By Dan Williams JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, backed by Iran and Lebanon's Hezbollah, may prevail in the more than two-year-old uprising against him, Israel's intelligence minister said on Monday. Though the assessment was quickly disavowed by others in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition government, it reflected the difficulties facing Israel and Western countries in predicting Syria's destiny and weighing intervention. ...

LOS ANGELES (AP) — What is the next generation of gaming?

By Nina Chestney LONDON (Reuters) - China led a rise in global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions to a record high in 2012, casting doubt over the chances of limiting global warming to what scientists regard as an acceptable level. Falls in CO2 emissions by the United States and Europe were offset by China, lifting worldwide emissions by 1.4 percent to 31.6 billion tonnes, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Monday. ...

NEW YORK (AP) — The stock market is getting off to a mixed start as traders show only mild enthusiasm for an improving outlook for the U.S. government's credit rating.

NEW YORK (AP) — Kanye West closed the three-day Governors Ball on Randall Island with a set that featured his familiar hits as well as a batch of new, darker tracks from his upcoming album.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from two American whistleblowers who claim U.S. forces tortured them in Iraq and who want to sue former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Six months after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, some of the victims' families are heading to Capitol Hill to remind lawmakers they are painfully waiting for action, while some of the president's allies are asking him to do more without any new prospects of legislation to toughen gun laws.

JUBA, South Sudan (AP) — Sudan's threat to shut down South Sudan's oil exports over its alleged support for rebels in Sudan will not spark a return to armed hostility as long as Sudan respects a security agreement reached earlier this year, a South Sudanese military official said Monday.

SANFORD, Fla. (AP) — George Zimmerman's attorney doubts he will be able to find jurors who haven't heard about the Trayvon Martin fatal shooting. He just wants to pick people who haven't already made up their mind about the case.

NEW YORK (AP) — On a feel-good night for Broadway, it was only natural that the Tony Award go to its most feel-good musical, the joyous "Kinky Boots." But most everything about Sunday's Tony telecast was warmhearted, from inspiring speeches about the theatrical community to the inspired antics of Neil Patrick Harris, who should officially be awarded the host job on a permanent basis.

BAGHDAD (AP) — Militants detonated explosives-laden cars around two busy markets in central Iraq on Monday, killing 22 people and wounding dozens, the latest in a wave of violence ravaging the country.

PARSIPPANY, N.J. (AP) — Food maker B&G Foods Inc. is buying Robert's American Gourmet Food, which owns the Pirate's Booty brand, for $195 million in cash.

By Ralph Boulton ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan stands before a sea of cheering faithful waving Turkish flags and, to shouts of "Allahu Akbar", God is Greatest, summons the spirit of pious Ottoman poets in denouncing protesters who challenge his power. Across Istanbul, the same flags, white crescent moon and star on a red background, are raised; but they proclaim what some Erdogan critics see as a different kind of Turkey. ...

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — A Texas couple has fulfilled a lifelong dream by visiting Maine to watch the state Legislature at work. Seriously.

CONAKRY, Guinea (AP) — The international mediator charged with trying to find a solution to the impasse which has prevented Guinea from holding legislative elections announced over the weekend that the country's opposition will agree to go to the poll if a list of conditions is met.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States could make a decision as early as this week on whether to arm Syrian rebels, a U.S. official said on Monday. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the question of whether to arm rebels is on the agenda of White House meetings during the early part of this week. The possible move by the United States to arm the rebels who are fighting President Bashar al-Assad's government forces, was first reported by the Associated Press late on Sunday. (Reporting by Washington bureau; editing by Jackie Frank)

By Sami Aboudi DUBAI (Reuters) - Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri has intervened in a dispute between the Iraqi and Syrian branches of his network, telling both to "stop arguing", Qatar-based Al Jazeera television reported. Al Qaeda in Iraq announced in April that it had united with Syria's Nusra Front, which now spearheads the fight against President Bashar al-Assad. This upset Nusra, which affirmed its loyalty to Zawahri but said it had not been told of any merger. ...

By Ed Cropley JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Former South African president and anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela remained in hospital for a third day on Monday with a lung infection and his condition was "serious but stable", unchanged from the weekend, the government said. In a two-sentence statement, President Jacob Zuma repeated his call for the country to pray for the ailing 94-year-old, who became the first black leader of Africa's biggest economy after historic all-race elections in 1994. ...

NEW YORK (AP) — McDonald's says a key sales figure rose 2.6 percent in May, with the world's biggest hamburger chain attributing the bump to its focus on value and new menu options.

MILTON, Ga. (AP) — Battery maker Exide Technologies is seeking Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as it attempts to restructure its U.S. business.