ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — Egyptian officials tried to cool tensions with Ethiopia Wednesday over the new Nile River dam project by highlighting its "neighborliness" as the Ethiopian prime minister's spokesman insisted that nothing would stop the dam from being completed upstream from Egypt, which is wholly dependent on Nile River water.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (AP) — Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson have gone from womanizing "Wedding Crashers" to doting dads who bring their kids to work.

NEW YORK (AP) — Some might find it strange that Joss Whedon's first movie since "The Avengers" — his 2012 megahit about a team of Marvel Comics superheroes — is an independent adaptation of Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing." But it makes perfect sense to him. The man who created TV hits like "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and its spinoff "Angel" says his dramas all have a bit of the Bard in them.

PARIS (AP) — Maria Sharapova shrugged off losing the first six games and swept the last four to reach the French Open semifinals.

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks edged lower in early trading Wednesday after economic reports suggested that the economy is growing at a sluggish pace.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Gordon Gee, rehired by Ohio State University in 2007 to great fanfare, boldly declared, "This is Ohio State's time."

WARRENSBURG, Mo. (AP) — Ziyad Abid was a Missouri college student aspiring to become a pilot like his father back home in Saudi Arabia when he was accused of paying his roommate to kill a local bar owner. The judge set bond at $2 million, completely out of reach for his family — but not for the Saudi government.

By Richard Lough NAIROBI (Reuters) - Britain has agreed on a multi-million dollar compensation settlement for thousands of Kenyans tortured by colonial forces during an uprising at the tail end of the British Empire, a lawyer and expert witness said on Wednesday. Negotiations began after a London court ruled in October that three elderly Kenyans, who suffered castration, rape and beatings while in detention during a crackdown by British forces and their Kenyan allies in the 1950s, could sue Britain. ...

ANTIGUA, Guatemala (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is gauging prospects for improving badly strained ties between the United States and Venezuela that have steadily deteriorated over the past decade.

HOUSTON (AP) — Thousands of firefighters from across the country, many with badges shrouded in black, marched under arches of flags extending from ladder trucks as they filed into Houston's Reliant Stadium on Wednesday to honor four firefighters killed last week in a massive hotel fire.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawmakers outraged by sexual assaults in the military are moving swiftly to address the problem, tackling legislation that would strip commanders of their authority to overturn convictions in rape and assault cases.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian, U.S. and U.N. officials meeting in Geneva on Wednesday failed to resolve questions over proposed Syria peace talks, including who would take part, a senior Russian official was quoted as saying. "The most difficult question is the circle of participants in the conference," said Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov, according to Interfax news agency. He said the peace talks would not be held in June, as originally envisaged. ...

LONDON (Reuters) - Turkey's president and the country's international trade group sought to reassure foreign investors that the days of violent anti-government protests should not scare away multinational firms. Turkey's location as a gateway between Asia and Europe and its young, skilled, talent pool have attracted a growing number of multinationals to place their regional headquarters there, contributing to the economy's "tiger" status. Groups including Unilever, Ford and chemicals company BASF said they were watching the situation closely as the protests ran into their fifth day. ...

BEIJING (AP) — China announced a trade investigation of European wine Wednesday after the European Union hit Chinese exporters of solar panels with anti-dumping duties.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Country music has been good to the rapper Nelly, and he's back in Music City because of it.

NEW YORK (AP) — Keith Olbermann is getting back into broadcasting.

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Activists on Wednesday presented a list of demands they said could end days of anti-government demonstrations that have engulfed Turkey, as police detained 25 people they accused of using social media to stoke the outpouring of anger.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama's top national security adviser is resigning and will be replaced by Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N. who has been a lightning rod for Republican criticism over faulty explanations for the attack that killed four Americans in Benghazi, Libya.

GENEVA (Reuters) - A conference on ending the fighting in Syria may possibly be held in July, international envoy for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi said after preparatory talks with U.S. and Russian officials on Wednesday. He said the sole sticking point was that the two Syrian sides themselves were not yet ready to commit to the conference. He will chair a second round of preparatory talks on June 25. (Reporting by Tom Miles, editing by Stephanie Nebehay)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Orders to U.S. factories rose modestly in April as manufacturers rebounded from a weak March performance.