International Top Stories from Associated Press (AP)

SAN FRANCISCO , With three mighty swings, Pablo Sandoval put the San Francisco Giants ahead in this World Series and put himself in a class with Mr. October. Sandoval hit three home runs and joined Reggie Jackson, Babe Ruth and Albert Pujols as the only sluggers to do it in the Series, and the Giants jolted Justin Verlander the Detroit Tigers 8-3 on Wednesday night in Game 1.

BEIJING (AP) , China has decided to approve new nuclear power plants as part of plans to reduce reliance on oil and coal, ending the moratorium it imposed to review safety in the wake of Japan's Fukushima disaster last year.

The election is all about the economy this year, but neither presidential candidate has talked much about two major problems that could make or break the economic recovery in the next presidential term: housing and its broken finance system, and the European debt crisis.

With his statement Tuesday that pregnancy from rape is God's will, Senate candidate Richard Mourdock became the latest Republican to stumble into trouble attempting to articulate a key pro-life argument against abortion , that life begins at conception , but doing so in a way that appears insensitive to women.

RICHMOND , Attorneys for the state of Maryland argued Wednesday in federal court that a law requiring residents to provide a "good and substantial reason" for seeking handgun permits is a reasonable restriction that promotes safety without violating the Second Amendment.

U.S. Rep. James P. Moran's son Patrick resigned from his father's campaign after being caught on camera earlier this month appearing to give advice on how to commit voter fraud to a conservative video journalist. Project Veritas, the group headed by conservative activist James O'Keefe, circulated the video Wednesday.

A record-breaking 915,000 presidential campaign ads have aired on broadcast and cable TV from late April through Sunday , a 45 percent increase compared with the 2008 election. "We've already surpassed...

KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) , Jamaicans stocked up on supplies and reinforced roofs on Tuesday ahead of the arrival of Tropical Storm Sandy, which is expected to hit the Caribbean island of posh resorts and sprawling shantytowns as a hurricane with lashing rain and wind.

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) , A nursing home resident upset about being ill with cancer confessed to setting a fire that killed 12 fellow patients, most of them bedridden and too frail to escape, authorities in Taiwan said.

MEXICO CITY (AP) , The U.S. Geological Survey says a magnitude-6.6 earthquake has struck the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. There are no immediate reports of damage. The quake occurred in the Guanacaste region of the Central American nation, 38 miles from the town of Liberia.

Stock markets around the world suffered through one of the worst days of trading in months Tuesday, as a number of U.S. companies reported weak earnings because of a slowdown in the global economy and as concerns mounted over Spain's role in the European financial crisis.

ANALYSIS: In the eyes of many of his strongest supporters, Mitt Romney actually won Monday night in Boca Raton by losing his foreign-policy debate with President Obama. Many Republicans and conservatives were grinding their teeth as they watched Mr. Romney bypass numerous opportunities in Florida to hit Mr.

Three Virginia congressmen have asked U.S. Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. to launch a multistate investigation into "voter registration irregularities" after a Pennsylvania man was charged with 13 counts of voter registration fraud in Harrisonburg last week.

UNITED NATIONS (AP) , Supersonic skydiver Felix Baumgartner wants to teach U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon how to skydive. Baumgartner made the offer Tuesday during a photo opportunity where the U.N. chief spoke admiringly of Baumgartner's death-defying leap last week from a balloon 24 miles (39 kilometers) above the Earth, breaking the sound barrier and setting a world record.

Labor unions are sitting on at least $122 million in cash that can be spent on politics , more than corporate political action committees have on hand , and have already sent millions to Democratic super PACs that are purchasing ad buys daily.