Reuters

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A California voter initiative that would legalize possession and sale of marijuana has qualified for the November ballot, state election officials said on Wednesday, in what supporters called a "watershed moment" for their cause.

SEOUL (Reuters) - A U.S. citizen who North Korea will put on trial for illegal entry crossed the border in support of a fellow American Christian missionary who was released last month after a similar transgression, an activist said.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Senate on Thursday approved a package of changes to President Barack Obama's landmark healthcare reforms, and Obama dared Republicans to try to repeal the new law.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Robert Gates plans to announce on Thursday interim steps that would, in some cases, make it more difficult for gays to be kicked out of the military, defense officials said on Wednesday.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The former director of operations at Bernard Madoff's investment firm was indicted by a federal grand jury on securities fraud, conspiracy and other charges related to the largest Ponzi scheme on record.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Wednesday the timing was still not right for reconciliation with senior Afghan Taliban leaders, acknowledging military pressure had yet to weaken the group enough.

MIAMI (Reuters) - A Florida jury ordered R.J. Reynolds and Philip Morris on Wednesday to pay $26.6 million to the widow of a longtime smoker who died of lung cancer, the latest verdict against cigarette makers in the "Engle progeny" lawsuits.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama signed an executive order on abortion on Wednesday that had won crucial votes for his healthcare bill, but disappointed women's groups that have been among his most enthusiastic supporters.

HAVANA (Reuters) - When a recent flight from Miami touched down at Havana's Jose Marti Airport, a passenger shouted "Viva Cuba!" in a show of the enthusiasm Cuban Americans have for returning to their homeland.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - China took part in a conference call with five other world powers on Wednesday to discuss a U.S. proposal for a fourth round of U.N. sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program, but no deal emerged.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two Chinese Uighur brothers who were held at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, have been transferred to Switzerland, the U.S. Justice Department said on Wednesday.

BOSTON (Reuters) - Hundreds of computer geeks, most of them students putting themselves through college, crammed into three floors of an office building in an industrial section of Ukraine's capital Kiev, churning out code at a frenzied pace. They were creating some of the world's most pernicious, and profitable, computer viruses.

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - An Irish Catholic bishop who was personal secretary to three popes became Wednesday the latest and biggest casualty in the child sexual abuse scandal that is convulsing the Church in Europe.

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - The New York Times Co apologized to Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew on Wednesday and paid S$160,000 ($114,000) in damages for an article about Asian political dynasties.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was poised to end a troubled U.S. visit on Wednesday with little sign he had settled a dispute with the White House over Jewish housing construction in East Jerusalem.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - The Israeli diplomat Britain plans to expel over forged British passports used by the suspected killers of a Hamas commander in Dubai is a Mossad agent who Israel may replace, Israeli media said on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States and Pakistan sought on Wednesday to overcome years of mistrust, with Washington promising to speed up overdue military payments as the two increase cooperation in tackling militants.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sought on Tuesday to ease strained ties but their talks yielded no sign of a breakthrough in the stalled Middle East peace process.

BEIJING/HONG KONG (Reuters) - Two days after shutting its Chinese portal over censorship, Google Inc said it plans to phase out deals to provide filtered search services to other online or mobile firms in China.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - With unemployment high and inflation low, the Federal Reserve is in no hurry to raise interest rates, two Federal Reserve officials suggested on Tuesday.