Jihadists overran Iraq's second city of Mosul, the surrounding Nineveh province, parts of Kirkuk and areas in Salaheddin on Tuesday, in a major blow to a government apparently incapable of stopping militant advances.

Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki responded by asking parliament to declare a state of emergency and announcing the government would arm citizens to fight the militants.

A Thai AirAsia plane hit a bird Wednesday during a flight in Thailand, where the word for bird is "nok," sparking social media confusion over whether the aircraft had collided with a plane from budget carrier Nok Air.

Within hours of the collision, Nok Air issued a brief statement on Twitter to set the story straight: "We would like to clarify that Nok Air did not clip another aircraft today." It added that the other aircraft had hit a real bird.

Twenty years ago, it was called the "Trial of the Century."

Hall of Fame football star O.J. Simpson was charged with the June 12, 1994, murders of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman.

A judge has approved a settlement between Halle Berry and her ex-boyfriend over child support payments for their 6-year-old daughter.

The agreement approved by Superior Court Judge Scott Gordon on May 30 calls for Berry to pay ex-boyfriend Gabriel Aubry $16,000 a month or nearly $200,000 a year to support their daughter. The Oscar-winning actress will also pay for their daughter's tuition, but the former couple will split health care expenses.

A police official in Kenya said Tuesday unknown gunmen shot and killed the chairman of the Council of Imams and Preachers of Kenya.

A Mombasa police commander, Henry Ondiek, said the motive behind the killing of Sheikh Mohamed Idris was not known. He was shot Tuesday as he left a mosque.

An Ohio woman who lives at a retirement home and turned 100 on Monday had just one wish for her birthday: She wanted to do some yard work and smell fresh-cut grass.

Trudy Price, of Bowling Green, has gotten her wish with the help of the grounds crew at Bowling Green State University. She pushed one of the university's mowers and then helped plant flowers near the student union on campus.

AC Milan dismissed manager Clarence Seedorf on Monday and replaced him with another club great, Filippo Inzaghi.

In a brief statement, Milan said it has handed youth-team coach Inzaghi a two-year contract until June 30, 2016.

For more than 20 years, the Storyteller of Damascus entertained crowds in a centuries-old cafe in the Syrian capital with long, poetic tales of Arab warriors and lovers, acting out scenes with his fists thumping and a sword that he'd swing and slam on a table.

Rashid Hallak was the most famous of the few remaining "hakawatis" in Syria — traditional reciter-performers of old Arab legends.

Oil prices rose Monday after China's exports rose in May, auguring stronger demand from manufacturers in the world's second-largest economy.

Benchmark U.S. oil for July delivery was up 16 cents to $102.82 a barrel at 0615 GMT in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract closed Friday up 18 cents at $102.66.

No cramps, no problems for LeBron James.

And with their superstar making it to the finish this time, the Miami Heat bounced back from a loss, just as they always do in the playoffs.