Egyptians abroad began voting on Friday for their first president since veteran leader Hosni Mubarak was toppled last year, less than two weeks before polling stations open in the country.

They have until May 17 to cast their ballots in embassies and consulates. Voting in Egypt will take place on May 23 and 24, with a rerun in June if none of the 13 candidates wins a majority in the first round.

The giant asteroid Vesta got clobbered not once but twice, and it has the scars to prove it.

Ever since the Hubble Space Telescope spied a huge depression in the asteroid's south pole, scientists surmised it was carved by a collision with a celestial object, most likely a smaller asteroid.

The U.S. Navy may hurt more dolphins and whales by using sonar and explosives in Hawaii and California under a more thorough analysis that reflects new research and covers naval activities in a wider area than previous studies.

The Navy estimates its use of explosives and sonar may unintentionally cause more than 1,600 instances of hearing loss or other injury to marine mammals each year, according to a draft environmental impact statement that covers training and testing planned from 2014 to 2019. The Navy calculates the explosives could potentially kill more than 200 marine mammals a year.

The Guinness World Records has recognized a 44-year-old Hawaii pro surfer for catching a 78-foot wave off the coast of Portugal, saying the November feat beats a 2008 record for the biggest ridden by more than 1 foot.

Big-wave surfer Garrett McNamara of Haleiwa, on Oahu's North Shore, told The Associated Press that the ride of his life was a fluke.

Rafael Nadal lost to Spanish countryman Fernando Verdasco for the first time in the Madrid Open on Thursday, then threatened, along with top-ranked Novak Djokovic, not to return if the new blue clay-court wasn't discarded.

Nadal blew a 5-2 lead in the third set in losing 6-3, 3-6, 7-5, his first defeat to Verdasco in 14 matches.

The second phase of testing with Hawk-Eye's goal-line technology system has started, less than two months before football's rule-makers decide whether it can be used in games.

Experiments with the Sony Corp.-owned system were conducted at Southampton's St. Mary's Stadium on Thursday.

Barcelona has staunchly defended Lionel Messi over claims he racially abused a black Real Madrid player several seasons ago, calling such claims "well wide of the mark."

Dutch midfielder Royston Drenthe, who is currently on loan at Everton, was quoted in a Dutch magazine as saying he was taunted by the Argentina forward and three-time world player of the year during several of their Spanish league encounters.

Seven-time Formula One champion Michael Schumacher is hopeful the Spanish Grand Prix may yield the first podium finish since his comeback, while rival Kimi Raikkonen is similarly optimistic about a first victory since his return.

Schumacher, in his third season since coming out of retirement, has a pair of 10th-place finishes to go with two DNFs this season, while Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg won in China.

Rima Fakih, the first Arab-American to be crowned Miss USA, avoided jail during sentencing Wednesday in her Michigan drunken driving case, an experience she described as "very humbling."

Judge William McConico put Fakih on six months of probation, ordered the former beauty queen to perform 20 hours of community service and said she must pay $600 in fines and costs. Fakih also must attend an alcohol safety class.

The government is taking steps to help ensure that children who need CT scans and other X-ray-based tests don't get an adult-sized dose of radiation.

Too much radiation from medical testing is a growing concern, especially for children, because it may increase the risk of cancer later in life.