OGIDI, Nigeria (AP) — Writer Chinua Achebe shunned Nigeria's corrupt politicians and twice turned down national honors, never fearing to criticize those he felt ruined his country. On Thursday, however, the lawmakers and the country's elite came to praise him.

In his widely anticipated foreign-policy speech Thursday, President Obama rejected the wisdom of a global “war on terror” and warned, in the words of President James Madison, that “No nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare.”

CHICAGO (AP) — An 87-year-old grandmother took on billionaire Donald Trump. And on Thursday, she lost.

NEW YORK (AP) — It was another ugly quarter for Sears Holdings Corp.

SOUTH KINGSTOWN, R.I. (AP) — Police at the University of Rhode Island could soon be carrying firearms following a vote Thursday by state education officials to end Rhode Island's distinction as the only state to prohibit police on public campuses from carrying guns.

By Marice Richter GRAPEVINE, Texas (Reuters) - The Boy Scouts of America voted on Thursday to lift a century-old ban on openly gay scouts in a major victory for gay rights activists, but the decision means a sea of change for an organization that depends heavily on faith-based groups. More than 60 percent of the group's National Council, comprised of some 1,400 delegates, voted in favor of ending the ban, effective January 1, 2014, the group said in a statement. A prohibition on openly gay adult leaders remains in place. ...

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Maine's governor, who has gained attention in the past for telling the NAACP to "kiss my butt" and comparing the Internal Revenue Service to the Gestapo, has moved out of his office at the State House and says he'll work out of the governor's mansion because of a dispute over a television screen.

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Maine's governor, who has gained attention in the past for telling the NAACP to "kiss my butt" and comparing the Internal Revenue Service to the Gestapo, has moved out of his office at the State House and says he'll work out of the governor's mansion because of a dispute over a television screen.

(Reuters) - Google Inc is considering buying Israeli mobile satellite navigation start-up Waze Inc, which may lead to a bidding war with Facebook Inc, Bloomberg news reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Waze is seeking more than $1 billion and is fielding expressions of interest from multiple parties, said Bloomberg, citing a source. Other media have reported that Facebook Inc has held talks to buy Waze for as much as $1 billion. ...

Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about Friday:

NIAMEY, Niger (AP) — Suicide bombers in Niger detonated two car bombs simultaneously, one inside a military camp in the city of Agadez and another in the remote town of Arlit at a French-operated uranium mine, killing 26 people and injuring 30, according to officials in Niger and France.

GRAPEVINE, Texas (AP) — The Boy Scouts of America threw open its ranks Thursday to gay Scouts but not gay Scout leaders — a fiercely contested compromise that some warned could fracture the organization and lead to mass defections of members and donors.

PHOENIX (AP) — Jurors who spent five months determining Jodi Arias' fate couldn't decide whether she should get life in prison or die for murdering her boyfriend, sending prosecutors back to the drawing board to rehash the shocking case of sex, lies and violence to another 12 people.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. regulators are in the early stages of an antitrust probe into whether Google Inc, the top player in Web display advertising, breaks antitrust law in how it handles some advertising sales, a source told Reuters on Thursday. The source said that it was unlikely that the Federal Trade Commission had sent out civil investigative demands in relation to the probe, which would be the sign of a formal and more serious investigation. ...

By Keith Coffman CENTENNIAL, Colo. (Reuters) - Lawyers for accused Colorado movie theater gunman James Holmes argued on Thursday the state's insanity defense law was unconstitutional because it forces him to cooperate with court-appointed psychiatrists or forfeit the right to raise mental-health issues at sentencing. Prosecutors countered during a hearing before Arapahoe County District Judge Carlos Samour Jr. that without an independent examination, there would be no way to evaluate defense claims that Holmes was legally insane at the time of the crime. ...

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama plans to give the Jersey Shore a boost with a post-Memorial Day visit to showcase recovery efforts in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy.

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Charges that an Army sergeant secretly photographed and videotaped women at West Point are part of a military-wide pattern of sexual misconduct, U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand said Thursday.

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Charges that an Army sergeant secretly photographed and videotaped women at West Point are part of a military-wide pattern of sexual misconduct, U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand said Thursday.

NEW YORK (AP) — There's a new head of household products giant Procter & Gamble.

NEW YORK (AP) — There's a new head of household products giant Procter & Gamble.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The woman who interrupted President Barack Obama's speech on counterterrorism policy on Thursday is well-known around Washington as a perennial protester on national security issues. Medea Benjamin, a founder of anti-war women's group Code Pink, began demonstrating years ago on Capitol Hill, becoming an almost routine presence at hearings where high-ranking officials of the Bush administration appeared to talk about the Iraq war. ...

By Barbara Liston and Mark Hosenball ORLANDO, Fla./WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A special Federal Bureau of Investigation team from Washington on Thursday began reviewing the death of a Chechen immigrant linked to the Boston Marathon bombing suspects, a day after he was shot and killed by an agent during questioning in Orlando. The dead man, Ibragim Todashev, 27, was a friend of suspected bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev and was under investigation for alleged ties to a triple homicide in Massachusetts in 2011, according to media reports citing law enforcement officials. ...

By Noel Randewich (Reuters) - Salesforce.com Inc's quarterly earnings and outlook disappointed investors as costs rise following a spree of acquisitions, sending its shares lower. Under Marc Benioff, Salesforce's CEO and founder, the company's fast revenue growth has made it a favorite with investors eager to own part of the growing trend among businesses to outsource their information technology needs - from servers to software, a phenomenon known as cloud computing. But Salesforce has struggled to earn consistent profits. ...

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The state's highest court on Thursday dismissed Ralph Nader's lawsuit against Democrats he had accused of trying to keep him off ballots in Maine and other states during his failed presidential run in 2004.

By M.B. Pell (Reuters) - A dispute between government agencies over the investigation into the deadly explosion at a Texas fertilizer plant intensified on Thursday when the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco Firearms and Explosives hit back after being criticized by the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB). The board's allegations that its investigation into the causes of the April 17 tragedy was hindered by the ATF or the Texas State Fire Marshal's Office is a misrepresentation of what actually occurred, the ATF said. ...

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — St. Paul authorities shut down a popular fossil-hunting area in a riverside park Thursday, one day after two children were killed and two others injured by a landslide.

PHOENIX (AP) — The Jodi Arias murder trial has drawn international attention for its graphic tales of sex and lies. The following is a timeline of some of the key events in the case:

PHOENIX (AP) — The jury in Jodi Arias' murder trial has failed to reach a verdict against the woman they convicted of murdering Travis Alexander. The next steps:

By Jane Sutton MIAMI (Reuters) - Among those tuning in to President Barack Obama's national security speech on Thursday were some prisoners at the Guantanamo Bay U.S. Naval Base, who rely on television broadcasts and newspapers for hints about their fate. "Detainees follow all coverage of Guantanamo closely, including today's speech, and the post-speech commentary, analysis and editorials," said Navy Captain Robert Durand, a spokesman for the Guantanamo detention operation. "There is interest and discussion, but no discernible reaction," he said. ...

The Boy Scouts of America voted Thursday to approve the admission of openly gay youth members but left in place a ban on homosexual adult scout leaders, raising the prospect of gay scouts having to leave the group when they become adults.

ROCKVILLE, Md. (AP) — A once-prominent swimming coach who trained thousands of children was sentenced to seven years in prison Thursday for sexually abusing one of the girls he instructed.

MOORE, Okla. (AP) — One loved the spotlight. Another was nicknamed "The Wall" because of the force he brought to the soccer field.

By Tim Gaynor PHOENIX (Reuters) - An Arizona jury weighing whether Jodi Arias should be put to death for the brutal murder of her ex-boyfriend deadlocked on Thursday and the judge ordered a retrial of the penalty phase of the case. Arias, a former waitress from California, was found guilty this month in the murder of Travis Alexander, whose body was found slumped in the shower of his Phoenix-area home in June 2008. He was stabbed 27 times, had his throat slashed and was shot in the face. ...

MOORE, Okla. (AP) — A massive tornado was carving its way through town. There was no time to hesitate. LaTisha Garcia had to get to her children.

By Ann Saphir SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The clearinghouse for all stock options said Thursday it will adopt a policy aimed at abolishing a dividend-linked trading strategy that critics say could destabilize markets if left unchecked. The change at Chicago-based OCC is likely to hurt market share at Nasdaq OMX Group Inc's biggest options venue, where nearly all of U.S. dividend-linked options trading takes place. "The new policy will likely result in a significant reduction in dividend plays," OCC said in a statement. ...

PHOENIX (AP) — A Republican member of the Arizona House who supports GOP Gov. Jan Brewer's push to expand Medicaid received an obscene and threatening voicemail at her office, a sign that the rancorous debate over embracing a signature component of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul in the state is far from over.

Bipartisan immigration reformers in the House haven’t yet managed to clinch a deal, missing their self-imposed deadline, but neither has the group called it quits.

[Updated at 6:55 p.m. CT] DALLAS – The Boy Scouts of America, one of the country’s largest and oldest youth organizations, decided on Thursday to break 103 years of tradition by allowing openly gay members into its ranks. The controversial move was approved by more than 60 percent of the approximate 1,400 votes cast by [...]

YORBA LINDA, Calif. (AP) — U.S. Navy Lt. Commander Doug Burns was on a night reconnaissance mission searching for enemy trucks when he was shot down by anti-aircraft fire and taken prisoner during the Vietnam War.

By Susan Cornwell and Jane Sutton WASHINGTON/MIAMI (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's pledge on Thursday to lift a ban on transfers of detainees to Yemen from the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, addresses one of the core obstacles to clearing out the detention camp. Of the 86 detainees who have been cleared for transfer or release, 56 are from Yemen, where al Qaeda has a dangerous presence. There are 80 more prisoners who are not cleared and an unknown number of those are Yemeni as well. Most of the Yemeni prisoners were captured more than a decade ago. ...