TOKYO – McDonald’s is adding a vegetarian bagel sandwich to its menu in Japan and signing on a figure-skating star to promote its healthier message as the U.S. fast-food chain continues its turnaround after years of losses. Eikoh Harada, the new chief executive, chairman and president of McDonald’s Holdings Co. …

NEW YORK – Walter Cronkite (search) said the replacement of his successor Dan Rather (search) as anchor of the “CBS Evening News” was long overdue. “Face the Nation” host Bob Schieffer (search) will be sitting in the anchor chair after Rather’s last night on Wednesday until the network decides on …

CLEVELAND – A Cuyahoga County grand jury has indicted rhythm & blues artist Gerald Levert (search) on assault charges after a city prosecutor said there wasn’t evidence to sustain the charges following a confrontation with police during a traffic stop. Prosecutor Anthony Jordan said earlier this month that there was …

VATICAN CITY – Pope John Paul II (search) skipped his traditional appearance at his window overlooking St. Peter’s Square the day after Easter, following a Holy Week (search) during which he was unable to speak. An appearance Monday — a national holiday in Italy — had not been confirmed because …

WASHINGTON – A U.S. diplomat who has worked with reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan is President Bush’s choice to be the new American ambassador to Iraq, an administration official said Friday. Zalmay Khalilzad (search), an Afghan-American, will be nominated to succeed John Negroponte (search) in the post in Baghdad, this source …

EWA BEACH, Hawaii – Tsunami experts could not understand why Monday’s forceful earthquake off Indonesia (search) failed to produce massive waves similar to those generated by the Dec. 26 quake that killed at least 175,000 people in the same region. A magnitude 8.7 quake shook Indonesia’s west coast, killing hundreds …

NEW YORK – Blockbuster Inc. (BBI), the top U.S. movie renter, has agreed to pay $630,000 to settle claims from 47 states that said its “No Late Fees” rental policy deceived customers, the Pennsylvania attorney general’s office (search) said Tuesday. Under the agreement, Blockbuster will also be required to make …

BOSTON – Gov. Mitt Romney (search) traded off-color barbs with fellow politicians at a roast Sunday, even throwing his Mormon heritage into a one-liner about gay marriage (search), which he opposes. “I have to admit that as a Mormon, I believe that marriage should be between a man and a …

WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court (search) said Monday it will consider whether states may tax motor fuel that is sold on Indian reservations. Justices will review a case that sided with the Prairie Band Potawatomi (search) tribe in Kansas. At issue is whether states may tax non-Indian companies off-site that …

WARSAW, Poland – In his new book, Pope John Paul II (search) for the first time described publicly the moments after he was gravely wounded in 1981, saying he was fearful and in pain, but had “a strange feeling of confidence” that he would live. The book, a copy of …