, achieved fame with the Beastie Boys, but as their fame grew he directed his energy toward his lifelong passion: Buddhism and Tibetan independence.

250 by Randall Roberts in Los Angeles. MOVED

PHOTOS

^BUSINESS<

^Pressure mounts on Yahoo over CEO background<

^CPT-YAHOO-CEO-1ST-LEDE:SJ_

The Sunnyvale, Calif., company, which has been under fire from shareholders for its lackluster performance and leadership problems, on Thursday disclosed that Thompson did not have the computer science degree he claimed to have and that the company is launching a review of the matter. It termed the falsehood, which has been repeated in the company's regulatory filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, an "inadvertent error."

But the investor who disclosed Thompson's misrepresentation _ Dan Loeb of New York-based Third Point _ on Friday denounced Yahoo's response as "insulting to shareholders."

550 by Steve Johnson and Pete Carey in San Jose, Calif. MOVED

^Oil below $100 a barrel as gas prices keep falling<

^OIL:USA_

Crude oil prices fell sharply in early Friday trading after the Labor Department reported weaker than expected job gains last month. That roiled Wall Street and the commodities market. Benchmark West Texas crude oil sank about 4 percent, the first time crude had fallen below $100 since February.

300 by Gary Strauss. MOVED

^FEATURES<

^End of the world as we know it? Hollywood takes several angles on apocalypse<

^MOVIE-SUMMER-APOCALYPSE:MK_

Or, perhaps there's nothing but doom and gloom permeating throughout Hollywood these days. Then again, studio executives simply may think it takes no less than a near-apocalypse to get an audience's attention.

In any case, this summer's selection of popcorn movies is filled with promising tales of heroes, super and otherwise, who try to stave off the end of the world. If this really is it for all things biological, it seems Hollywood is determined to go out with a bang, not a whimper.

Industry watchers believe that with a hefty lineup of reliable "franchise" films, prior versions of which already have proven themselves at the box office, this could be a blockbuster summer for the movie industry, and maybe even a record-setting year.

"It's going to be such a strong summer," said Phil Contrino, editor of Boxoffice.com. "And I'm not someone who's optimistic for the sake of being optimistic."

Hollywood already is off to a fast start. According to Paul Dergarabedian, president of Hollywood.com's box-office business, the industry has raked in nearly $3.3 billion through last weekend, year to date. That's up more than 14 percent from 2011.

1500 (with trim) by Russ Britt in Los Angeles. MOVED

PHOTOS

^Rare music from George Harrison, Martin Scorsese doc out on CD, DVD<

^MUS-VID-HARRISON:LA_

Much of that music is now available on a new CD, "Early Takes Volume 1: Music From the Martin Scorsese Picture Living in the Material World," released this week in tandem with the DVD/ Blu-ray release of Scorsese's film. The album is available as a stand-alone CD as well as part of a deluxe set that includes the Scorsese film, the CD and an accompanying 96-page book that Harrison's widow, Olivia, assembled last year.

850 (with trim) by Randy Lewis in Los Angeles. MOVED

ARCHIVE PHOTO

^60-plus years, lots of laughs for Don Rickles<

^USAC-TV-RICKLES:USA_

In a career that has (so far) spanned more than 60 years, Rickles, who turns 86 Tuesday, has done films (from "Beach Party" films of the early '60s to "Casino" in 1995), sitcoms ("CPO Sharkey") and voiced Mr. Potato Head in three "Toy Story" films.

But he has made his living as an "aggressive" stage comedian. He has outlasted contemporaries such as Alan King, role model Milton Berle (who dubbed him the Merchant of Venom) and Carson, a good friend who hosted him on the "Tonight Show" more than 100 times and affectionately called him "Mr. Warmth": "It's sarcastic, but it's true," Rickles says.

To many fans, he's known as the prototypical insult comic. He doesn't tell jokes, exactly; his act is the ad-libbed singling out of audience members for ridicule.

600 by Gary Levin. MOVED

ARCHIVE PHOTO

^SPORTS <

^Union Rags' trainer, Michael Matz, has had quite a ride<

^RAC-DERBY-MATZ:LA_

Saturday he'll send Union Rags from the No. 4 post as the second favorite in the 138th Kentucky Derby. Bob Baffert's Bodemesiter is the top choice at 4-1 odds; Union Rags is 9-2.

Union Rags was thought to be the clear Derby favorite before an unfortunate ride led to a third-place finish in the Florida Derby.

But, the ride that really defined Matz was that of United Flight 232 in 1989 which ended in a cornfield in Sioux City with 110 dead. Matz was returning from judging a horse show in Hawaii when he and fiancee D.D. Alexander missed their connection and they ended up on Flight 232, which was headed for Chicago.

800 by John Cherwa in Louisville, Ky. MOVED

PHOTOS

^BEST OF INTERNATIONAL<

The following stories moved during the past week and remain suitable for use:

^Italian premier shakes up politics<

^ITALY-MONTI:LA_

Granted, his transformation from mild-mannered technocrat to the man charged with saving Italy has been a bit startling. From a photo op with President Barack Obama in the White House to a whistle-stop tour of Asia to woo foreign investors, Monti is on a tear, busy telling the world that his country is back in business.

Here at home, he's trying to revitalize the sluggish Italian economy and lighten a crushing load of government debt. As prime minister, Monti is determined to push controversial labor reforms through Parliament and persuade global financial markets to keep Italy afloat, not sink it.

1250 (with trims) by Henry Chu in Rome. MOVED

ARCHIVE PHOTOS

^Nigerian billionaire leaves his imprint in cement<

^NIGERIA-BILLIONAIRE:LA_

Restless and irritated, the billionaire is in his bubble. With a slim, elegant finger, he prods his cellphone screen to redial after the call drops.

He grills a squirming subordinate about a production problem that has persisted all week.

Aliko Dangote is the richest man in Africa. He dwarfs diamond kings, telecom giants and oil magnates, and his estimated $11.2 billion net worth is four times that of Oprah Winfrey's.

Dangote's fortune doesn't come from diamonds or oil, but from the cement that is helping to fuel Africa's astonishing growth.

1700 (with trims) by Robyn Dixon in Lagos, Nigeria. MOVED

^Israel's move toward vote may shelve an Iran strike<

^MIDEAST-ISRAEL-ELECTIONS:LA_

Though no final decision has been made about moving up national elections slated for next year, the Knesset, or parliament, is talking about dissolving this month and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to announce as soon as next week an election date in September.

Some officials predict the chances of an Israeli airstrike against Iran will decrease because a divisive political campaign would paralyze the government and focus attention on domestic issues.

900 (with trims) by Edmund Sanders in Jerusalem. MOVED

^The politics of fear-mongering<

^ISLAMAPHOBIA:LA_

The Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, years of war and repeated calls for violence against the West stirred worldwide fears of Muslim extremism, but many human rights analysts say they find it difficult to explain a recent surge in anti-Islamic hate crimes other than political manipulation and fears that displays of Islamic faith herald new threats from radicals.

In Europe and in North America, where incidents of Islamic extremism have been few and rarely fatal since the Sept. 11 attacks, anti-Muslim hate crimes have increased over the last two years.

800 by Carol J. Williams in Los Angeles. MOVED

^Afghan general says 'Americans work side by side' to build Kabul command<

^USAFGHAN-COMMAND:TC_

The Americans assisting him today use a lighter touch as they aim to restore a different kind of army, he said.

"It used to be the other army would tell the Afghans what to do," said Hashim, who counts 31 years wearing his country's uniform. "The Americans just come up with recommendations. The Americans work side by side" with Afghan soldiers.

950 (with trims) by Adam

^K-pop moves beyond Korean culture with eyes on the U.S.<

^MUS-KPOP:LA_

Poised at the intersection of two countries' fast-moving pop cultures and cutting-edge media technology, the sprawling genre colloquially known as K-pop has operated outside the American pop limelight. But that's changing. A-list producers like will.i.am, Diplo and Kanye West are lining up to work with South Korean artists like 2NE1, GD&TOP and JYJ.

K-pop comes alongside a tide of Korean filmmaking (the cult-favorite films of Joon-ho Bong) and culinary interest (L.A.'s Kogi truck, progressive Korean barbecue joints like LaOn Dining) turning heads in L.A. and in the U.S. As K-pop makes its first big moves into America this year with English-language tracks on U.S. major labels, a big question is this _ does this music, at the vanguard of global pop, even need mainstream America at all?

1550 (with trims) by August Brown in Los Angeles. MOVED

PHOTOS

^'The Avengers' stresses the team concept among its roster of superheroes<

^MOVIE-AVENGERS:LA_

The scene, being filmed on an elevated set, was watched from a safe and ironic distance by Joss Whedon. "You know, you shouldn't worry too much," the director and co-writer of "The Avengers" reassured a visitor to the New Mexico set. "This kind of stuff happens here almost every day in the Marvel universe."

It does feel sometimes like Hollywood has become a digital factory dedicated to cosmic dangers and costumed heroes, but "The Avengers" is a special case even in this summer when Spider-Man and Batman will also be back in action on planet popcorn.

When "The Avengers" arrives in theaters on Friday it will represent an unprecedented Hollywood experiment _ can the narrative threads from four film franchises come together to form a unified tapestry in a fifth, all-star franchise? (And by throwing in a couple of newer faces, can it even launch a sixth or seventh?)

The great thrill the movie offers is a sky full of iconic characters, but the danger is that without a story that can handle their combined weight, the movie will never get off the ground.

1200 (with trims) by Geoff Boucher in Albuquerque, N.M. MOVED

PHOTOS

^If you look in L.A., plenty of noir is still there<

^UST-LOSANGELES-NOIR:SA_

Only a sap would be out on a day like this, searching for the seedy, serrated soul of L.A. noir.

Yet tourists often come here, searching for the Los Angeles of the 1930s, '40s and '50s. They seek remnants of a period when the city was an incubator of tawdriness, a place where corruption, double-dealing and unchecked passion gave rise to a literary and cinematic genre that to this day captures the imagination.

Fitting, then, that the weather would cooperate and set the mood. But, really, the sun has never served as a nourishing, warming presence in L.A. noir; rather, it's a carcinogenic inferno bent on mocking desperate dreamers with incessant, incongruous cheeriness.

Already this morning, fueled by too many black and bitter cups o' Joe, you've swung by the Southern Pacific Railroad Depot in Glendale. Scene of the crime in the seminal noir thriller "Double Indemnity," you picture a hunch-shouldered, stubble-jawed Fred McMurray skulking around the tanned Mission Revival structure, not stopping to admire the twisted columns or handcrafted ironwork.

2150 by Sam McManis. MOVED

PHOTOS, GRAPHIC

^VISUALS<

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