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The Japanese government has launched a campaign aimed at selling bonds to help fund reconstruction of areas hit by last year's earthquake and tsunami. It recruited the popular girl band AKB48, known for hits like "Baby Baby Bay," to help promote the bonds.

In Spain, retail sales for April plunged to a seasonally adjusted 9.8 percent from a year ago. It's the fastest decline on record. The drop in sales is being blamed on Spain's severe austerity program.

Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has left Myanmar for the first time in more than two decades. Her first trip out of the country formerly known as Burma is on a short hop to Thailand to meet with refugees and attend the World Economic Forum on East Asia.

The U.S. and several governments worldwide have expelled Syrian diplomats in a coordinated protest against last weekend's massacre of more than 100 civilians in the village of Houla. The diplomatic fallout has spread to California, where Syrian Consul General Hazem Chehabi announced his resignation from the post. For more on his decision, Renee Montagne talks to Chehabi.

Mitt Romney won the GOP presidential primary in Texas Tuesday night. By some counts, that gives him the last delegates he needed to formally secure the Republican nomination. He celebrated in Las Vegas with a campaign event and a fundraiser. But his victory was overshadowed by campaign surrogate Donald Trump who has a gift for finding the spotlight.

The people of Ireland vote Thursday on a European treaty that imposes strict budgetary rules on eurozone nations. It's triggered a heated debate in Ireland about whether austerity measures are working. The Irish government says rejecting the treaty would cut Ireland off from future EU bailout funds, and isolate the nation.

The Stanley Cup Finals start Wednesday night with the New Jersey Devils facing off against the Los Angeles Kings. The Kings have only made it to the finals once before in their 45-year history. And that has hockey fans in the city relishing the moment.

U.S. soldiers are trying to deal a crippling blow to the Taliban in the eastern Afghan province of Ghazni. It's one of the last major Taliban strongholds, but the American forces are trying to do the job on a short timetable.

Dorothy Flood, now 75, has vivid memories of not being allowed in a train dining car as a young black girl. Now, an organization that grants wishes to seniors has sent Flood on an all-expenses paid trip through the Rocky Mountains, in a gourmet dining car.

Open-water swimmer Spyros Gianniotis is one of Greece's best hopes for a medal in London. He's on a team of Greek Olympians whose training budget was slashed by austerity measures and the economic crisis. But Gianniotis says the tough times have increased his drive to win.