Eyder Peralta

In a move designed to salvage upcoming elections, Australia's Labor Party ousted Prime Minister Julia Gillard in favor of Kevin Rudd.

Reuters explains the politics:

"Rudd, a former diplomat who speaks Mandarin, won a Labor Party ballot with 57 votes to Gillard's 45. Gillard promised to quit politics ...

Update at 10:45 A.M. ET:

The Supreme Court has opted not to issue a broad ruling on California's Proposition 8, which bars same-sex marriage. The state of California had refused to defend the law in court, and so its backers took up the legal cause. The high court ruled ...

Nelson Mandela remains in a South African hospital in critical condition.

South African Archbishop Thabo Makgoba visited the hospital to pray with his family on Tuesday. On his Facebook page, Makgoba posted the prayer he said for the 94-year-old anti-apartheid legend and former president. He wrote:

"May ...

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says a 6-foot wave that hit the East Coast earlier this month was a rare tsunami.

The West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center said the source of the wave is "complex and under review," but they believe it was caused by a ...

Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared to rebuff the United States when he said NSA leaker Edward Snowden was in Moscow but is a "free person" who is "entitled to buy a ticket and fly to wherever he wants."

Snowden, Putin said, is in the transit zone of Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport ...

By a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court has struck down a key provision of the landmark 1965 Voting Rights Act that establishes a formula to identify states that may require extra scrutiny by the Justice Department regarding voting procedures.

The decision focuses on Section 4 of the Act.

Qatar's monarch, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, handed over the reins of power this morning to his 33-year-old son, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

Bloomberg reports:

"'The time has come to turn a new page in our country's journey and see a new generation assume responsibility,' ...

Defense attorneys and prosecutors took turns today to present their opening statements in the murder trial of George Zimmerman today in Sanford, Fla.

Zimmerman, 29, a former neighborhood watch volunteer, is charged with second-degree murder for the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.

As was previewed in the months ...

By royal decree, Saudi Arabia's weekend is shifting to Friday and Saturday as opposed to Thursday and Friday.

As our friend Ahmed Al Omran explains at Riyadh Bureau, King Abdullah ordered the change "for the sake of putting an end to the negative effects and the lost economic opportunities" ...

In a fiery concurring opinion (pdf), Justice Clarence Thomas made it clear that the Supreme Court did not go far enough, when it decided Fisher v. University of Texas this morning.

As Mark reported, in a 7-1 ruling, the court skirted the big issues and decided to send ...

A court in Milan found former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi guilty Monday in a sex-for-hire case, La Repubblica reports.

The court sentenced Berlusconi to seven years in prison and barred him from public office indefinitely.

The AP has a bit of background on the charges:

"Berlusconi, ...

One of the Supreme Court's most anticipated cases of its current term — a challenge to the University of Texas' affirmative action admissions process — has ended with a ruling that does not revisit the fundamental issue of whether such programs discriminate against whites.

In a 7-1 ruling, ...

Pakistan's newly-elected Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif says the country's former military dictator Pervez Musharraf should be tried for high treason, the BBC reports.

Musharraf is currently under house arrest after returning from a self-imposed exile earlier this year. The BBC adds:

"[Musharraf] is fighting a series of charges ...

The drip-drip of classified information has now moved overseas: Citing more classified documents leaked by Edward Snowden, The Guardian newspaper reports that the British spy agency taps into trans-Atlantic fiber optic cables, sucking up vast amounts of data that includes communication sent by Americans and Britons.

The big ...

Last night, history was made on the pitch in Harrison, N.J.: Abby Wambach scored four goals against South Korea and became the all-time top female scorer in the world.

That third one — scored about 30 minutes into the first half — was her 159th, and it means that Wambach ...

Whether you like it or not, the day will be bright. For those of us in the northern hemisphere, today is the summer solstice, which marks the longest daylight period of the year and the official start of summer.

As The Weather Channel explains, it's also a little more ...

Because of flooding that could prove historic, authorities in Calgary, Canada, have ordered 100,000 people in 22 communities across the city to evacuate their homes.

As the CBC reports, intense rain has caused flooding throughout Alberta province in Canada. More rain is expected today.

The CBC adds:

"Mudslides ...

By some estimates, about a million people marched in cities across Brazil on Thursday, airing a wide array of grievances. As O Globo frames it, it was a day marked by violent demonstrations, vandalism and intense clashes with military police.

In Brasilia, the country's capital, about 60,000 people took ...

Lebron James, who evokes strong feelings on either side of the emotional spectrum, has led the Miami Heat to its second NBA title in a row.

After a heart-pounding, seven-game series that vacillated between teams, the Heat prevailed over the San Antonio Spurs 95-88 on Thursday. The Miami ...

We don't know how, but we missed a major scandal brewing in the Navy for decades. It's important, so even if we're a little late to the story we still wanted to point it out: Cap'n Crunch is an impostor.

The Cap'n was unmasked on June 14 by a ...