Accustomed to wearing Vera Wang gowns on red carpets, singing at the Grammys or autographing her weight-loss memoir, Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson will take on a new role under a very different spotlight — in Chicago's drab criminal courts building at the trial of the man charged with murdering her mother, brother and 7-year-old nephew.

Obesity during pregnancy may increase chances for having a child with autism, provocative new research suggests.

It's among the first studies linking the two, and though it doesn't prove obesity causes autism, the authors say their results raise public health concerns because of the high level of obesity in this country.

Syria said Sunday it will not withdraw its forces from protest hubs without "written guarantees" that the opposition will also lay down its arms, a demand swiftly rejected by rebels, who said they will not give guarantees to a regime they do not recognize.

"To say that Syria will pull back its forces from towns on April 10 is inaccurate, with (U.N.-Arab League envoy) Kofi Annan having not yet presented written guarantees on the acceptance by armed terrorist groups of a halt to all violence," the Syrian foreign minister said in a statement.

Tomi Marjuaho repaired mobile phones for 10 years in the town of Salo in southern Finland, where Nokia, the world's top cell phone-maker, set up its wireless operations in the 1980s.

He took a severance package in 2010, as Nokia started hitting hard times, and has not found work since.

Before Tiger Woods thinks about making a weekend move at the Masters, he'll have to get his long game, his putter and, yes, even his temper back in check.

Woods had an early tee time Saturday at Augusta National, trying to make up an eight-shot deficit on leaders Fred Couples and Jason Dufner after a second round filled with bad shot-making and missed putts that had him tossing and kicking his clubs by the end.

Thousands of Christians gathered near Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulcher for Easter Saturday and marched in processions brimming with tradition, taking turns to pray in the site where they believe Jesus was slain and buried.

Easter Saturday is a day of reflection and waiting for many Christians, who believe Jesus was crucified on Friday and rose from the dead on Sunday.

Turkmenistan's authoritarian leader has proven he doesn't only win elections easily, coming first in a car race he wasn't even supposed to take part in.

President Gurbanguli Berdymukhamedov drove to the racing track in a Bugatti sports car Saturday morning ostensibly to give his blessing to the former Soviet Central Asian nation's maiden automotive competition.

The Malawi government confirmed the death of President Bingu wa Mutharika on Saturday, two days after the leader of the impoverished southern African country died.

A brief statement from the Cabinet confirmed what doctors had reported on condition of anonymity earlier, that Mutharika died Thursday following a heart attack. The Cabinet declared 10 days of mourning.

Authorities have indicted five people in central China for involvement in illegal organ trading after a teenager sold one of his kidneys to buy an iPhone and an iPad.

The case has prompted an outpouring of concern that not enough is being done to guard against the negative impact of increasing consumerism in Chinese society, particularly among young people who have grown up with more creature comforts than the generations before them.

A Virgin Atlantic employee has resigned following allegations she routinely fed information about the airline's celebrity clientele — from Madonna to Sienna Miller — to a paparazzi agency.

The employee was a junior member of the team that looks after high-profile clients, Virgin said Friday. She quit Thursday before reports published in the Guardian and the Press Gazette alleged that she had passed the booking information of more than 60 celebrities on to the Big Pictures photo agency.