Ryan wants GOP message to be so compelling, voters give the ticket a clear victory and mandate

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan said Thursday that he wants the Republican campaign message to be so detailed and compelling that Mitt Romney will be elected president "by acclamation."

The Wisconsin congressman said at a $1,000-per-plate fundraiser at a Knoxville hotel that the GOP message contrasts with what he called the divisive tactics of President Barack Obama in the closely contested race.

"Since he can't run on hope and change and all these new promises - because the last ones have been mostly broken - he will have to divide this country. He will have to distort and distract and try to win by default," Ryan said of the Democratic president. "We want to win by acclamation."

Russian investigators file charges against Alexander Lebedev, tycoon critical of Kremlin

MOSCOW (AP) -- A Russian tycoon who has financed a newspaper critical of the Kremlin and supported the opposition has been charged with hooliganism and assault for punching a businessman during a television talk show. He dismissed the criminal case as politically motivated.

Russia's top investigative agency, which announced the charges Wednesday, said the defendant, Alexander Lebedev, cannot leave Moscow while the probe is under way. In Russia, filing charges marks the start of a criminal investigation, which may or may not lead to a trial.

Cisco CEO's pay package dipped 9 pct in past year

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Cisco Systems Inc. trimmed CEO John Chambers' pay package for the past fiscal year by 9 percent as concerns about growth at the maker of computer networking equipment weighed on the company's stock.

The value of Chambers' compensation totaled $11.7 million, down from nearly $12.9 million in the previous year, according to documents filed Wednesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Most of Chambers' pay was tied to the future performance of Cisco's stock. That's been the case for most of Chambers' 17-year reign as CEO. That arrangement has worked out well for both Chambers and the company, which is based in San Jose, Calif. Adjusting for stock splits, Cisco's shares have increased 10-fold under Chambers' leadership.

Cuban sugar looks to rebound after bitter decline

JARONU, Cuba (AP) -- Cuba's signature industry is showing signs of life two years after the worst harvest in more than a century.

Hulking processing plants are coming back online and production is rising, a boon to rural towns like Jaronu where producing sugar has been a way of life for generations.

Officials recently said that the harvest is expected to increase by 20 percent in the coming season after jumps of 7 percent and 16 percent in the last two harvests.

At the Brasil refinery in the steamy central province of Camaguey, a $6 million makeover is under way. During a recent visit, bulldozers were busy re-grading the floor, operators were laying foundations for new machinery and workers buzzed about, hammering and welding amid a deafening mechanic roar and a pervasive oily odor.

APNewsBreak: Ex-wife of ex-LA Dodgers owner wants divorce reopened, says he lowballed value

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The ex-wife of former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt wants to set aside the couple's divorce settlement, claiming he vastly understated the value of a team that sold earlier this year for $2 billion, the highest figure ever paid for a pro sports franchise.

Jamie McCourt's attorney, Bertram Fields, told The Associated Press that she "thought very long and very hard about whether to file this motion" but that after other means failed, she returned to court.

AP-GfK Poll: Most say Obama's health care law will be implemented; but 7 in 10 expect changes

WASHINGTON (AP) -- It still divides us, but most Americans think President Barack Obama's health care law is here to stay.

More than 7 in 10 say the law will fully go into effect with some changes, ranging from minor to major alterations, a new Associated Press-GfK poll finds.

Only 12 percent expect the Affordable Care Act - "Obamacare" to dismissive opponents - to be repealed completely.

The law - covering 30 million uninsured, requiring virtually every legal U.S. resident to carry health insurance and forbidding insurers from turning away the sick - remains as contentious as the day it passed more than two years ago. There's still more than another year before its major provisions go into effect on Jan. 1, 2014.

Tipping point? Many fans believe replacement refs finally cost someone a win and it was Pack

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) -- Entire stadiums have booed them. The Patriots' Bill Belichick grabbed one by the arm and the Redskins' Kyle Shanahan was so hopping mad he followed one into the tunnel after the game.

But it took the team that Vince Lombardi built, playing in a "Monday Night Football" headliner, to put the NFL's latest labor headache - locked-out officials and their struggling, under-fire replacements - front and center for the nation. Even President Barack Obama, a Bears fan slogging through a re-election campaign, weighed in Tuesday, saying, "We've got to get our refs back."

Confronting global violence, Muslim anger, Obama presses world leaders to reject extremism

UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- Confronting global tumult and Muslim anger, President Barack Obama exhorted world leaders Tuesday to stand fast against violence and extremism, arguing that protecting religious rights and free speech must be a universal responsibility and not just an American obligation.

"The impulse towards intolerance and violence may initially be focused on the West, but over time it cannot be contained," Obama warned the U.N. General Assembly in an urgent call to action underscored by the high stakes for all nations.

Iconic Israeli newspaper Maariv faces collapse; critics allege it's part of anti-media blitz

JERUSALEM (AP) -- Throughout much of Israel's history, the Maariv daily was known as the "country's paper," the newspaper with the highest circulation and a cornerstone of Israeli media. Now it is on its last legs - the victim, some say, of a Jewish-American billionaire who is a close friend of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Casino mogul Sheldon Adelson launched his free "Israel Hayom" or "Israel Today" daily five years ago. The tabloid has steadily gobbled up market share since then. Handed out by ubiquitous distributors clad in red overalls at busy intersections, it has become the most read newspaper in Israel.

Death of Libyan rebel hailed for capture of Gadhafi brings calls for vengeance

MISRATA, Libya (AP) -- One of the young Libyan rebels credited with capturing Moammar Gadhafi in a drainage ditch nearly a year ago died Tuesday of injuries after being kidnapped, beaten and slashed by the late dictator's supporters - the latest victim of persistent violence and instability in the North African country.

The death of Omran Shaaban, who had been hospitalized in France, raised the prospect of even more violence and score-settling, with the newly elected National Congress authorizing police and the army to use force if necessary to apprehend those who abducted the 22-year-old and three companions in July near the town of Bani Walid.

At UN speech, Obama says there is 'no speech that justifies mindless violence'

UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- President Barack Obama is condemning an anti-Muslim film and the violence in the Middle East that has followed its release, saying there is "no speech that justifies mindless violence."

Obama says in a speech Tuesday before the U.N. General Assembly that "there are no words that excuse the killing of innocent" and "no video that justifies an attack on an embassy."

Obama says the video "is an insult not only to Muslims, but to America as well."

At secretive session, North Korea's parliament passes a law expanding public education

PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) -- North Korea's parliament convened Tuesday for the second time in six months, passing a law that adds one year of compulsory education for children in the socialist nation, the first publicly announced policy change under leader Kim Jong Un.

The Supreme People's Assembly's second meeting of the year was notable mainly as a departure from how Kim's father did business. Before he died in December, Kim Jong Il convened his legislature just once in most years, and during one three-year period after his own father's death it didn't meet at all.

By adding a year to North Korea's state-funded educational system, from 11 to 12 years, Kim may be trying to cultivate loyalty among younger generations as he consolidates his power base.