msnbc.com: Top msnbc.com headlines

'Butcher of Bosnia' goes on trial for genocide

Wed, 16 May 2012 08:59:20 GMT

Bosnian Serb general Ratko Mladic went on trial for genocide on Wednesday, accused of leading the slaughter of 8,000 unarmed Muslim boys and men in Srebrenica in 1995, Europe's worst atrocity since World War II.

US has 55 daily encounters with 'suspected terrorists'

Wed, 16 May 2012 08:42:49 GMT

Law enforcement and homeland security personnel face an average of 55 daily encounters with "known or suspected terrorists" named on government watch lists, officials told Reuters.

Germany's Pirate Party rides wave of popularity

Wed, 16 May 2012 10:12:23 GMT

Germany's unconventional Pirate Party won nearly 8 percent of the votes this week in a local election in the country's most populous state, and is startling mainstream rivals.

Physician: Zimmerman had broken nose, black eye

Wed, 16 May 2012 00:03:48 GMT

The day after George Zimmerman fatally shot Trayvon Martin, a family physician wrote in a report that Zimmerman had a broken nose and “a pair of black eyes."

Anxious Greeks withdraw $894 million in one day

Wed, 16 May 2012 11:34:01 GMT

Political leaders in Athens were due to discuss an emergency government Wednesday to deal with a possible run on banks as it emerged Greeks withdrew almost $900 million in a single day, fearing their country could crash out of the euro currency by the end of the week.

CNBC: Facebook to increase IPO size, value to $18.5B

Wed, 16 May 2012 00:36:43 GMT

Facebook plans to increase the size of its IPO by 85 million shares, says someone familiar with the matter, a move that could value its upcoming offering at as much as $18.5 billion. The social network’s 25 percent upsize plan will be filed with regulators at the U.S.

In China, English teaching is a whites-only club

Tue, 15 May 2012 20:45:03 GMT

Speak a little English and are willing to relocate? Well, you’re probably qualified to be an English-language instructor in China. As long as you are white, that is. NBC's Brittany Tom reports.

Beer-swilling bride sparks controversy

Wed, 16 May 2012 10:51:58 GMT

A front-page photo showing a contestant in a Bride of the Year competition taking a swig of beer has sparked controversy in New Zealand. Katrina Hayman, a pig midwife, was snapped by the Taranaki Daily News during the event.

Heat bricks away Game 2 as Pacers prevail

Wed, 16 May 2012 03:17:14 GMT

David West scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, George Hill added 15 and the Indiana Pacers took home-court advantage away from Miami by beating the Heat 78-75 in Game 2 of the teams' Eastern Conference semifinal series Tuesday night.

NYT: US-led imperative in peril as trained Afghans turn enemy

Wed, 16 May 2012 05:16:04 GMT

Assaults on coalition service members by uniformed Afghan soldiers, what the military calls "green on blue" attacks, are undermining the future of the mission.

Diamond coveted for centuries sells for $9.57 million

Wed, 16 May 2012 10:42:43 GMT

A diamond coveted by kings, queens and princes for centuries sold for 9 million Swiss francs ($9.57 million) at Sotheby's in Geneva on Tuesday night.

Scientists read a galaxy's entrails

Wed, 16 May 2012 10:05:06 GMT

Science editor Alan Boyle's blog: Astronomers are taking a long, deep look at one of the best-known galaxies beyond our own Milky Way, to learn more about what happened when it gobbled up another agglomeration of stars that got too close.

Romney wins Nebraska, Oregon primaries

Wed, 16 May 2012 04:59:42 GMT

Mitt Romney won the Nebraska and Oregon Republican primaries on Tuesday, adding to his delegate haul in his march toward the GOP presidential nomination.

Oh la la! A look at France's fascinating first ladies

Wed, 16 May 2012 09:00:52 GMT

New French President Francois Hollande and his predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy have one thing in common that everybody is talking about: their glamorous significant others.

First Alzheimer's prevention study launched

Tue, 15 May 2012 14:22:11 GMT

The U.S. government launched an ambitious push to develop new treatments for Alzheimer's on Tuesday with a first prevention study of high-risk patients and tests on an insulin nasal spray that has shown promise in earlier studies.

Surprise! Judges' favorite cut from 'Dancing'

Wed, 16 May 2012 03:29:10 GMT

High scores and praise from the panel wasn't enough to move one contestant into the ballroom bash's finals round.

Record reward: Who shot Iranian activist in Texas?

Tue, 15 May 2012 22:46:57 GMT

Authorities hope a $200,000 reward will help solve the case of who gunned down Iranian-born medical researcher and activist Gelareh Bagherzadeh.

Beatles going 'wrong way' in rare Abbey Road pic

Tue, 15 May 2012 18:02:24 GMT

When the Beatles had to "Get Back" across Abbey Road, who knew that they were being photographed going in the opposite direction from that shown on their 1969 album cover?

Republican Fischer upsets rivals in Nebraska Senate primary

Wed, 16 May 2012 03:32:33 GMT

Insurgent Republican candidate Deb Fischer bested two rivals with superior financing and organizations to win the Republican Senate nomination in Nebraska on Tuesday.

F-22 flights restricted after pilot oxygen problems

Tue, 15 May 2012 19:46:42 GMT

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has ordered the Air Force to restrict flights of its new F-22 stealth fighters because of continuing problems with the aircraft's oxygen system.

Report: GM to drop all Facebook advertising

Tue, 15 May 2012 19:26:04 GMT

In what could speak to Facebook’s viability as advertising medium just days before what is shaping up as a possible record initial public offering, General Motors says it will drop all paid advertising on the site, the Wall Street Journal is reporting.

Yikes! 'Great white' shark attacks angler's kayak

Tue, 15 May 2012 22:13:06 GMT

A shark believed to be a 15-foot great white lifts a California man's kayak out of the water in an attack witnessed by other kayakers.

Spurs show no sign of rust, handle Clippers

Wed, 16 May 2012 04:11:52 GMT

Tim Duncan had 26 points and 10 rebounds and the San Antonio Spurs, recharged after a weeklong layoff, wore down the busy Los Angeles Clippers to win Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinals series, 108-92 on Tuesday night.

Al-Qaida chief al-Zawahiri issues message on Yemen

Tue, 15 May 2012 20:12:49 GMT

Fugitive al-Qaida leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri has released a new audio message about Yemen at a time of escalating fighting in the north African country that one Yemeni official on Tuesday described as "all-out war.

Carter's hat trick powers Kings past Coyotes

Wed, 16 May 2012 03:45:56 GMT

Jeff Carter scored three goals, Jonathan Quick stopped 24 shots and the Los Angeles Kings matched an NHL record with their seventh straight road playoff victory, beating the Phoenix Coyotes 4-0 Tuesday night to take control of Western Conference finals.

Globally acclaimed Mexican novelist Carlos Fuentes dies

Tue, 15 May 2012 21:01:01 GMT

Novelist Carlos Fuentes, one of Latin America's most eloquent and widely read authors and a fierce critic of governments, has died after a literary career spanning more than five decades. He was 83.

For women in the workplace, it's still about looks

Tue, 15 May 2012 13:15:53 GMT

For women and their careers, it’s often not about what they do but how they look. Hillary Clinton made headlines around the world not for anything she did but because she appeared without makeup.

Low tire pressure triples likelihood of crash

Tue, 15 May 2012 21:03:21 GMT

A new government study warns that as many as one in 20 crashes could be linked to tire-related problems, with underinflated tires posing an especially high risk of causing a problem.

Mom kills 4 kids, then herself, deputies say

Tue, 15 May 2012 17:22:52 GMT

A Florida mother killed her four children and then herself Tuesday morning as Brevard County, Fla., deputies closed in on her home, authorities said. She foretold the killings in a text.

Bill criminalizing viewing child porn online OK'd by NY Senate

Tue, 15 May 2012 23:40:51 GMT

The New York State Senate on Tuesday passed legislation to make it a crime to view child pornography on the Internet, as lawmakers rushed to close a loophole opened by a state appeals court just a week earlier.

PFT: Seau's home burglarized just days after his death

Wed, 16 May 2012 02:43:27 GMT

John Edwards, Rielle Hunter might testify Wednesday

Tue, 15 May 2012 12:28:55 GMT

John Edwards' defense lawyers say they might call both Edwards and Rielle Hunter, his mistress and mother of his youngest daughter, to the stand Wednesday.