Lionel Messi ended Barcelona's run of three straight losses and kept it in the Spanish league title chase by scoring a late free kick to complete its 2-1 comeback win over Athletic Bilbao on Sunday.

Messi's 75th-minute goal answered some of the criticism the club's all-time leading scorer had received for his lackluster performances in the team's recent losses in the league, Champions League and Copa del Rey final.

One by one, the old traditional houses of Beirut are vanishing as luxury towers sprout up on every corner, altering the city's skyline almost beyond recognition amid an ongoing construction frenzy seemingly immune to tensions from the civil war raging next door.

Lebanon's enchanting Ottoman and colonial French-style buildings once represented Beirut's rich history, withstanding years of civil war and invasions only to be demolished in peace time by wealthy Gulf Arab investors.

Lewis Hamilton continued Mercedes' dominant start to the season by capturing pole position at the rainy Chinese Grand Prix on Saturday; his third pole in four races this season.

Hamilton set the fastest time in qualifying at 1 minute, 53.860 seconds at Shanghai International Circuit, ahead of Red Bull drivers Daniel Ricciardo and Sebastian Vettel in second and third position.

Research done by U.S. scientists in the Cayman Islands suggests that native predators can be trained to gobble up invasive lionfish that colonize regional reefs and voraciously prey on juvenile marine creatures.

The invasive species with a flowing mane of venomous spines has no natural predators in the Atlantic and Caribbean Sea. Native sharks and groupers typically avoid healthy lionfish, a native to the Indian and Pacific oceans that was likely introduced through the pet trade. But when a University of Florida team tethered spry lionfish to lead weights on reefs off Little Cayman, underwater video cameras late showed nurse sharks and Nassau groupers gulping them down.

About half of all 16- to 18-year-olds coming into New York City's jails say they had a traumatic brain injury before being incarcerated, most caused by assaults, according to a new study that's the latest in a growing body of research documenting head trauma among young offenders.

Experts say the findings, published this week in The Journal of Adolescent Health, could lead to better training for correction officers on how to deal with the possible symptoms of such trauma, which include problems with impulse control and decision-making.

The White House has two words for those who want President Barack Obama to deport Justin Bieber: No comment.

Nearly 275,000 people signed an Internet petition calling the Canadian-born teen idol reckless and asking Obama to revoke his green card. That's far more than required to merit an official response through the White House's "We the People" program.

Miley Cyrus is postponing her U.S. tour while she recovers from an allergic reaction to antibiotics, but will resume her performances in August.

Cyrus' representative tells The Associated Press on Friday that the singer will resume the U.S. tour Aug. 1 in Uniondale, New York. The new dates will include seven rescheduled shows and two additional stops.

Rhode Island's Bryant University is asking students to resist the urge to take selfies with its president while receiving their diplomas.

University President Ronald Machtley (MAYK'-lee) says students ask him to take selfies on the Smithfield campus all the time. But he says having more than 800 students snap photos with him as they get their degrees will slow down the already hours-long ceremony.

Maroon 5 frontman-turned designer Adam Levine says his lack of fashion training is not a problem.

"I don't know how to read music, but I can still play. So I don't really give a (expletive) about formal training or going to school," said Levine in an interview Thursday at an event for his latest Kmart collection. "You don't have to be trained in everything to be good at it."

Eight million people have signed up for health care through new insurance exchanges and the proportion of younger applicants has increased, President Barack Obama said Thursday. The enrollments exceeded expectations and offered new hope to Democrats who are defending the law ahead of the midterm elections.

An impromptu appearance in the White House briefing room offered the president an opportunity to trumpet the new figures, which beat initial projections by 1 million. With an eye toward November, Obama castigated Republicans for continuing to seek out every opportunity to thwart the Affordable Care Act.