Global stock markets tumbled Tuesday after downbeat U.S. data fueled fears the world's largest economy might be sliding back into recession.

Oil prices fell to near $94 a barrel on expectations slowing global economic growth will reduce demand for crude.

The first close-up pictures of the massive asteroid Vesta reveal a northern hemisphere littered with craters — including a trio nicknamed "Snowman" — and a smoother southern half, researchers reported Monday.

Running along the asteroid's equator are deep grooves — a surprise to scientists who did not expect to see such features.

A museum on the road separating Jewish west Jerusalem from the Arab neighborhoods in the city's east is attracting a daring group of artists from Middle Eastern nations that shun contact with Israel, trying to erode political barriers through art.

It's been a years-long process for the Museum on the Seam, which is one of the few art museums in Israel that aggressively tries to convince Arab and Muslim artists to show in its galleries.

Australia's government plans to post video on YouTube and Facebook of the first group of asylum seekers sent to Malaysia under a pact between the countries to swap refugees, in an attempt to deter others from taking dangerous boat journeys to Australia.

Releasing video of the asylum seekers at Christmas Island — an Australian territory in the Indian Ocean — boarding a plane, and arriving in Malaysia will help raise awareness of Australia's new policy, Immigration Minister Chris Bowen said Tuesday.

Pittsburgh police say a man tried to carjack a plainclothes officer near filming for the latest Batman movie — and allegedly told him it was part of the script.

Detective Robert DiGiacomo was in an unmarked vehicle around 7:15 p.m. Saturday, looking for a suspect in an assault. That's when police say a man opened the car door, sat down and told the officer to get out.

From Syria to Libya and Egypt, the uprisings and unrest gripping the Arab world have cast a pall on the start of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month when the traditional focus on piety will likely be eclipsed by more unrest.

Food prices — part of the economic hardships that catalyzed the ouster of the Egyptian and Tunisian leaders — are still climbing. And protesters have shown little patience for conciliatory gestures by governments after decades of empty promises.

Tucked away in a small warehouse on a dead-end street, an Internet pioneer is building a bunker to protect an endangered species: the printed word.

Brewster Kahle, 50, founded the nonprofit Internet Archive in 1996 to save a copy of every Web page ever posted. Now the MIT-trained computer scientist and entrepreneur is expanding his effort to safeguard and share knowledge by trying to preserve a physical copy of every book ever published.

Digital music service Spotify, which recently arrived in the U.S., has been sued by music and video streaming software maker PacketVideo for allegedly violating a patent it holds for digital music distribution.

In court documents filed this week in U.S. District Court in the Southern District of California, PacketVideo said it believes Spotify's free and paid music-streaming service violates its patent for a "device for the distribution of music in digital form." The patent covers methods for streaming copyright-protected music from a central device over data networks.

Amy Winehouse's album "Back To Black" has climbed back to top of the British album chart, eight days after the singer died in London.

The Grammy award-winning album was also No. 1 in 2006 when it was released. Also on Sunday, Winehouse's debut album "Frank" reached No. 5.

Blue skies and strong ticket sales blessed this year's Newport Folk Festival, two days of veteran acts and up-and-comers from a variety of musical genres.

An estimated 10,000 people attended the long-running festival Sunday at Fort Adams State Park, and they were treated to performances from Emmylou Harris, Elvis Costello, Wanda Jackson and more than a dozen other acts on three stages set around Newport's historic fort.