Grand jury indicts Kentucky governor

FRANKFORT, Ky. -- A grand jury indicted Gov. Ernie Fletcher on misdemeanor charges Thursday, accusing him of illegally rewarding political supporters with state jobs since taking office two years ago. Fletcher was charged with conspiracy, official misconduct and violating a prohibition against political discrimination. Thirteen other current and former administration officials and associates were previously indicted on misdemeanor counts, and the grand jury handed down another 14 sealed indictments Thursday.

Retail sales come in weaker than expected

WASHINGTON -- Retail sales rose by 0.5 percent last month following a 0.6 percent advance in March, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. The April increase was weaker than the 0.8 percent Wall Street had been expecting and was disappointing in light of reports last week of strong April sales at the nation's big chain stores, reflecting warmer-than-usual weather and a late Easter that boosted clothing sales. Consumer spending accounts for two-thirds of total economic growth.

Egyptian riot police beat up demonstrators

CAIRO, Egypt -- Thousands of Egyptian riot police beat pro-democracy activists Thursday, chasing and dragging them through the streets to break up a demonstration in support of judges who blew the whistle on election fraud. The violence appeared to signal a tough new zero-tolerance stance by the government toward protests demanding reform and expressing discontent that President Hosni Mubarak has backed off promises of democratic change. The two judges have been ordered before a court panel for possible disciplinary action. But they boycotted their hearing Thursday to protest the treatment of the demonstrators and the session was postponed until next week.

U.S., Iraqi forces rescue kidnapped Sunnis

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- U.S. and Iraqi forces Thursday rescued seven Sunni Arab men seized by suspected Shiite militiamen near Baghdad, part of a campaign to suppress sectarian death squads responsible for hundreds of deaths this year. The kidnapping was the latest in a wave that is plaguing the country. Many of the abductions are part of the sectarian warfare plaguing the Iraqi capital, home to large communities of Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds. U.S. troops killed at least one kidnapper and wounded another, said Lt. Col. Thomas Fisher.

Brits missed chances to thwart transit attacks

LONDON -- Britain's intelligence agencies missed chances to thwart last year's transit attacks by failing to follow up leads on two of the men who became the country's first suicide bombers, major reports said Thursday. The government blamed a lack of funds, a too-slow buildup of intelligence staff in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, and spies' failure to anticipate that British citizens would contemplate suicide attacks on their homeland. But the reports found "no culpable failures" by agencies, including the MI5 and MI6 intelligence services, saying the bombings of three London subways and a double-decker bus July 7 came without warning.

American hunter bags grizzly-polar bear hybrid

TORONTO -- A DNA test has confirmed what zoologists, hunters and aboriginal trackers in the far northern reaches of Canada have dreamed of for years: the first documented case of a grizzly-polar bear in the wild. Roger Kuptana, an Inuit tracker from the Northwest Territories, suspected the American hunter he was guiding had shot a hybrid bear after noticing its white fur was spotted brown and it had the long claws and slightly humped back of a grizzly. The DNA results were good news for 65-year-old hunter Jim Martell, who was facing a possible $909 fine and up to a year in jail for shooting a grizzly. Names for the hybrid suggested by Martell and others include "polargrizz," "pizzly" and "grolar bear."

-- From wire reports