23 May. 201312:48 AM ET

BANGKOK (AP) — Asian stock markets slid Thursday, pulled down by a contraction in China's manufacturing that adds to signs that the shaky recovery in the world's No. 2 economy is slowing.

23 May. 201312:42 AM ET

BEIJING (AP) — A survey shows China's manufacturing contracted this month, adding to signs a fragile recovery in the world's No. 2 economy is slowing.

23 May. 201312:18 AM ET

WASHINGTON (AP) — Urban renewal? New census estimates show that most of the nation's largest cities further enhanced their allure last year, posting strong population growth for a second straight year.

23 May. 201312:15 AM ET

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Google Inc.'s new music service offers a lot of eye candy to go with the tunes. The song selection of around 18 million tracks is comparable to popular services such as Spotify and Rhapsody, and a myriad of playlists curated along different genres provides a big playground for music lovers.

23 May. 201312:07 AM ET

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — A government investigation found poor quality construction materials and building code violations were among the "series of irregularities" that caused the collapse of a building housing garment factories last month in Bangladesh, the committee head said Thursday.

22 May. 201311:20 PM ET

SYDNEY (AP) — Ford Motor Co. said Thursday it will close its two Australian auto plants, ending production in the country in 2016, amid soaring manufacturing costs and plummeting sales.

22 May. 201311:15 PM ET

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The State Fire Marshal's Office says a federal safety panel's investigators had access to the site of a Texas fertilizer plant blast that killed 15 people and injured about 200 others.

22 May. 201311:08 PM ET

NEW YORK (AP) — Wynn Resorts pays for founder and CEO Steve Wynn's residence at its tony Las Vegas hotel and casino at a cost of nearly $452,000.

22 May. 201311:07 PM ET

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — A 33-year-old Polish man received a face transplant just three weeks after being disfigured in a workplace accident, in what his doctors said Wednesday is the fastest time frame to date for such an operation. It was Poland's first face transplant.

22 May. 201311:03 PM ET

BANGKOK (AP) — Asian stock markets fell Thursday, weighed down by a contraction in China's manufacturing that adds to signs a shaky recovery in the world's No. 2 economy is slowing.

22 May. 201310:43 PM ET

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration acknowledged for the first time Wednesday that four American citizens have been killed in drone strikes in Pakistan and Yemen since 2009. The disclosure to Congress comes on the eve of a major national security speech by President Barack Obama in which he plans to pledge more transparency to Congress in his counterterrorism policy.

22 May. 201310:12 PM ET

KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) — A former Cayman Islands premier who faces 11 criminal charges and was ousted from leadership last year went into Wednesday's general elections with an outside chance of returning to power in the British Overseas Territory.

22 May. 20139:40 PM ET

PAGO PAGO, American Samoa (AP) — American Samoa plans to take away frequent flier miles from government workers who travel on behalf of the U.S. territory and use the loyalty points to help medical patients and students travel off the islands when necessary.

22 May. 20139:14 PM ET

LONDON (AP) — Two men with butcher knives hacked another to death Wednesday near a London military barracks and one then went on video to explain the crime — shouting political statements, gesturing with bloodied hands and waving a meat cleaver. Soon after, arriving police shot and wounded the unidentified assailants and took them into custody.