Romney cites Massachusetts health care law as evidence he has empathy for ordinary Americans

TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) -- Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is pointing to his Massachusetts health care law as evidence that he has empathy for ordinary Americans.

Romney usually avoids talking about the health care law he championed as Massachusetts governor because President Barack Obama cites it as the basis of his own federal health care law. Republicans reject what they call "Obamacare" as a costly government takeover.

Campaigning in Ohio on Wednesday, Romney told NBC News that he understands Americans' lives and the challenges they face. In citing the Massachusetts health care law, he said, "Don't forget, I got everybody in my state insured."

Google Brazil chief detained in YouTube case; 2nd court orders site to remove anti-Islam film

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) -- Google Inc.'s head of operations in Brazil was detained by the country's federal police Wednesday after the company failed to heed a judge's order to take down YouTube videos that the court ruled violate Brazilian electoral law.

The detention came as another court ordered YouTube to remove clips of an anti-Islam film that has been blamed for deadly protests by Muslims around the globe, both joining a spate of court-ordered content-removal cases against Google's video-sharing website in Brazil.

The arrest of Google executive Fabio Jose Silva Coelho was announced in Sao Paulo. A press release issued by the federal police said he was not expected to remain in jail and should be released later in the day after signing a document promising to appear in court.

Akin rebuilding Republican base in Mo. Senate race; McCaskill attempts to peel off GOP support

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- His spot on the ballot now guaranteed, Missouri Senate candidate Todd Akin began rebuilding support Wednesday among fellow Republicans who shunned him after a remark about "legitimate rape" while Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill honed an election strategy that will use Akin's own words to portray him as an extremist.

Akin won a pair of high-profile Republican endorsements Wednesday from former presidential candidate Rick Santorum and tea party favorite Sen. Jim DeMint. Perhaps just as importantly, the National Republican Senatorial Committee - which had pulled millions of dollars of planned advertising after Akin's remark - said Wednesday that it hopes Akin wins and cracked open the possibility of again getting involved in the Missouri campaign.

Greek riots, Spanish marches shatter market calm

ATHENS, Greece (AP) -- Europe's fragile financial calm was shattered Wednesday as investors worried that violent anti-austerity protests in Greece and Spain's debt troubles showed that the continent still cannot contain its financial crisis.

Police fired tear gas Wednesday at rioters hurling gasoline bombs and chunks of marble during Greece's largest anti-austerity demonstration in six months. The protests were part of a 24-hour general strike, the latest test for Greece's nearly four-month-old coalition government and the new spending cuts it plans to push through.

The brief but intense clashes by several hundred rioters among the 60,000 people protesting in Athens came a day after anti-austerity protests rocked the Spanish capital.

Pittsburgh police to receive training in social media for hostage situations, other crimes

PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Pittsburgh police plan to train their officers to be fluent in social media, joining other departments nationwide, days after a man armed with a hammer and kitchen knife used a hostage's computer to post Facebook messages lamenting his troubles.

The case of Klein Michael Thaxton, who is accused of picking a hostage at random in a downtown office tower and then kept authorities at bay for hours before surrendering and releasing the hostage, was a first for the Pittsburgh department.

There is some reflection about whether officials did the right thing by not immediately shutting down the suspect's Facebook page. Police say they want to make sure officers are prepared for such judgment calls down the road.

Family: 2 decades after getting off death row, man accused of killing wife had money problems

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- Joyce Robbins wanted to know why her aunt wasn't coming to a big family barbeque.

Mamie Brown and her husband, Joseph Green Brown, who was on Florida's death row for 13 years before his convictions on rape and murder were overturned in 1986, had been fixtures at family functions since they'd moved to Charlotte in 2007.

But lately, the Browns weren't showing up at birthdays, anniversaries or other gatherings. So Robbins called her, and Mamie confided that the couple was facing serious financial problems. Since his release from a Florida prison, Joseph had been making a living talking against the death penalty, based on his personal experience of coming within hours of being executed for a crime he didn't commit. But he hadn't been paying taxes on his speaking fees.

AP Interview: Iran's Ahmadinejad pushes new world order, end to American 'bullying'

NEW YORK (AP) -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Tuesday that a new world order needs to emerge, away from years of what he called American bullying and domination.

Ahmadinejad spoke to The Associated Press in a wide-ranging interview on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly - his last as president of Iran. He was to address the assembly Wednesday morning.

The Iranian leader also discussed solutions for the Syrian civil war, dismissed the question of Iran's nuclear ambition and claimed that despite Western sanctions his country is better off than it was when he took office in 2005.

Obama: Disputed Seahawks win means NFL needs regular referees back

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The embarrassing NFL referee saga and the disputed call that gave the Seattle Seahawks a victory over the Green Bay Packers on Monday night has reached the campaign for the White House, with President Barack Obama deeming it "terrible" and declaring it was time to get regular officiating crews back on the job.

"I've been saying for months we've got to get our refs back," Obama said as he returned to the White House from an appearance before the United Nations. In a tweet that went out under his initials, Obama said: "NFL fans on both sides of the aisle hope the refs' lockout is settled soon."

AP Interview: Iran's Ahmadinejad pushes new world order, end to American 'bullying'

NEW YORK (AP) -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Tuesday that a new world order needs to emerge, away from years of what he called American bullying and domination.

Ahmadinejad spoke to The Associated Press in a wide-ranging interview on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly - his last as president of Iran. He was to address the Assembly Wednesday morning.

He also discussed solutions for the Syrian civil war, dismissed the question of Iran's nuclear ambition and claimed that despite Western sanctions his country is better off than it was when he took office in 2005.

AP IMPACT: Somali piracy heyday over as militaries, ships defend against attacks

HOBYO, Somalia (AP) -- The empty whiskey bottles and overturned, sand-filled skiffs littering this once-bustling shoreline are signs the heyday of Somali piracy may be over. Most of the prostitutes are gone and the luxury cars repossessed. Pirates while away their hours playing cards or catching lobsters.

"There's nothing to do here these days," said Hassan Abdi, a high school graduate who taught English in a private school before turning to piracy in 2009. "The hopes for a revitalized market are not high."

Armed guards aboard cargo ships and an international naval armada that carries out onshore raids have put a huge dent in piracy and might even be ending the scourge.

China says first aircraft carrier entering service, although not ready for combat or planes

BEIJING (AP) -- China formally entered its first aircraft carrier into service on Tuesday, underscoring its ambitions to be a leading Asian naval power, although the ship is not expected to carry a full complement of planes or be ready for combat for some time.

The Defense Ministry's announcement had been long expected and was not directly linked to current tensions with Japan over a disputed group of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea.

In a brief notice on its website, the ministry said the carrier's commissioning significantly boosted the navy's combat capabilities and its ability to cooperate in responding to natural disasters and other non-traditional threats.