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TOKYO (AP) — U.S. officials say they've reached a breakthrough with Japan on a stalled regional trade pact. U.S. and Japanese officials have emerged after two days of around-the-clock negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership during President Barack Obama's visit to Tokyo. U.S. officials say the two sides have narrowed differences on market access issues related to agriculture and automobiles, two key sectors that have deadlocked negotiations. The Japanese side is less upbeat, citing progress but no basic agreement.
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — President Barack Obama has arrived in Seoul as he continues his four-country Asia trip. Obama has meetings scheduled with South Korean President Park Geun-hye (goon-hay) and plans to lay a wreath at a war memorial. But Obama visits at a time that the country is in mourning following the ferry disaster that's left more than 300 people dead or missing, most of them high school students.
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — The underwater search in a section of the Indian Ocean for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 is likely to widen. Authorities say a robotic submarine has scanned most of a 120-square-mile area and it's failed to yield a single clue.
UNDATED (AP) — More than a half dozen forest fires are burning in New Jersey. One blaze east of the Garden State Parkway in a central coastal area forced the evacuation of more than 600 homes Thursday, but police in Berkeley Township say the fire is completely contained and residents have been allowed back into their homes. Another fire in the area has engulfed about a quarter of a square mile and officials say it's 80 percent contained.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens thinks the federal government should legalize marijuana. The 94-year-old retired justice tells NPR that public opinion has changed on the issue. Stevens also says that there isn't much distinction between marijuana and alcoholic beverages. He says that the prohibition against alcohol in the early 20th century is generally thought not to have been worth the cost and that will be how marijuana is viewed in the future.
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