DOWNEY, Calif. – With the end of another school year approaching, college sophomore Moshe Kai Cavalin is cramming for final exams in classes such as advanced mathematics, foreign languages and music. But Cavalin is only 10 years old. And at 4-foot-7, his shoes don’t quite touch the floor as he …

This is a rush transcript from “America’s Election HQ,” May 14, 2008. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. HILLARY CLINTON, D-N.Y., PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This is a numbers calculation. Nobody has the numbers yet. So, are we in the last …

Teenage revelers trashed a Spanish mansion worth $8.6 million — after the student host posted an open invite on the online social networking site Facebook. Over 400 teens crashed Jodie Hudson’s 16th birthday bash in Marbella, Spain, then stole $11,800 worth of jewelry, swiped designer clothes and threw a TV …

NEWARK, N.J. – Appeals courts in New Jersey and Texas have scrapped verdicts against drugmaker Merck stemming from some of the earliest trials involving its once popular painkiller Vioxx. A Texas court scrapped a $26 million verdict against the drugmaker stemming from the first trial. The court found no evidence …

An afternoon that was supposed to be spent running errands for his disabled wife turned into an ordeal involving an overnight stay in jail for a 54-year-old British man. Keith Hirst had just come out of the post office in Swinton, England, last month when a police officer accused him …

CATLETTSBURG, Ky. – A man accused of wrapping his head in duct tape and robbing an eastern Kentucky liquor store has been sentenced to 10 years in prison. Deputy circuit clerk Cathy Alley says Judge David Hagerman sentenced 25-year-old Kasey G. Kazee Friday in Boyd Circuit Court. Kazee pleaded guilty …

SAN FRANCISCO – Former Bay Area radio talk show host Bernie Ward admits he distributed child pornography and could face at least five years in federal prison following a plea deal. Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker agreed Thursday to hold off on accepting Ward’s plea to one count of …

MOSCOW – Dmitry Medvedev was inaugurated as Russia’s president on Wednesday, pledging to bolster the country’s economic development and civil rights, in what may signal a departure from his predecessor’s heavy-handed tactics. Medvedev took the oath of office in the Kremlin’s golden-hued Andreyevsky Hall, bringing to an end Vladimir Putin’s …

MEXICO CITY – Mexico’s agriculture secretary says ethanol production is bankrupting cattle and poultry farmers and causing food prices to hit record highs around the world. Agriculture Secretary Alberto Cardenas says countries should change their policies and reduce production of grains for the alternative fuel. Speaking to cattle farmers Wednesday, …

LAKELAND, Fla. – A Lakeland man has been arrested after authorities say he had a fake rocket launcher and a fake rocket projectile among his weapons arsenal. The Polk County Sheriff’s Office says Hiram Angus Melvin was charged Wednesday with possession of a hoax weapon of mass destruction, two other …