Detroit reaches deal with city's largest union

DETROIT -- A tentative deal on a contract between Detroit and some unions could speed up the city's bankruptcy process.

The city and the Coalition of Detroit Unions announced Monday they have agreed in principle on "major aspects" of the five-year collective bargaining agreement.

Bill Nowling, a spokesman for emergency manager Kevin Orr, said the deal with the unions and recent agreements with other creditors "will allow the city to exit from bankruptcy sooner and financially solvent."

Orr has said he expects the city to emerge from bankruptcy by fall.

A committee representing Detroit retirees already has agreed to endorse the city's plan to cut pensions in bankruptcy.

Michigan House Speaker Jase Bolger says he hopes the cooperation continues as "we all move closer to a resolution of Detroit's bankruptcy."

AOL reports email security breach

AOL says a security breach may have exposed the private information of a "significant number" of its email users' accounts.

The company said Monday that the email addresses, postal addresses, address books, encrypted passwords and encrypted answers to security questions of users may have been exposed, along with some employee information.

AOL believes spammers used this contact information to send "spoofed" emails. Spoofing is a tactic used by spammers to make an email look like it is from someone the recipient knows to trick him or her into opening it. These emails do not originate from the sender's email — the addresses are just edited to make them appear that way.

The company estimates these emails came from about 2 percent of its accounts. The investigation is still underway.

Health groups bolster NYC big-soda-ban efforts

NEW YORK -- New York City's push to ban big sodas is getting a boost in court from a group of health organizations and hospitals.

The National Alliance for Hispanic Health and nine other entities filed a brief Monday. They're calling the rule a "reasonable and measured attempt" at stemming a tide of obesity, diabetes and other illnesses.

The group says those problems are prevalent in minority communities where beverage companies target their marketing to particular ethnic groups.

New York's ban on purchasing soft drinks larger than 16 ounces is on hold pending an appeal. A hearing is scheduled for June 4.

The American Beverage Association represents soft drink companies in fighting the big-soda ban. The organization did not immediately return a message.

Tech firm fires CEO convicted of domestic violence

SAN FRANCISCO -- A San Francisco software company says it has terminated its CEO, a wealthy Internet entrepreneur who recently was convicted of domestic violence.

RadiumOne said in a statement that its board of directors decided Saturday night to fire CEO and Chairman Gurbaksh Chahal.

The 31-year-old pleaded guilty earlier this month to battery and domestic-violence battery, both misdemeanor charges, in the alleged August 2014 beating of his girlfriend.

Chahal was sentenced to three years' probation and ordered to take domestic-violence classes and do community service. He will not serve any jail time.

Before leading RadiumOne, Chahal founded and sold two Internet companies for more than $300 million.

RadiumOne says Chief Operating Officer Bill Lonergan will take over as CEO of the online advertising company.

Frontier Airlines now charging for carry-on bags

NEW YORK -- Passengers beware: More airline fees are on their way.

Another airline is promising to change the way we fly by offering cheap base fares but then adding on a bevy of additional fees. Passengers flying Frontier Airlines will now have to pay extra to place carry-on bags in the overhead bin or for advance seat assignments.

The move comes as the Denver-based airline tries to transform itself into a fee-dependent airline, similar to Spirit Airlines or Allegiant Air — the only other U.S. carriers to charge such fees. Frontier already charges $1.99 for a soda or water on its flights, a fee it added on July 1.

Frontier says that in exchange for these new fees, it is lowering its base fare by an average of 12 percent. The new charges apply to tickets purchased on or after Monday.

Frontier carries 8.4 million passengers a year, about 1 percent of the overall traffic flown by U.S. airlines.

There is no indication that larger carriers like American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines or United Airlines are considering such fees.

Frontier's fee for using the overhead bin ranges from $20 for frequent fliers who book online to $50 for those who fail to pay before getting to the gate. Most will pay $25 if they check-in online; $35 if they check-in at the airport. Personal items fitting under the seat remains free.

That's in addition to the $15 to $25 fliers will pay for their first checked bag.

Additionally, seat assignments — even for the dreaded middle seat — now cost an extra $3 for those who buy while booking online; $8 at check-in. If passengers don't pay extra, Frontier will assign them whatever seats are left over.

Frontier is also following the model of other airlines in charging extra for seats with more legroom or just those closer to the front of the plane.

For "select" seats, which are just in the front half of the plane, Frontier will charge an extra $5 to $15 per flight, depending on when they are purchased. "Stretch" seats with an extra 5 to 7 inches of legroom — including those in the exit row — will cost $15 to $50 per flight segment, depending on the distance flown. Connecting passengers would have to pay each fee twice.

Passengers who buy more-expensive, fully-refundable "Classic Plus" fares will get stretch seats for free as well as one checked back and one free carry-on bag. Similar benefits will be given for free to elite members of Frontier's frequent flier program.

In December, a struggling Frontier was purchased by Indigo Partners LLC, a private equity firm that has revamped several near-bankrupt airlines by changing their business model. One of its latest turnarounds was Spirit, based in Miramar, Fla. Just last week, Frontier named Barry L. Biffle as its new president. Biffle had spent nearly nine year working as chief marking officer of Spirit.

"Frontier is merely copying Spirit, reflecting its investment by Indigo," said Henry Harteveldt, an airline analyst. "I'm not surprised that the airline is doing this."

Stocks open mostly higher on Wall Street

NEW YORK -- Stocks are mostly higher in early trading as traders hope for another blockbuster merger in the health-care industry.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 60 points, or 0.4 percent, to 16,421 in the first few minutes of trading Monday.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose four points, or 0.2 percent, to 1,867. The Nasdaq composite fell two points, or 0.1 percent, to 4,073.

Pfizer led other health-care companies higher after the drug maker renewed its push to buy its British rival AstraZeneca. Pfizer rose 3 percent.

Bank of America plunged 5 percent after the Federal Reserve forced the bank to suspend its plans to increase its dividend and buy back more of its own stock.

Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.68 percent.

AP survey: China's lending bubble a global threat

By CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER The Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- Just as the global economy has all but recovered from debt-fueled crises in the United States and Europe, economists have a new worry: China. They see a lending bubble there that threatens global growth unless Beijing defuses it.

That's the view that emerges from an Associated Press survey this month of 30 economists. Still, the economists remain optimistic that Beijing's high-stakes drive to reform its economy — the world's second-largest — will bolster Chinese banks, ease the lending bubble and benefit U.S. exporters in the long run.

"They've really got to change the way they do business," said William Cheney, chief economist at John Hancock Asset Management. "But they have a good track record of doing just that. I'm an optimist about their ability to make this transition."

The source of concern is a surge in lending by Chinese banks. The lending was initially encouraged by the government during the 2008 global financial crisis to fuel growth. Big state-owned banks financed construction of homes, railroads and office towers. But much of the lending was directed by local officials for pet projects rather than to meet business needs.

On Monday, the International Monetary Fund issued a warning about China's private debt. It released a report citing "rising vulnerabilities" in China's financial system, including lending outside traditional banks. Lending by that "shadow" banking system now equals one-quarter of China's economy, the report said.

The IMF also pointed to recent defaults in credit card and other debt sold to investors by banks and heavy debts owed by local governments.

If it continues, "this could spark adverse financial market reaction both in China and globally," the IMF said.

The bubble has caused land prices in China to double in five years, according to an estimate by Nomura, a Japanese bank. Outstanding credit surged from 130 percent of the economy in 2008 to 200 percent in 2013, according to Capital Economics, a forecasting firm.

When debt has built up that fast in the past — as in the United States during the housing bubble — financial crises have typically followed.

"That should be setting alarm bells off," said Mark Williams, chief Asia economist at Capital Economics.

When debt finances excessive building, eventually too few people or companies are willing to buy all the houses, apartments and offices. That can send prices sinking and trigger loan defaults by developers and property owners. Banks typically then curtail lending, thereby slowing growth.

Most economists think China's government would bail out its state owned banks and provide enough money so they could continue lending. It would also support any companies whose bankruptcy would threaten growth.

"I don't think anybody important is going to be allowed to go broke," Cheney said.

China's government has adopted a reform program intended to strengthen its financial sector and transform its economy with more consumer spending and less dependence on construction and investment.

The IMF said those efforts could make growth more sustainable and boost consumption. But it said progress "remains incomplete."

Premier Li Keqiang, China's top economic official, promised in March to give market forces a "decisive role" in allocating loans. Days later, the government let a corporate bond default for the first time, rather than bailing out the investors, to encourage more market discipline.

Also that month, China cleared the way for the first five privately owned banks. The government hopes they will lend more to entrepreneurs and private businesses and provide competition for the state-owned giants.

The measures are having some effect. New lending slowed in March. And the expansion of China's money supply rose at its slowest rate since 1997. Home sales in the first quarter declined 5.7 percent from a year earlier.

But there's been a cost to China and the global economy. The economy's growth slowed to 7.4 percent in the first three months of the year, compared with a year ago. That was down from 7.7 percent in last year's fourth quarter. While still far ahead of developed economies such as the United States, that rate was well below the double-digit growth China had enjoyed for decades.

The AP survey collected the views of private, corporate and academic economists on a range of issues. Most said they thought China's slowdown posed a threat to countries that ship huge amounts of commodities — including iron ore and copper — to China. Among them, Canada, Brazil, Indonesia and Australia have already felt the sting.

Sun Wong Sohn, an economics professor at California State University's Smith School of Business, estimated that each percentage point decline in China's growth rate shaved about 0.3 percentage point from global growth.

Consumption accounts for only 55 percent of China's growth, the government said last year. That compares with 70 percent in the United States. But if China's government succeeds in its reforms, it could benefit U.S. companies by enabling more Chinese consumers to buy U.S. goods and services.

"It's what we've been calling on them to do," said Phillip Swagel, an economics professor at the University of Maryland and former Treasury Department official.

Among the economists' other views that emerged from the AP survey:

— The United States would benefit from lifting a government ban on exporting crude oil and promoting more natural gas exports. Oil and gas drilling has boomed in recent years in North Dakota, Pennsylvania and other states, prompting oil companies to call for a lifting of the ban.

— U.S. economic growth and hiring will pick up in the second half of the year. The economy is expected to grow at an annual rate of 3.1 percent from July through December, up from only 2.3 percent in the first half of the year. And the unemployment rate will fall to 6.2 percent by the end of this year, they forecast. The rate is now 6.7 percent.

— Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen will manage the unwinding of the Fed's stimulus programs without causing a surge in interest rates or panicking investors. Nearly three-quarters of the economists said they were "somewhat confident" in Yellen's ability to do so. Six were "very confident." Only two said they were "not confident at all."

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AP Business Writer Joe McDonald contributed to this report from Beijing.

Follow Chris Rugaber on Twitter at http://bit.ly/NPkM3l .

New Film 'All About Ann' Looks At The Life Of A Texan Leader

A new HBO film, All About Ann: Governor Richards of the Lone Star State looks at one of the most formidable political figures of her time, and the last Democrat ever to serve as governor of Texas.

South Sudan: History Was Always Against Us

South Sudan is reeling after rebels reportedly massacred hundreds of civilians last week. Host Michel Martin learns what this means for the future of the young country.

Google: Driverless cars are mastering city streets

LOS ANGELES -- Google says it has turned a corner in its pursuit of a car that can drive itself.

The tech giant's self-driving cars already can navigate freeways comfortably, albeit with a driver ready to take control. But city driving — with its obstacle course of jaywalkers, bicyclists and blind corners — has been a far greater challenge for the cars' computers.

In a blog entry posted Monday, the project's leader said test cars now can handle thousands of urban situations that would have stumped them a year or two ago.

"We're growing more optimistic that we're heading toward an achievable goal — a vehicle that operates fully without human intervention," project director Chris Urmson wrote.

Urmson's post was the company's first official update since 2012 on progress toward a driverless car, a project within the company's secretive Google X lab.

The company has said its goal is to get the technology to the public by 2017. In initial iterations, human drivers would be expected to take control if the computer fails. The promise is that, eventually, there would be no need for a driver. Passengers could read, daydream, even sleep — or work — while the car drives.

Google maintains that computers will one day drive far more safely than humans, and part of the company's pitch is that robot cars can substantially reduce traffic fatalities.

The basics already are in place. The task for Google — and traditional carmakers, which also are testing driverless cars — is perfecting technology strapped onto its fleet of about two dozen Lexus RX450H SUVs.

Sensors including radar and lasers create 3D maps of a self-driving car's surroundings in real time, while Google's software sorts objects into four categories: moving vehicles, pedestrians, cyclists and static things such as signs, curbs and parked cars.

Initially, those plots were fairly crude. A gaggle of pedestrians on a street corner registered as a single person. Now, the technology can distinguish individuals, according to Google spokeswoman Courtney Hohne, as well as solve other riddles such as construction zones and the likely movements of people riding bicycles.

To deal with cyclists, engineers initially programmed the software to look for hand gestures that indicate an upcoming turn. Then they realized that most cyclists don't use standard gestures — and still others weave down a road the wrong way.

So engineers have taught the software to predict the behavior of cyclists based on thousands of encounters during the approximately 10,000 miles the cars have driven autonomously on city streets, Hohne said. The software projects a cyclist's likely movements and plots the car's path accordingly — then reacts if something unexpected happens.

"A mile of city driving is much more complex than a mile of freeway driving, with hundreds of different objects moving according to different rules of the road in a small area," Urmson wrote.

Before recent breakthroughs, Google had contemplated mapping all the world's stop signs. Now the technology can read stop signs, including those held in the hands of school crossing guards, Hohne said.

While the car knows to stop, just when to start again is still a challenge, partly because the cars are programmed to drive defensively. At a four-way stop, Google's cars have been known to wait in place as people driving in other directions edge out into the intersection — or roll through.

The cars still need work on other predictably common tasks. Among them, understanding the gestures that drivers give one another to signal it's OK to merge or change lanes, turning right on red and driving in rain or fog (which requires more sophisticated sensors).

And when will these and other problems be solved?

"You can count on one hand the number of years until people, ordinary people, can experience this," company co-founder Sergey Brin said in September 2012. He made the remarks at a ceremony where California Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation legalizing the cars on public roads in the state.

To date, Google's cars have gone about 700,000 miles in self-driving mode, the vast majority on freeways, the company said.

California's Department of Motor Vehicles is in the process of writing regulations to implement that law. Nevada, Florida, Michigan and Washington, D.C., also have written driverless car laws.

Google has not said how it plans to market the technology. Options include collaborating with major carmakers or giving away the software, as the company did with its Android operating system. While Google has the balance sheet to invest in making cars, that likelihood is remote.

Traditional automakers also are developing driverless cars. Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn said he hopes to deliver a model to the public by 2020.

NBA says announcement coming Tuesday on Sterling

NEW YORK -- The NBA has called a Tuesday news conference to make an announcement about the investigation involving Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling.

The league says it will announce further details, though it's not clear when those are coming.

Sterling is being investigated over allegations he made racially charged comments in a recorded conversation with a woman. Portions of that conversation were released over the weekend by TMZ and Deadspin.

The players' union has asked Commissioner Adam Silver to rule quickly, preferably before the Clippers play host to Golden State in a critical Game 5 of their knotted-up Western Conference first-round series on Tuesday night. Silver has said the league would move quickly on the matter.

Conn. governor's rebate checks appear unlikely

HARTFORD, Conn. -- It appears unlikely that Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's proposed $55-per-person refund checks will show up in taxpayers' mailboxes.

In a letter sent Monday to members of the General Assembly, Malloy's budget director said the Democratic administration does not "anticipate enough revenue to provide a tax refund or to make a supplemental pension payment, as we had hoped in January."

Benjamin Barnes said most of Connecticut's tax revenues are meeting expectations. However, he said taxes on capital gains in 2013 will be "hundreds of millions below expectations."

Barnes blamed the setback on the expiration of former President George W. Bush's tax cuts on Jan. 1, 2013, prompting many taxpayers to claim investment income in 2012.

Barnes and the leaders of the Democratic-controlled General Assembly are currently negotiating a final budget agreement.

Newmont Mining ends talks with Barrick Gold

NEW YORK -- Gold and copper producer Newmont Mining is ending its merger talks with Barrick Gold.

Barrick was first to disclose the news on Monday. The Canadian company said that it still felt its shareholders would be best served by the companies combining.

In response to Barrick Gold Corp.'s announcement, Newmont said that it was releasing a letter it sent on Friday to Barrick's board. In the letter, Newmont said it had been working with Barrick over the "past number of months" to see if a merger would be possible. Newmont said in determined in the last several weeks that the "type of constructive, mutually respectful and partnership-oriented relationship necessary to realize the potential benefits of that combination does not yet exist."

Newmont expressed concern over its dealings with Barrick Co-Chairman John Thornton. The company said that last Thursday Thornton twice told them that the process to find a basis to merge was "dead." Newmont Mining Corp. said that Barrick's management team had been professional and constructive, but that it felt it didn't have the same type of constructive talks with Thornton during the last two weeks.

Barrick did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment from Thornton.

Founder and Chairman Peter Munk is expected to retire from the chairman post at Barrick's annual general meeting on Wednesday. Thornton is anticipated to become chairman at that time.

Shares of Newmont declined $1.60, or 6 percent, to $24.85 in morning trading. Barrick's stock fell 32 cents to $17.57.

President Obama at YSEALI Town Hall: "Young People Like You Have to Be the Ones Who Lead Us Forward"

Watch on YouTube

Yesterday, while visiting Malaysia, President Obama participated in the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) Town Hall, hosted by the University of Malaya.

During the town hall, the President answered questions from the youth in attendance, and from young people who asked questions online and through social media.

"These trips are usually all business for me," said the President, "but every once in a while I want to have some fun, so I try to hold an event like this where I get to hear directly from young people like you -- because I firmly believe that you will shape the future of your countries and the future of this region."

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Tenn. company in talks to buy Natchez hospital

NATCHEZ, Miss. -- Natchez Regional Medical Center officials are in negotiations to sale the hospital to Community Health Systems.

Community Health Systems, which is based in Franklin, Tenn., operates more than 200 hospitals in 29 states. Its hospitals are located in non-urban and mid-size markets. It operates 12 hospitals in Mississippi.

Adams County owns the hospital and the board of supervisors has ultimately approval over any sale.

The Natchez Democrat reports (http://bit.ly/1rwT0Wc ) the Natchez hospital confirmed Friday in a news release that Community Health is the potential buyer.

The board of supervisors has signed a letter of intent with Community Health. A letter of intent is a nonbinding agreement between parties acknowledging negotiations. The next step in the sale process will be for the two parties to agree to an asset purchase agreement, which is binding.

Healthcare Management Partners Chief Executive Officer Scott Phillips, who is the lead negotiator for the Natchez hospital, said the asset purchase agreement negotiations could be finalized in two to three days.

Utility resumes construction of wind power project

CARO, Mich. -- Consumers Energy is resuming construction on a wind power project in Michigan that will expand the company's renewable energy options.

The unit of Jackson-based CMS Energy Corp. broke ground last year on the project in Tuscola County's Akron and Columbia townships, about 90 miles northwest of Detroit. The renewed work announced Monday comes as warmer weather returns to Michigan.

Consumers Energy is urging motorists to be alert for construction traffic, since materials are coming from around the area, southeastern Michigan and other parts of the state.

The Cross Winds Energy Park will be a 105-megawatt wind farm with 62 turbines. It's expected to open in late 2014 and create about 150 construction jobs.

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Online:

http://bit.ly/1iLwpEk

Grain higher, cattle mixed and pork lower

CHICAGO -- Grain futures were higher Monday in early trading on the Chicago Board of Trade.

Wheat for July delivery was 5.75 cents lower at 7.0250 a bushel; July corn was 3.50 cents higher at 5.1625 a bushel; July oats were unchanged at 3.58 a bushel; while July soybeans was 4.75 cents higher at 14.99 a bushel.

Beef mixed and pork lower on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

June live cattle was .15 cents higher at $1.3692 a pound; Aug feeder cattle was .25 cent higher at 1.8487 a pound; June lean hogs loss 1.42 cents to $1.2310 a pound.

John Oliver’s New Show Is a Better, Tougher Daily Show

John Oliver, the guy who took over The Daily Show last summer and not-so-secretly made it better but we all took a blood oath to pretend like that wasn’t the case, started his new show last night, and with it came some ruthless, entrepreneurial journalism. The show is also very, very funny.

His first guest was a big get — former National Security Agency Director Keith Alexander, who oversaw the NSA during the Snowden leaks.

Oliver carried over with him the longstanding Daily Show tradition of getting guests to appear when they really, truly shouldn’t, then reaming out said guest on camera for ten whole minutes.

The best part?

Oliver: In your mind, has the NSA ever done something illegal?

Alexander: In my time? No. One of the most impressive things I’ve seen in my career was people who’ve made a mistake — that could be a huge mistake — stepping up to say, “I’ve made a mistake.” And in every case, to my knowledge, everyone — except for 12 individuals — stepped forward at the time they made those mistakes.

Oliver: Right, but you can’t say everyone — except for 12. That’s like saying, “I’ve never killed anyone, apart from those three people I have buried under my patio at home.”

Sure, he could’ve dug in his heels a little harder here — that's the amount of abuses the NSA knows about and recorded, not all of the abuses that occurred — but you can only go so far without the guy walking away. Oliver pushes a guy who oversaw an overstepping government agency all the way to Awkward Laughter Hell.

The show is basically a best-of for a week’s worth of Daily Show quality segments. The first episode is online. Watch the thing.

Civil servants, teachers to hold nationwide strike

BEIRUT: Civil servants and school teachers Monday called on their colleagues to observe a nationwide strike and take part in a protest against lawmakers’ failure to pass the public sector salary scale bill.

“We call on everyone to observe the planned nationwide strike Tuesday in all ministries, administrations, public and private schools, and technical colleges,” the head of the Association of State Employees Mahmoud Haidar said in a statement.

He also asked public sector employees to take part in a protest organized by the Union Coordination Committee, in which protesters will march from the Central Bank to Riad Solh Square outside Parliament.

The UCC has spearheaded several protests in the past two years in an attempt to pressure Parliament to approve the proposal, which was referred by the government in 2013.

Lawmakers have been unable to pass the proposal due to disagreements over how to finance the proposal, which is estimated to cost the treasury some $1.6 billion.

The unions have rejected a proposal to pay the salary increase via installments and impose additional taxes to finance it.

“We are Lebanon's poor and we will not accept a new salary scale at the expense of the poor but it should be financed through bank benefits, taxes on real estate and seaside illegal property, putting an end to waste, corruption and smuggling at ports,” said Haidar.

“We reject any formula proposed by the parliamentary committee unless it takes into consideration the 121 percent increase as demanded."

He also reiterated a demand for the government to pay the salary increase retroactively from June 1, 2012.

“Let tomorrow be the day we make our response resonate against their procrastination in passing the salary scale,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Air Transport Association announced that it would stop work at Beirut airport between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Wednesday in solidarity with the strike planned by the UCC.

Private and public school teachers have warned that they would not correct final examinations to escalate the protest and further pressure MPs to pass the draft law.

China video site: US TV show ban not policy change

BEIJING -- The boss of a Chinese online video site said Monday he believes the sudden banning of four American TV shows does not represent a wider trend, though it's unclear why the shows were targeted.

The government's broadcast regulator issued a surprise order last week to online streaming companies to stop showing sitcom "The Big Bang Theory," political and legal drama "The Good Wife," crime drama "NCIS" and legal drama "The Practice." The first two are particularly popular with the young online audience.

"Give me back Sheldon," referring to the socially inept physicist on "The Big Bang Theory," was a popular refrain among social media users angry at the show's disappearance. Other users said the bans still wouldn't make them go back to watching surreal wartime dramas on state television.

"I believe it's a stand-alone event and it does not represent the policy trend or change toward American TV shows," Charles Zhang, Soho CEO and founder, said on a conference call.

Nasdaq-listed Sohu, which was the first Chinese online video site to license American TV shows, had rights to show two of the programs.

Zhang said Monday he had no explanation for the order and no comment on the possible reason. He said he didn't know if the ban will be temporary or permanent.

Adding to the mystery, a media and translation agency said Monday it was subtitling "The Big Bang Theory" for the state broadcaster, China Central Television.

An employee of Beijing-based CBM said they were translating the show and would return it to CCTV with captions in Chinese. The employee only gave his surname, Li, and referred to a statement posted on the company's website earlier this month that said the translation of "The Big Bang Theory" was under way and would be shown soon on CCTV.

Calls to CCTV's press department were not answered. Its website, CNTV, listed the seventh season of "The Big Bang Theory," but episodes were unable to load.

Sohu's Zhang said he didn't know about the translation for CCTV, and said Sohu had exclusive online rights to the show in mainland China.

The move follows a restructuring of China's regulatory agencies that appears to have given the broadcast regulator more authority over video websites.

Beijing has in the past allowed video websites to operate with few of the restrictions that movie and TV broadcasters face, possibly to avoid stifling what was seen as a promising high-tech industry.

Video websites, with looser controls, show dramas and comedies from the United States, South Korea and Europe and their own programs. They were not required to submit programs for approval, which allowed them to get imported material on the air faster than TV stations. In March, the regulator issued a notice saying programs and films lacking licenses could not be shown online.

AP researcher Yu Bing contributed to this report.

Alibaba, partner invest $1.2B in China video site

BEIJING -- E-commerce giant Alibaba Group is expanding its online entertainment presence by investing $1.2 billion with a partner in video website Youku Tudou.

Alibaba will gain a 16.5 percent stake in the company and its partner Yunfeng Capital will get 2 percent, Youku Tudou Inc. said Monday.

China's major Internet companies have invested billions of dollars over the past year to expand beyond their core businesses by creating or acquiring entertainment, consumer finance and other services.

They are trying to retain users as Chinese Web surfers shift rapidly to going online via smartphones and other mobile devices, which is shaking up the traditional Internet markets.

"This is an important strategic initiative that will further extend the Alibaba ecosystem and bring new products and services to Alibaba's customers," Jack Ma, Alibaba's founder and executive chairman, said in a statement.

The investment will "strengthen Youku Tudou as China's largest online video platform and further differentiate our services and user experience," Youku Tudou's chairman, Victor Koo, said in the statement.

The most intense rivalry is between Alibaba and Tencent Holdings Ltd., an online games service.

Alibaba has been the biggest spender in the acquisitions race. In February, it offered $1.1 billion for the 72 percent of map service Autonavi that it doesn't already own. In March, it paid $804 to acquire control of ChinaVision, a Hong Kong producer of movies and TV programs.

Also in March, Alibaba invested $215 million in Tango, a mobile messaging service in Mountain View, California.

Tencent has invested in JD.com, China's No. 2 e-commerce service, taxi-hailing app Dididache and other services. The operator of China's most popular search engine, Baidu Inc., also has spent heavily to expand into online video and e-books.

Youku's smartphone app allows users to download movies and TV programs and has attracted millions of users.

Alibaba, based in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou, is one of the world's biggest Internet companies and says more than $150 billion worth of merchandise changes hands on its online platforms each year, more than Amazon and eBay combined.

The company announced March 17 it will have an initial public stock offering in the United States. It has given no other details but analysts say it could raise as much as $15 billion in the biggest IPO since Facebook.

Alibaba is privately held and doesn't release financial data. But Yahoo Inc., which owns 24 percent of Alibaba, said in its latest regulatory filing that the Chinese company's revenue for the first nine months of last year rose 60 percent over a year earlier to $4.9 billion.

Ma, the Alibaba founder, stepped down in March 2013 as chief executive but stayed on as chairman. He said at age 48 he was "a bit old" for the Internet.

Contracts to buy US homes up, 1st time since June

By CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER The Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- More Americans signed contracts to buy homes in March, the first increase since June and a sign that the housing market may pick up after a sluggish start to the year.

The National Association of Realtors says its seasonally adjusted pending home sales index rose 3.4 percent to 97.4 last month. Still, the index remains 7.9 percent below its level a year ago.

Pending sales are a barometer of future purchases: A one- to two-month lag usually exists between a signed contract and a completed sale.

The gain in signed contracts partly reflects a recovery from the harsh winter. Snowstorms and freezing temperatures kept many potential buyers away from open houses. Since last summer, a limited supply of available homes has pushed up prices and discouraged many buyers.

Texas had 216 oilfield deaths from 2008 to 2012

HOUSTON -- Federal figures show Texas had 216 oilfield deaths from 2008 through 2012 to lead the U.S. during the reporting period.

The Houston Chronicle (http://bit.ly/1j7ELGx ) on Monday reported that nationwide the number of oilfield deaths reached 545 amid increased drilling and fracking operations. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released the data in response to a request from the newspaper.

The 545 oilfield deaths nationally from 2008-2012 represented a 3.2 percent increase over fatalities recorded in the five years prior to 2008, with Texas deaths up 7.4 percent.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration in 2013 formally asked for public comment on how to expand regulations of potentially hazardous workplaces, including drill and well sites. The request came following last April's fertilizer plant explosion in West that claimed 15 lives.

How to Joke About Cancer

Five years ago, comedian Bryan Bishop, best known as the sidekick on the wildly popular podcast The Adam Carolla Show, was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. Before long, he could only get around with a walker and the help of his wife. He couldn’t sleep. And that wasn’t the worst of it. But then, luckily, he found a drug that worked for him. Now, the tumor is under control. He’s back at work, about ninety-five percent back to normal, he says, and he’s written a very funny book about his experience, titled Shrinkage, out Tuesday. We asked him about finding the humor in cancer, understanding its limits, and knowing how to interact with men in rough shape. This, in part, is what he said:

One of the good things about cancer is being able to joke about it, being able to use it as an excuse for things. If my mouth is dry, I can blame it on the chemo. If I'm tired, I can say I had an infusion yesterday. If I talk too fast and start to mumble over my words, and somebody says "Slow down," I'll be like, "I'm sorry: chemo." That puts them in an uncomfortable position for five or ten seconds, but for me it's totally hilarious. Or, even better, if I beat someone in a trivia game, I'll be like, "Listen, you just lost to a guy with a brain tumor." Which I will bring up more than once. It's a nice punch line to have in your hip pocket. Not a lot of people have access to that.

I think as soon as people saw me laughing, then they understood that it was okay to laugh. A lesson I would tell anyone who is in my position: It's your job to set the tone on how you want people to act around you.

The first time I can really remember laughing after the diagnosis was when my doctor, of all people, tried to make a joke. Now you should know that my hair started falling out when I was in seventh grade, and by the time I left college, I was pretty much shaving my head. It was a lost cause. I remember when I went to Super Cuts for the last time. It was a sad interaction, with the lady sort of pretending to be cutting my hair. So my doctor was describing chemo therapy to me, and he was like, "You know, it's gonna be like this and like that, and you're gonna feel like this and like that." And then he paused, and he was like, "And the good news is you're not going to lose your hair." And there was a little pause—because it wasn't exactly a joking situation. And I looked at him, and I was like, "Do me a favor: Leave the comedy to the professionals." That cut the tension.

The radiation oncologist said the same thing to me. So maybe they rehearsed the line.

When you’re in a waiting room at the cancer center, you can tell who's having a good day and who's not. It’s very obvious. I don't think I ever really made a joke or even tried to be funny in those situations. But at the same time, once I got around the people I knew a little better—my doctors or my nurses or orderlies or whomever—I have relationships with those people. And they're normal people who have a job every day that puts them around people who are having the worst day of their lives. So I tried to make their experience as pleasant as possible, seeing as they're stuck there.

I remember making a joke to myself when I bought that pack of razor blades in CostCo. I was debating whether or not to buy $30-worth of razor blades. There was like 24 in there — it was an insane, huge pack. And I'm looking at this thing, and I'm like, God, I'm going to be dead before I use all these. And I realized that I was sort of making a joke, but it felt nice to acknowledge, in a way, that there was a definite possibility I could die.

When you laugh, you feel good. Why shove that aside in favor of crying and feeling bad?

Hear Bryan himself tell a story about showering with an agonizingly attractive nurse during rehab—as his wife, Christie, watched:

Slovakia signs deal to deliver gas to Ukraine

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia -- Slovakia signed a deal on Monday to deliver natural gas to Ukraine, which is facing the threat of a cut-off in supplies from Russia because of a massive debt.

Under the agreement, Slovakia will send gas through a pipeline that was meant for transporting gas from Ukraine but is currently unused. To be able to send the gas, some technical changes are needed that might take several months.

The signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Slovak pipeline operator Eustream and Ukraine's Ukrtransgaz is another step in Ukraine's efforts to reduce its dependence on Russia. It has already agreed on gas supplies also from Germany, through Poland, as well as from Hungary. The German supplies, from utility RWE, already started this month.

Slovak officials had previously said Ukraine could get up to 10 billion cubic meters (353 billion cubic feet) of natural gas per year through the pipeline. Slovak Prime minister Robert Fico said Monday it could be up to nine billion cubic meters, about a fifth of Ukraine's gas needs.

The European Commission welcomed the move.

"This is an important first step to diversify Ukraine's sources of gas supply and contributes to greater energy security in Eastern Europe and the EU as a whole," said EU President Jose Manuel Barroso who was present at the signing ceremony together with Fico.

EU Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger, who negotiated the deal with Slovak Economy Minister Tomas Malatinsky and Ukraine's energy minister Yuri Prodan, called it "a milestone."

Russia recently raised the price of gas for Ukraine to $485 per thousand cubic meters from $268.50, and President Vladimir Putin has said Russia may start demanding payment in advance — heavy burdens for a country whose finances are near collapse.

Ukraine originally wanted Slovakia to provide the gas through four capacity pipelines that flow Russian gas through Ukraine to Slovakia and Western Europe, but that was rejected amid Slovak fears it would violate a deal with Russia's Gazprom.

Fico called Monday's signature "the best decision politically, financially and legally."

Xbox moves ahead with original programming plan

By DERRIK J. LANG The Associated Press

SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- When it comes to original programming, Microsoft is going to throw it at the Xbox and see what sticks.

After nearly two years since launching a studio to create new shows to be streamed on Xbox consoles, Microsoft is finally ready to serve an assorted helping of original programming this summer for the Xbox 360 and Xbox One. However, viewers shouldn't expect Xbox Originals, as they're called, to be available the same way that content is provided on Netflix and Hulu.

"We don't necessarily know what approach will work, and we don't necessarily know what approach won't work," noted Nancy Tellem, the president of Xbox Entertainment Studios during a recent press preview of Xbox Originals at Microsoft's offices in Santa Monica, California.

Salam urges Arab tourists to visit Lebanon

BEIRUT: Prime Minister Tammam Salam urged Arab tourists to return to Lebanon and experience for themselves the security his Cabinet imposed on the country, saying he hoped that the next president would be “made in Lebanon.”

“Arabs should come to Lebanon to witness firsthand the excellent security we were able to impose,” Salam said in an interview to be published Tuesday in Kuwait-based Al-Qabas newspaper.

“All political parties have expressed desire to help maintain such a reality because they recognize Lebanon needs a phase of calm, stability and openness,” he added.

Salam was referring to the nationwide security plan approved by his government and devised by the Higher Defense Council which allowed security forces to restore law and order in most areas in the country.

The plan, which was launched April 1, has so far succeeded in restoring relative stability to conflict areas, particularly the northern city of Tripoli and regions bordering Syria. The country has witnessed a drastic decline in suicide bombings and attacks linked to crisis next door.

Salam boasted of his government’s achievements, saying his Cabinet made "great accomplishments in the security field, revitalized the economy, especially in Tripoli and the north, and resumed work in the oil and gas sector."

“The political parties in the government are very cooperative which allowed [us] to better control security in Tripoli and other areas, and put an end to suicide attacks, kidnapping and killings,” he said.

“This only means that when the state decides on something, nothing can stand in its way,” Salam, who formed a national unity cabinet on Feb. 15, added.

He also attributed the deteriorating situation in Lebanon to what he described as a weak and divided state.

Asked about his possible regional tour, Salam said he was looking forward to visit the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia “which we share deep-rooted historic ties with.”

“I hope to go on this trip as soon as possible because we have come a long way in our domestic issues and it is time we start working abroad,” he said.

Speaking on the presidential election, Salam said his government did not seek to fill a presidential void.

“The positive atmosphere that resulted in the agreement of political parties on a national unity government should also allow for the election of a president,” he said.

“All efforts should be exerted to hold the presidential election,” Salam noted, hoping for the next president to be "made in Lebanon, like the government."

Rep. Grimm Surrenders To Federal Agents; Charges Pending

Rep. Michael Grimm, R-NY, has turned himself in to federal authorities who are expected to indict him on criminal charges. Grimm has been under investigation for fraud and campaign finance irregularities; his attorney said Friday that he would likely be indicted.

From The Washington Post:

"He turned himself in to the FBI at an undisclosed location Monday morning and was taken to Lower Manhattan for processing. The charges stem from his ownership of a Manhattan health-food restaurant that has ties to an Israeli fundraiser who served as a liaison between Grimm and a mystic, celebrity rabbi whose followers donated more than $500,000 to Grimm's campaign in 2010."

The Israeli fundraiser in the Post's story is Ofer Biton, who admitted to visa fraud in a federal plea deal last summer.

"Grimm has been under federal investigation for more than two years on allegations that he systematically raised illegal contributions" for his first run for Congress in 2010, according to NPR's Peter Overby.

As we reported over the weekend, Grimm's attorney, William McGinley, insists his client is innocent and calls the U.S. Attorney's pursuit of Grimm a vendetta that has included "malicious leaks, violations of grand jury secrecy, and strong-arm tactics."

Indian man confronts mining industry, wins prize

GARE VILLAGE, India -- The man walked into Ramesh Agrawal's tiny Internet cafe, pulled out a pistol and hissed, "You talk too much." Then he fired two bullets into Agrawal's left leg and fled on a motorcycle.

The 2012 attack came three months after Agrawal won a court case that blocked a major Indian company, Jindal Steel & Power Ltd., from opening a second coal mine near the village of Gare in the mineral-rich state of Chhattisgarh.

For a decade, Agrawal — who has no formal legal training — has been waging a one-man campaign to educate illiterate villagers about their rights in fighting pollution and land-grabbing by powerful mining and electricity companies. He's won three lawsuits against major corporations and has spearheaded seven more pending in courts.

"When I started this fight, I knew I'd be a target. It will happen again. Let it happen. I'm not going anywhere," the soft-spoken yoga enthusiast said in an interview this month in the city of Raigarh, where he hobbled around his modest home with a cane and a metal brace screwed into his shattered femur.

On Monday, Agrawal, 60, will be recognized in a ceremony in San Francisco as one of six recipients of this year's $175,000 Goldman Environmental Prize, often called the "Green Nobel."

Among the other winners are former corporate lawyer Helen Slottje who fought fracking — pumping chemicals and water underground to break open shale rock formations — in New York state and South Africa's Desmond D'Sa who closed down one of the country's largest toxic dumping sites. The award was established in 1990 with a grant from philanthropists Richard and Rhoda Goldman to honor grass-roots environmental activists in the six regions of Africa, Asia, Europe, Island Nations, North America and Latin America.

"This is the biggest milestone in my life," Agrawal said of the award, which he flew to California to receive. "But it also makes me sad, that someone in a foreign country who I don't even know is willing to do so much for us, while so many people here don't even know us or want to help."

Activists, lawyers and analysts in India say that's changing as hundreds if not thousands of small, scrappy movements are challenging building and mining projects that local residents believe will damage the environment, undermine their livelihoods or even uproot them from their homes.

"People are gaining confidence and losing patience," environmental lawyer Ritwick Dutta said in New Delhi. "These are not established activist groups or nonprofits like Greenpeace campaigning on global issues like climate change. These are regular, everyday people worried about their survival, and their voices of dissent are forcing India to change."

Villagers in the central state of Madhya Pradesh have won national TV coverage for their cause by standing neck-deep in water for days to protest large hydro-power dam projects that would flood their farms and homes. Apple growers in northeast Himachal Pradesh are suing dam builders who they say have tunneling plans that will damage their orchards.

"People used to say, 'You can't fight with the big guys.' But once we started winning a few cases, people started believing in themselves and believing in this country again," Agrawal said.

India's rapid economic growth over the past decade has boosted the incomes and living standards of millions, mostly city-dwellers.

But the environmental impact has often been ignored, and the rural poor largely left behind. The 400 million Indians who live on less than $1.25 a day are dubious about their economic prospects, particularly those who have lost their land or been forced to live with poisoned groundwater, dirty air and fetid rivers.

"Why should these villagers pay for development that is defined by shopping malls and luxury items?" Agrawal asked. "We have to redefine what development means, and decide if it's for the few or the many."

Environmental activists are also increasingly facing violence — at least 908 have been killed in 35 countries over the past decade, including six in India, according to a report this month by the London-based Global Witness group.

After he was shot, Agrawal's attackers turned themselves in, revealing themselves to be Jindal Steel & Power's security guards. But police never linked the attack with the Indian company.

He also has been jailed for 72 days on what he said were false charges of extortion and defamation that were later dismissed.

In the village of Gare, where Agrawal has helped villagers voice their objections to Jindal's plans for more mining operations, the earth shakes violently for a half-hour each morning as workmen blast a gaping coal pit with dynamite, sending clouds of black dust billowing up. The acrid smell of smoke hangs in the air, already hazy yellow from the nearby power plant pollution.

The company has been mining coal in the area for several years, but Gare and the neighboring villages of Sarasmal and Kosampali have seen little economic benefit. No new schools or hospital clinics have been built, and only a few dozen menial labor jobs were offered after protests by residents, who were once self-sufficient growing rice and vegetables, villagers said.

There are, however, new roads on which dozens of uncovered coal trucks rattle through communities every day with coal dust blowing off the back.

"For six years I have been sick," 55-year-old villager Sushila Choudhury said through bloodshot eyes and the wheezing cough of an asthmatic. "Why are they doing this to us? We haven't done anything wrong."

Dr. Harihar Patel, the area's only trained doctor for 10 kilometers (six miles), said he's seen a jump in the number of people with asthma and other lung ailments, skin lesions and exhaustion.

"The system is not working properly. The rich get richer, and the government supports them over us," Patel said. "Twenty years ago we had no idea this could happen to us, to our land and our water."

Agrawal began researching the rights of the poor in confronting corporations in 2005, after becoming alarmed by the sudden influx of industry into his home state of Chhattisgarh. In 2010, he won his first court victory in blocking Indian company Scania Steel & Power Ltd. from expanding a coal-burning power plant without clearance.

He's been helped by some legal tools along the way. In 2005, India passed a law giving citizens the right to review public records. Six years later, India launched a separate environmental court system that gave any citizen the right to demand a hearing on environmental matters.

Two years ago, the court ruled on a lawsuit filed by Agrawal on behalf of Gare residents to revoke Jindal's clearance for a second mine in the area. Jindal has since reapplied for clearance to mine in the village, and Agrawal is preparing another suit to block it.

"We have to look after the environment, or there will be hundreds of thousands of people with nothing, no employment, no money, no farmland, no forests," he said. "They will end up cutting each other's throats just to survive."

France orchestrating Alstom deal at full tilt

PARIS -- Officials close to talks on a proposed merger between Alstom and General Electric say France's president is open to the idea, despite a delay imposed by one of his top finance officials.

President Francois Hollande is meeting three CEOs in an all-out effort to orchestrate a deal for Alstom and keep the engineering company firmly rooted at home. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks are sensitive.

Hollande held an hour-long meeting with the CEO of General Electric Co., which was preparing a merger with Alstom before the government intervened, citing "strategic interests."

He'll sit down later Monday with the CEO of GE rival Siemens and French conglomerate Bouygues, a significant Alstom shareholder.

Alstom's trading has been suspended since Friday when rumors of the GE deal surfaced.

Jumblatt hopes Palestinian reconciliation ‘final’

BEIRUT: Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt expressed hope that the reconciliation between leaders from the rival Fatah and Hamas movements in Palestine would be “final.”

“We hope that the Palestinian reconciliation this time will be final and radical to reunite the Palestinian ranks and establish a comprehensive political understanding between different Palestinian factions,” Jumblatt said in his weekly column published Monday by PSP-affiliated Al-Anbaa website.

He also hoped the Palestinians would agree on a mutual vision to confront Israel and end the "decline and losses" suffered by the Palestinian cause.

The Palestine Liberation Organization – internationally recognized as the sole representative of the Palestinian people – and the Islamist Hamas Movement that rules Gaza agreed last week to form a national consensus government within weeks, angering the U.S. and Israel.

Jumblatt also hailed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ stance rejecting the recognition of Israel as a Jewish state.

Judge rejects bail for ex-Jumblatt business aide

BEIRUT: Ghassan Oweidat, the first investigative judge of Beirut, turned down Monday a request to release prominent Lebanese businessman Bahij Abu Hamzeh, a former aide of Walid Jumblatt, on bail.

A judicial source told The Daily Star Oweidat decided to keep Abu Hamzeh in custody for the court to decide.

Oweidat heard two witnesses testify in the case Monday, the source added.

Abu Hamzeh, once a close ally of Jumblatt, was arrested earlier this month on charges of embezzlement filed by a football team sponsored by the Progressive Socialist Party leader.

Greenpeace ship to confront Russian Arctic tanker

AMSTERDAM -- Greenpeace International is sending out a ship to protest a tanker bringing the first oil produced at a new Russian offshore platform in the Arctic Circle to Rotterdam.

The environmental group said Monday it has sent the "Rainbow Warrior III" to meet the Mikhail Ulyanov, a tanker chartered by Russia's state-controlled oil company, Gazprom OAO.

Greenpeace spokesman Ben Ayliffe would not comment on what kind of protest is planned.

"The tanker is currently heading south into the North Sea as it makes for Rotterdam, so we expect the two ships to meet at some stage in the coming days," he said.

In September, 28 Greenpeace activists and two freelance journalists were arrested and charged with piracy after a protest near Gazprom's Prirazlomnaya offshore Arctic platform. They were released before the Winter Olympics in Sochi earlier this year. Their ship, "Arctic Sunrise," is still being held by Russian authorities.

Greenpeace has fiercely opposed the production of oil in the Arctic Circle, warning of the danger of oil spills in such unforgiving territory and of the worsening global warming caused by using fossil fuels.

In a statement Sunday, Greenpeace added a geopolitical reason, saying buying the oil "increases our dependence on Russian energy firms and only serves to strengthen President Putin's hand in the geopolitical game he's playing."

Greenpeace criticized the French oil company Total SA for purchasing the oil, saying it was being hypocritical because its chief executive, Christophe de Margerie, had ruled out drilling in the Arctic in 2012 due to fears of spills.

Comcast selling some cable systems to Charter

PHILADELPHIA -- Comcast would shed about 3.9 million subscribers in deal with cable competitor Charter Communications Inc. to help Comcast's acquisition of Time Warner Cable clear regulatory hurdles.

Comcast is creating and spinning off a new publicly traded cable provider that will serve about 2.5 million of its existing customers. Charter will form a new holding company that will have an approximately 33 percent stake in the Comcast spinoff. Comcast stockholders and former Time Warner Cable shareholders are expected to own about 67 percent of the new company.

In February Comcast Corp.'s $45.2 billion bid topped Charter's offer for Time Warner Cable Inc.

Comcast said Monday that the combined Comcast-Time Warner Cable will divest systems to Charter, resulting in a reduction of about 3.9 million video customers.

Once the Comcast-Time Warner Cable deal closes, Charter will acquire about 1.4 million existing Time Warner Cable subscribers. This will boost Charter's current residential and commercial video customer base to about 5.7 million from 4.4 million. Charter and Comcast will also each transfer about 1.6 million customers to the new company.

Comcast said that the new cable provider it is creating and spinning off will have a nine-member board. That will include six independent directors and three appointed by Charter. Comcast itself will have no ownership stake in the spun off company and will have no role in managing it. Charter will offer management services to the new company.

Both Comcast and Charter's boards have approved the transactions, which are subject to Comcast's deal with Time Warner Cable closing, approval by Charter shareholders and other conditions. Time Warner Cable's board has also given its necessary approval.

Comcast said it plans to use proceeds from the transactions to lower its debt. It still anticipates its combination with Time Warner Cable bringing about $1.5 billion in operating savings. The combination is targeted to close by the end of the year.

Conservatives Yet To Rally Around Obamacare Replacement

Audio for this story from Morning Edition will be available at approximately 9:00 a.m. ET.

Congressional Republicans say they want to repeal and replace Obamacare, but they've been light on details of what the alternative might look like.

'To Kill a Mockingbird' finally going digital

NEW YORK -- Harper Lee has signed on for Scout, Boo Radley and Atticus Finch to enter the electronic age.

Filling one of the biggest gaps in the e-library, "To Kill a Mockingbird" will become available as an e-book and digital audiobook on July 8, HarperCollins Publishers announced Monday. Lee, in a rare public statement, cited a "new generation" of fans in agreeing to the downloadable editions of her Pulitzer Prize-winning classic.

"I'm still old-fashioned. I love dusty old books and libraries," Lee, who turned 88 on Monday, said through her publisher. "I am amazed and humbled that 'Mockingbird' has survived this long. This is 'Mockingbird' for a new generation."

Monday's announcement came almost exactly a year after Lee sued her former literary agent, Samuel Pinkus, in order to regain rights to her novel. Lee, who lives in her native Alabama and has been in frail condition, had alleged she was "duped" into signing over the copyright.

The lawsuit was settled in September. Lee's attorney, Gloria Phares, said at the time that the case had been resolved to the author's satisfaction, with "her copyright secured to her."

With digital holdouts from J.K. Rowling to Ray Bradbury changing their minds over the past few years, Lee and her novel had ranked with J.D. Salinger and his "The Catcher In the Rye" as a missing prize for e-book fans. First published in July 1960, "Mockingbird" has sold more than 30 million copies worldwide and still sells more than 1 million copies a year, according to HarperCollins. It was adapted into a 1962 movie of the same name that featured an Oscar-winning performance by Gregory Peck as Finch, the courageous Alabama attorney who defends a black man against charges that he raped a white woman.

"Mockingbird" remains a standard text in classrooms and is a popular choice for citywide and national reading programs. Lee never published another book, which only seemed to add to the novel's appeal, and she has for decades resisted interviews and public appearances.

"Every home has a dog-eared copy of 'To Kill a Mockingbird,' and now readers will be able to add this favorite book to their digital libraries," Michael Morrison, president and publisher of HarperCollins U.S. General Books Group and Canada, said in a statement. "Although today is Nelle Harper Lee's birthday, she is giving readers around the world the gift of being able to read or listen to this extraordinary story in all formats."

The new audiobook will be a downloadable edition of the existing CD narrated by Sissy Spacek. Harper also is releasing an "enhanced" e-book that will feature additional material. Spokeswoman Tina Andreadis said the extra features had not yet been determined.

With "Mockingbird" now set for e-release, major works still unavailable in digital editions include "The Catcher In the Rye," "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" and Gabriel Garcia Marquez's "One Hundred Years of Solitude."

Amid economic despair, Atletico is hope in Madrid

MADRID -- For Spain's working class suffering through what feels like never-ending economic recession, Atletico Madrid's stunning season offers an uplifting example of beating the odds, with the Spanish title and Champions League final both within its reach.

The club rooted in blue-collar Madrid is looking down on rich neighbor Real Madrid and defending champion Barcelona from atop the Spanish league standings for the first time in 18 years. It beat Valencia 1-0 on Sunday to move six points clear of Real Madrid.

Win two of its last three games, and Atletico is champion for the first time since 1996. Spain was a more optimistic place the last time it lifted the league trophy, with an economy heading for boom times before the more recent bust and now record unemployment.

Part of Atletico's appeal is that it has achieved so much with a squad worth a fraction of Madrid and Barcelona's collections of more famous stars. Neutrals across the country are in Atletico's corner, hopeful that Diego Simeone's team can break the monotony of a duopoly that has strangled the Spanish league since Valencia was the last team apart from Barcelona or Madrid to win the championship a decade ago.

"This is Atletico Madrid and that's what we're about: work, work, work, heart. We never give up," Simeone said during the Champions League quarterfinal series triumph over Barcelona. "The people of Atletico Madrid are no doubt proud of how we have competed."

Atletico and "the people" are intertwined, with the club's Vicente Calderon Stadium built over an unattractive highway in the middle of the industrial but revitalizing Arguanzela neighborhood, south of the Spanish capital's world-renowned museums and tourist attractions.

"It's the working man's team," Atletico captain Gabi Fernandez said in a magazine interview. "We're changing the story through our commitment to giving people what they want: A team they can feel proud of, that win or lose they'll say, 'Damn, this is my Atletico.'"

Atletico was founded in 1903 by Basque students setting up a Madrid branch of the Athletic Bilbao club. Its standout qualities of passion, hard work and self-belief have over the years been canceled out by dramatic collapses, disorganization and disappointment.

Names such as Luis Aragones, Hugo Sanchez, Fernando Torres, Christian Vieri and Diego Forlan made their marks on the club. But so, too, did construction magnate Jesus Gil, the former president who was embroiled in embezzlement charges and jailed after one of his buildings collapsed, killing 58 people.

The club owes the Spanish government millions in back taxes. It also has endured six seasons in the second division, most recently from 2000-02.

The club's flare for dramatics is partly what makes Atletico's story so human. Despite its ups and downs, it has always succeeded in winning trophies. And since the return of former player Simeone, it is taking on and often beating Europe's elite.

Simeone played for the last championship-winning team. The Argentine coach has instilled defensive discipline in a squad that was prone to late collapses. Creative midfielders Koke and Arda Turan provide for striker Diego Costa, who already has 35 goals this season.

The past four seasons have seen Atletico win five trophies, including a pair of Europa League titles — one trophy more than Real Madrid over that same period. Ending a 17-year wait, Atletico also finally beat its crosstown rival last May, in the Copa del Rey final.

Atletico is on the verge of a place in the Champions League final after reaching the semifinals of Europe's top competition for the first time since 1974, with everything to play for on Wednesday at Chelsea in the second leg following a scoreless draw in the first leg.

Not bad for a team nicknamed "Los Colchoneros" — "mattress makers" — with its red and white strip resembling a traditional pattern for Spanish bedding.

"If we win it's because we've deserved it, not because we have some 'galacticos,'" Gabi told Panenka Magazine, referring to Madrid's history of breaking transfer records to sign players such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane, David Beckham or Gareth Bale.

"When I was young and was asked what I wanted to be when I grew up I didn't say a football player but a football player for Atleti. I'm living the dream of all of our fans, which is nothing less than to be playing for the team you love."

Two dairy factories closed in east Lebanon

HERMEL, Lebanon: Two dairy factories in east Lebanon were closed and sealed with wax by authorities Monday, security sources told the Daily Star.

The two factories were shut down by State Security forces in Zahle, the sources added.

As-Safir daily said that the two factories were closed for lack of legal licensing and failing to meet required health standards.

The factories also do not have a trademark and have been selling their products in the Lebanese market without any labeling.

Gathering stands united against STL summons

BEIRUT: Lebanese officials of all stripes stood Monday in solidarity with two Lebanese journalists days after a U.N.-backed court issued summons accusing the pair of obstructing justice and contempt.

Officials representing various media outlets, unions and lawyers as well as a number of MPs attended the “Defending Media Freedom” gathering held at the Journalists' Association in Beirut.

“The Special Tribunal’s selective accusation against Al-Jadeed and Al-Akhbar is a violation of Lebanese sovereignty and harms the freedom of the media,” it said.

Press Federation President Mohammad Baalbaki slammed the summons as a violation of Lebanese law.

"Summoning fellow colleagues to the court contradicts media law in Lebanon," he told the gathering.

Baalbeki urged the Special Tribunal for Lebanon to reconsider its decision.

Last week, the U.N.-backed court accused editors from Al-Akhbar newspaper and Al-Jadeed television of obstructing justice and contempt after the two outlets published a list of alleged STL witnesses.

The court, which is in the process of trying five Hezbollah suspects for involvement in the 2005 killing of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, issued a summons for Ibrahim al-Amin, the editor-in-chief of the pro- Hezbollah daily Al-Akhbar, and Karma al-Khayyat, the deputy head of news at Al-Jadeed TV.

Head of Editors' Syndicate Elias Aoun called on media outlets to observe a one-day strike on May 13 in solidarity with Al-Akhbar and Al-Jadeed.

Nusra Front suspect detained in east Lebanon

BEIRUT: A Syrian national suspected of being a member of the Al-Qaeda-linked Nusra Front was arrested Monday in east Lebanon, security sources told The Daily Star.

Amjad Shehadeh was taken into custody by State Security forces in the Bekaa Valley, the sources said.

He is wanted on charges of belonging to a terrorist organization and recruiting youth to fight in the Syrian war, they said.

Lebanon launched earlier this month a security plan in the Bekaa to arrest people wanted by the authorities and restore peace and stability to the area.

AstraZeneca shares soar on Pfizer interest

LONDON -- AstraZeneca shares have jumped 15 percent in early trading after U.S. pharmaceutical firm Pfizer publicly disclosed details of a $100 billion bid approach.

Pfizer, the maker of Viagra, said Monday that AstraZeneca rejected an initial approach in January valuing the company at about 59 billion pounds ($100 billion). The cash and shares deal would represent a 30 percent premium on AstraZeneca's closing share price of 35.26 pounds on Jan. 3, the date of the offer.

Pfizer remains interested and is confident a combination is possible.

The deal comes as drugmakers take advantage of easier financing in a spate of mergers and acquisitions. Swiss drugmaker Novartis AG last week traded its vaccine business for GlaxoSmithKline Plc's cancer drug business and sold its veterinary drug business to Eli Lilly and Co.

Weekend Sports In Brief

PRO BASKETBALL

The purported comments by Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling urging his girlfriend to not bring black people to his team's games drew protests on Sunday, ranging from his players wearing their jerseys inside out to Charlotte Bobcats owner Michael Jordan saying "I'm completely outraged."

The Clippers went through their pregame routine with their red Clippers' shirts on inside out to hide the team's logo.

Players also wore black wristbands or armbands during the game, which they lost 118-97, and donned black socks with their normal jerseys.

Jordan released a statement Sunday addressing the matter, saying that as an owner, "I'm completely disgusted that a fellow team owner could hold such sickening and offensive views."

Magic Johnson had some of the strongest condemnation.

"He shouldn't own a team anymore," Johnson said.

Even President Barack Obama weighed in on the issue at a news conference in Malaysia.

"When ignorant folks want to advertise their ignorance, you don't really have to do anything, you just let them talk," Obama said.

The recording of Sterling was first released by TMZ, and there still has been no official confirmation that Sterling is on the tape. Another tape was released Sunday by Deadspin.

NEW YORK (AP) — Steve Kerr said Sunday he spoke with Phil Jackson twice over the weekend and that they will continue discussing the possibility of him becoming coach of the New York Knicks.

Kerr said he had dinner with Jackson, his former coach with Chicago and the new Knicks team president, on Friday night and they talked again Saturday. Kerr is in New York to work the game between the Brooklyn Nets and Toronto Raptors for TNT.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Michael Heisley, the billionaire businessman who bought the Vancouver Grizzlies and moved the NBA team to Memphis, died Saturday. He was 77.

The Grizzlies said Saturday night that a family member confirmed Heisley's death. The Commercial Appeal reported that Heisley died in Illinois of complications from a massive stroke he suffered nearly 15 months ago.

Heisley sold the team to Robert Pera before the start of the 2012-13 season.

NEW YORK (AP) — Washington Wizards forward Nene was suspended by the NBA for Game 4 of the team's first-round series against the Chicago Bulls for head-butting and grabbing Jimmy Butler around the neck with both hands and attempting to throw him down.

The Wizards won anyway, beating the Bulls to take a 2-1 series lead.

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PRO FOOTBALL

RENO, Nev. (AP) — A Nevada man who claims an illegal ticket policy kept him from attending San Francisco's NFL playoff game at Seattle in January is suing the league and others for $50 million for alleged "economic discrimination."

John E. Williams III of Las Vegas says in a federal lawsuit against the NFL, the Seahawks, Ticketmaster and others that he was denied a chance to buy tickets to the NFC Championship Game under a sales policy that made them available only in selected markets.

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COLLEGE FOOTBALL:

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — The Southeastern Conference decided to stick with its current football scheduling format of eight league games and a permanent non-division rival.

The conference's presidents and chancellors approved the so-called 6-1-1 format Sunday at a special meeting in Atlanta. SEC teams will continue to play each of their six division rivals, plus one permanent crossover rivalry game and another non-divisional opponent that will rotate.

The one change to format will affect nonconference scheduling. Starting in 2016, all SEC teams will be required to play at least one game against a team from one of the other Big 5 conferences — the Atlantic Coast Conference, Big Ten, Pac-12 and Big 12. But even that rule shouldn't change much. SEC schools routinely play at least one team from those conferences per season.

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BASEBALL:

CHICAGO (AP) — White Sox slugger Jose Abreu set a major league rookie record for RBIs through the end of April.

Abreu drove in four runs Sunday, giving him 31 RBIs this season. He homered and singled against Tampa Bay. He began the day tied for the record with Albert Pujols, who had 27 RBIs in early 2001 for St. Louis.

Abreu's 10th homer extended his own record for home runs by a rookie through April.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Star outfielder Bryce Harper was placed on the 15-day disabled list by the Washington Nationals on Sunday with a sprained left thumb. The move is retroactive to Saturday.

TORONTO (AP) — The Toronto Blue Jays have set a major league record by fielding a starting lineup with six players from the Dominican Republic.

The Blue Jays did it Sunday at home against the Boston Red Sox.

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GOLF

AVONDALE, La. (AP) — Seung-Yul Noh overcame windy conditions and his nerves, shooting a 1-under 71 on Sunday to win the Zurich Classic by two shots for his first PGA Tour victory.

The seventh first-time PGA Tour winner in the last 10 years in the event, Noh finished at 19-under 269 and earned $1,224,000. Andrew Svoboda and Robert Streb tied for second. Svoboda had a 69, and Streb shot 70.

DALY CITY, Calif. (AP) — Lydia Ko birdied the final hole for her third LPGA Tour victory and first as a professional, holding off Stacy Lewis and Jenny Shin in the inaugural Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic.

It went down to the final shots, and the teen made a 6-foot birdie putt moments before Lewis knocked in a 4-footer of her own to finish one stroke back.

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AUTO RACING

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Joey Logano took advantage of a three-car duel by sneaking below the trio to take the lead Saturday night, outrunning former champions Matt Kenseth, Jeff Gordon and Brad Keselowski to win at Richmond International Raceway.

Logano's first career victory on the 0.75-mile oval came seemingly from nowhere after a restart with nine laps to go. He sat fourth and on the outside with Kenseth leading, Dale Earnhardt Jr. alongside in second and Gordon on the inside in third, in prime position to move underneath the leader and grab the victory.

Instead, when Gordon, Kenseth and Keselowski raced in a triangle jockeying for position, Logano went underneath all three with three laps to go and then held off Gordon for his fifth career NASCAR Sprint Cup victory.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Ryan Hunter-Reay coasted to his second straight victory at Barber Motorsports Park when the rain-shortened IndyCar race finished under caution.

A full-course caution came out for the final seven minutes of the timed race after rookie Mikhail Aleshin lost control and went off the track. That left Hunter-Reay unchallenged, with Andretti Autosport teammate Marco Andretti finishing second.

Scott Dixon was third, followed by Simon Pagenaud and pole-sitter Will Power, a two-time winner at Barber who was among the drivers dealing with a slippery track in spots.

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SOCCER

LONDON (AP) — Manchester City took charge of the Premier League title race as Edin Dzeko and Yaya Toure scored first-half goals for a 2-0 win at Crystal Palace on Sunday.

After leader Liverpool lost 2-0 against Chelsea at home, City cut its deficit to three points with one game in hand. If it wins the three remaining matches and keeps a superior goal difference, Man City will be crowned champions.

VILLARREAL, Spain (AP) — Barcelona defender Dani Alves responded to a racist taunt Sunday in a game at Villarreal by picking up a banana that landed at his feet, peeling and then eating it before proceeding to take a corner kick.

Alves said after the match that humor is the best way to combat racism in sports.

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TENNIS

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Kei Nishikori of Japan beat Colombia's Santiago Giraldo 6-2, 6-2 to win the Barcelona Open on Sunday for his first career title on clay.

STUTTGART, Germany (AP) — Maria Sharapova won her third straight Porsche Grand Prix title on Sunday by coming from behind to defeat Ana Ivanovic 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 in the final.

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Top-seeded Grigor Dimitrov defeated defending champion Lukas Rosol 7-6 (2), 6-1 Sunday to win the Nastase Tiriac Trophy for his third ATP title.

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VOLLEYBALL

FUZHOU, China (AP) — Three-time Olympic champion Kerri Walsh won her record 47th FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour title Sunday, teaming with April Ross to beat Brazil's Juliana Felisberta Silva and Maria Antonelli 21-11, 21-18 in the Fuzhou Open final.

Walsh broke a tie with Brazil's Larissa Franca for the record. The American teamed with Ross in September after longtime partner Misty May-Treanor retired following the London Olympics.