Senate hearings prompting spill blame game (AP)

Floating booms protect the fishing and shrimping community of Bayou La Batre, Ala., from the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in this aerial photograph taken Monday, May 10, 2010. Alabama Gov. Bob Riley took a helicopter tour of the state's coast, where barriers are still being placed in the water ahead of the possible spread of the slick toward the state. (AP Photo/Jay Reeves)AP – The blame game is in full throttle as Congress begins hearings on the massive oil spill threatening sensitive marshes and marine life along the Gulf Coast.


Toyota quarterly profit $1.2 bln as sales recover (AP)

President of Toyota Motor Corp., Akio Toyoda, arrives for a press conference in Tokyo, Tuesday, May 11, 2010. Toyota cruised back to profit in the latest quarter as the world's top car maker cut costs and hitched a ride on the global auto sales recovery while fighting to salvage its reputation for quality. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)AP – Toyota cruised back to profit in the latest quarter as the world’s top carmaker cut costs and hitched a ride on the global auto sales recovery while fighting to salvage its reputation for quality.


World stocks down as EU deal euphoria fizzles out (AP)

A stock trader works at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, on Monday, May 10, 2010. After the EU-Finance-Minister Meeting and their solutions to save the stability of the eurozone the DAX Index curve started friendly on Monday trading. The decision to purchase bonds - called for by economists for weeks - did much to calm markets jittery about the continent's debt crisis, twinned with a nearly  US dlrs 1 trillion rescue loan program from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund. Stocks and the euro rose and spreads between riskier countries and benchmark Germany narrowed, signs markets were relieved that the debt crisis in Greece was not about to immediately engulf other European countries. (AP  Photo/dapd/Mario Vedder)AP – World stocks and the euro fell Tuesday as the massive relief rally triggered by a $1 trillion plan to contain Europe’s debt crisis fizzled out.


China inflation rises as housing, food costs jump (AP)

A Chinese woman carries vegetables together with currency banknotes in hand at a morning market in Beijing, Tuesday, May 11, 2010. China's inflation accelerated in April and housing prices rose at a record pace, but analysts said Beijing is likely to avoid an immediate interest hike that might slow the recovery of the world's third-largest economy. April consumer prices rose 2.8 percent from a year earlier, below Beijing's full-year target of 3 percent but up 0.4 percentage points from March, the National Bureau of Statistics said Tuesday. Food prices jumped 5.9 percent, up from March's 5.2 percent rate. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)AP – China’s inflation accelerated in April, triggering a selloff in Chinese stocks Tuesday on fears of overheating and a possible credit clampdown by Beijing that might slow the country’s economic recovery.


Kan. House passes sales tax hike, sends it to gov. (AP)

AP – An increase in Kansas’ sales tax cleared the Legislature early Tuesday morning, a change that will force consumers to pay more for groceries and other items to protect public schools and government services from cuts.

Samsung outlines $20.6 billion investment plan (AP)

FILE - In this July 10, 2008 file photo, Samsung Electronics Co. Chairman Lee Kun-hee is questioned by reporters in Seoul, South Korea. Samsung said Tuesday, May 11, 2010, it plans to invest 23.3 trillion won ($20.6 billion) over the next decade in technologies including solar cells and medical devices, aiming to boost sales and increase its work force by tens of thousands. The plan was agreed at a meeting Monday of top executives of electronics and medical companies in the Samsung Group, according to a release. Lee was among the participants. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man, File)AP – Samsung said Tuesday it plans to invest 23.3 trillion won ($20.6 billion) over the next decade in technologies including solar cells and medical devices, aiming to boost sales and increase its work force by tens of thousands.


Twitter bug lets users fake followers (AP)

The internet homepage of the microblogging website Twitter. Twitter was bitten by a bug on Monday that caused users of the fast-growing micro-blogging service to temporarily lose the list of followers of their accounts.(AFP/File/Loic Venance)AP – A Twitter glitch has allowed users to game the popularity contest by making it appear that celebrities had subscribed to read their mini-blog postings known as tweets.


AP Exclusive: Playboy `readers’ get 3-D centerfold (AP)

In this photo taken Monday, May 10, 2010, a pair of 3-D glasses are seen across the cover of the June 2010 edition of Playboy magazine. The newest edition of magazine will feature a centerfold model whose picture was taken with a 3-D camera, and a pair of 3-D glasses, the first time the magazine has done such a thing. The edition will be on newsstands Friday May 14. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)AP – Playboy readers who can only imagine what it would look like if a centerfold jumped right off the page are getting new specs to help them see into Hef’s world.


Cannes Film Festival makes do with lighter lineup (AP)

In this film publicity image released by Universal Pictures, Russell Crowe is shown in a scene from 'Robin Hood.' (AP Photo/Universal Pictures,   David Appleby)AP – Hard times for the economy. Hard times for the Cannes Film Festival, at least in terms of splashy Hollywood films for which the world’s most prestigious cinema showcase is known.


Judge refuses to unseal testimony in Polanski case (AP)

FILE - In this Monday, Sept. 29, 2008 file photo, Roman Polanski is seen in Oberhausen, western Germany. (AP Photo/Roberto Pfeil, File)AP – Secret testimony given by the original prosecutor in Roman Polanski’s 33-year-old sex case will remain sealed, a judge ruled Monday.