North Korea fired a long-range rocket Wednesday morning in its second launch under its new leader, defying warnings from the U.N. and Washington only days before South Korean presidential elections.

U.S. oil prices could sink to $50 a barrel at some point over the next two years, but Merrill analysts expect America's oil prices to still average about $90 a barrel over the same time period.

DNA testing is planned for remains of woman thought to be the model for the iconic painting. From that, Italian researchers hope to reconstruct the model's face. Former TV producer says he's sure that a portrait of Lisa Gherardini was commissioned.

North Korea has launched a long-range rocket, South Korea's Ministry of Defense said. The rocket passed over the island of Okinawa, the Japanese government reports. Tuesday's move comes as a surprise after North Korea had extended the launch window.

President Obama recognized the Syrian opposition coalition as "the legitimate representative of the Syrian people in opposition to the Assad regime." The United States joins Britain, France and others in recognizing opposition group Tuesday.

The Defense Department reports a SEAL from Pennsylvania was slain in the rescue effort. Dr. Dilip Joseph was rescued, after being one of three abducted while returning from a rural clinic. Two local Afghan leaders say smugglers were responsible; ISAF blames the Taliban.

Can North Korea get its launch right this time?

Chinese police have detained an ethnic Tibetan monk and his nephew, accusing them of "goading" eight people into setting themselves on fire.

Ghana's election commission announced Sunday night that the West African nation's president won re-election, though the main opposition party says it has "credible evidence" the results were manipulated.

Michael Christian says he's "gutted, shattered and heartbroken.." It's "gut-wrenching" that the prank apparently led to a nurse's suicide, caller Mel Greig said. The pair says the decision to air the recorded prank call was not theirs.

A synchronized attack by a pair of suicide bombers killed six people and injured nine others in northern Pakistan Monday morning, police said.

South African President Jacob Zuma says that former President Nelson Mandela has been admitted to hospital in Pretoria to undergo tests.

The U.N.'s top official says he's "angry" about innocents affected by the war. An opposition group reports 130 more dead, including 43 around Damascus. A rebel brigade calls the area around Damascus' airport a "military zone," while the prospect of government chemical weapon use has intensified the crisis.

The nurse who answered a hoax call to the hospital caring for Prince William's pregnant wife, Catherine, has apparently committed suicide, the hospital says. Prince William and Catherine are "deeply saddened" by the death, palace says.

Egypt's president didn't back off the edict he issued ahead of a constitutional referendum. Mohamed Morsy's words further enraged protesters on the streets of Cairo Thursday.

A fight to the death might seem a more plausible outcome as the carnage of the Syrian civil war approaches its second year. But the idea of asylum in a third country is an option that is also emerging in questions over Assad's fate.

Israel said Tuesday it won't bow to demands by world leaders to abandon plans for new settlements on Palestinian territory.

Brazilian authorities arrested dozens of police officers on Tuesday, accusing them of taking bribes from drug traffickers.

The State Department declared Tuesday "Wildlife Conservation Day." Clinton instructed U.S. diplomats all over the world to raise awareness about the trafficking of wild animals.

Assistant referee Richard Nieuwenhuizen dies in a Dutch hospital following an attack after a soccer match, beaten up by three teen players. The trio were arrested at their Amsterdam home on Sunday, according to reports.

Typhooon Bopha hit the southern Phillipine island of Mindanao early Tuesday. The Philippine weather agency warns of flash floods, landslides and possible storm surge. The typhoon comes almost a year after a storm killed more than 1,200 people on Mindanao.

Malala Yousufzai, the Pakistani schoolgirl activist who was shot in the head by the Taliban, has expressed gratitude to the people around the world who have supported her as she recovers from the traumatic attack.

The Philippines waited in darkness late Monday for the arrival of a menacing typhoon that grew even stronger as it closed in, heightening fears that it could be even worse than a 2011 storm that killed more than 1,200 people.

President Obama said he wanted to be "absolutely clear" to Syrian President Bashar Assad that "the world is watching" when it comes to the use of chemical weapons.

Hyperemesis gravidarum, the type of morning sickness that Duchess of Cambridge is hospitalized with, is less common than the condition experienced by most pregnant women, according to experts.