After deposing Barcelona and sending its coach Pep Guardiola into early retirement, Jose Mourinho's Real Madrid now faces the challenge of defending its Spanish league crown while seeking that elusive 10th European Cup.

Mourinho was give two objectives when he joined Madrid: break Barcelona's domestic hegemony and return Madrid to the heights of European football with a first Champions League trophy since 2001.

The United States Air Force planned a key test Tuesday of an experimental aircraft designed to fly at six times the speed of sound, which is about 3,600 mph (6,000 kph).

The unmanned X-51 WaveRider was expected to reach Mach 6 after being dropped by a B-52 bomber and taking flight off the Southern California coast near Point Mugu. Engineers hoped the X-51 would sustain its top speed for five minutes, twice as long as it's gone before, NBC reported.

NASA's newest rover Curiosity has yet to make its first move on Mars, but scientists said Tuesday they are already mapping out possible driving routes to a Martian mountain.

Since landing in Gale Crater near the equator last week, the nuclear-powered rover has been busy getting a head-to-wheel health checkup while parked. It touched down about 5 miles (8 kilometers) from Mount Sharp where signatures of past water have been spotted at the base.

Chinese state media say Argentine football great Diego Maradona wants to coach in China, where clubs are spending big bucks to lure international names.

The 51-year-old Maradona arrived in Beijing on Monday for an eight-day charity tour and the China Daily quoted him as saying "I wish to contribute to the development of China's soccer youth."

The London Olympics may be over, but it's not too late to take home a national flag from the athletes' parade or a used javelin.

Officials have put almost 2,000 Olympic relics up for auction, along with a replica of the "Isle of Wonder" book that Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling read from during the July 27 opening ceremony.

Guatemalans who had been subjected to sexually transmitted diseases by U.S. researchers in the 1940s have appealed a judge's dismissal of their lawsuit.

U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton dismissed the suit two months ago. He ruled that federal law bars claims against the U.S. based on injuries suffered abroad. The victims filed an appeal Monday with the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington.

Drugmakers AstraZeneca PLC and Pfizer Inc. have reached a deal giving Pfizer future rights to sell a nonprescription version of AstraZeneca's blockbuster heartburn drug, Nexium, as early as 2014.

The deal, announced late Monday, could help Pfizer expand its consumer-health business as it continues a restructuring meant to strengthen its core drug business and divest its infant-formula and animal-health businesses. The companies said they're exploring the idea of a partnership to convert other AstraZeneca prescription drugs to over-the-counter medicines.

A U.N.-run radio station in Congo says four members from the country's Olympic delegation have gone missing in London.

The station reported Monday that judo athlete Cedric Mandembo disappeared after the closing ceremony, and has not been reachable on his mobile phone. He lost his match after 49 seconds.

A Gaza official says Egypt is opening its border crossing with the Hamas-ruled coastal territory for three days ahead of a major Muslim holiday this weekend.

Maher Abu Sabha of the Gaza border authority says the crossing will open to traffic in both directions later on Tuesday.

A deadly shootout erupted Monday near the Texas A&M University campus when a man being brought an eviction notice opened fire on a Texas law enforcement officer, leaving three people dead, including the officer and the gunman.

A 65-year-old man also died, while three other law enforcement officers and a 55-year-old woman were wounded, in the shootings at an off-campus home not far from the university's football stadium, College Station Assistant Police Chief Scott McCollum said.