ATHENS, Greece - Greece's governing coalition failed to end a political crisis triggered by the closure of state broadcaster ERT, but said talks would continue Thursday to try to avoid a snap election that could delay vital economic reforms and disrupt the country's bailout program.

Conservative Prime Minister Antonis Samaras held his second meeting in three days Wednesday with his coalition partners — the Socialist Pasok and Democratic Left parties — who oppose his decision to switch off ERT's signal and fire its 2,700 employees.

NEW YORK, N.Y. - The price of oil fell slightly Wednesday as the U.S. Federal Reserve indicated it's closer to easing up on economy boosting measures that have been a boon for commodities.

Oil swung in a range of about $1 after the Fed delivered a mixed message: the central bank said it would continue buying bonds at a pace of $85 billion a month, which helps keep interest rates at low levels.

WASHINGTON - Chairman Ben Bernanke ended weeks of speculation Wednesday by saying the Federal Reserve will likely slow its bond-buying program later this year and end it next year if the economy continues to improve.

The Fed's bond purchases have helped keep long-term interest rates at record lows. A pullback in the Fed's purchases would likely lead to higher rates on mortgages and other consumer and business loans.

SAN DIEGO - U.S. authorities unsealed an indictment Wednesday charging 18 people with involvement in an illegal gambling ring they say spanned from California to Peru and used violence against customers with outstanding debts.

The defendants operated an illegal Internet and telephone sports betting business involving millions of dollars, the U.S. attorney's office in San Diego said in its announcement of the arrests.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Woody Harrelson is putting his paper where his passions are.

The 51-year-old actor is the co-founder of Prairie Pulp & Paper Inc., which launched its brand of environmentally friendly paper Wednesday.

TORONTO - Hudson's Bay Co. says the only way its business will continue to thrive is for it to move away from being seen as just a department store.

"We believe we need to be in more than the business of selling commodity items," chief executive Richard Baker said at the company's annual general meeting Wednesday.

NEW YORK, N.Y. - Los Angeles' school system, the second largest in the United States, is ordering iPads for all its students, handing Apple a major success in its quest to make the tablet computer a replacement for textbooks.

The Los Angeles Board of Education on Tuesday approved the purchase of $30 million worth of iPads as the first part of a multi-year commitment. It found that the iPad was the least expensive option that met its specifications.

DALLAS - A government analyst says the merger of American Airlines and US Airways would reduce competition on more than 1,600 routes travelled by more than 53 million passengers.

A researcher for the Government Accountability Office said Wednesday that the loss of competition would be greater than occurred in the 2010 merger of United and Continental airlines.

TORONTO - The Toronto stock market closed deep in the red Wednesday as the U.S. Federal Reserve said it doesn't plan on cutting back on a key stimulus program right now.

The S&P/TSX composite index declined 99.17 points to 12,268.29 with traders reacting negatively as the Fed also offered a slightly more optimistic outlook for the U.S. economy and job market.

LONDON - British bankers could soon be facing harsher penalties for behaving badly.

After a year which has seen major scandals involving rate-rigging, money-laundering and rogue-trading rock the UK's financial industry, an influential parliamentary committee recommended Wednesday that senior bankers should be held more accountable for their bank's actions. One measure, it said, should be a new criminal offence of "reckless misconduct" — one that could carry a prison sentence.

TORONTO - The Canadian dollar closed sharply lower Wednesday after the U.S. Federal Reserve said that it would maintain the pace of a key stimulus program.

The central bank said after its two-day interest rate meeting that it will continue to purchase US$85 billion in bonds every month to keep long-term interest rates at record lows.

NEW YORK, N.Y. - Stocks are closing sharply lower and bond yields are rising after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said the central bank could slow its massive bond purchases this year.

The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 206 points, or 1.4 per cent, to 15,112. It was the Dow's seventh straight move of 100 points or more.

MONTREAL - Telecom giant VimpelCom has withdrawn its bid to acquire full ownership of Canada's Wind Mobile, leaving the founder of the small wireless company the option of buying it back.

Wind Mobile CEO and chairman Anthony Lacavera said Wednesday that he retains his 35 per cent ownership stake in the company and will go back to the capital markets to raise money to buy the rest of the company.

WASHINGTON - The Justice Department violated its own rules when it secretly seized records for thousands of phone calls to and from journalists for The Associated Press as part of a leak investigation, the head of the company said Wednesday.

AP President and CEO Gary Pruitt told a luncheon gathering of journalists and others that the seizure was not only excessively broad, but that the department failed to notify AP in advance of the subpoena, as normally required. Department rules say a delay in notification is justified only if needed to protect the integrity of its investigation. Pruitt said that justification was unfathomable in this case.

TORONTO - An anticipated financial recovery south of the border is likely to help economic growth in Canada, economists said Wednesday, although the U.S. is likely to outpace its neighbour for the first time in years.

RBC Economics raised its estimate for Canada's 2013 economic growth to 1.9 per cent, from 1.8 per cent in March, citing an improving picture on trade and the strength of corporate balance sheets.

BURLINGTON, Ont. - Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz says Canadian consumers did their part for the economy by borrowing the country through the worst recession since the Great Depression and now it is the turn of businesses to start spending.

In his first major speech since taking over from former governor Mark Carney earlier this month, Poloz preached the virtues of "stability and patience," noting the central bank's long-standing target of low, stable inflation remains "sacrosanct."

WASHINGTON - White House officials will be at the Canadian embassy on Thursday to discuss a joint Canada-U.S. initiative feared to be on life support in recent months — the Regulatory Co-operation Council, aimed at harmonizing trade regulations to ease cross-border trade between the world's two biggest trading partners.

Both Canadian and American stakeholders and business representatives, many of whom will be in attendance at 501 Pennsylvania Avenue, have been complaining for months about the slow pace of progress on behalf of American officials, and have questioned the U.S. commitment to the two-year-old initiative.

WASHINGTON - Homeowners trying to avoid foreclosure must wait too long for their loan modification applications to be reviewed by some of the nation's top mortgage servicers, according to a report released Wednesday. Such delays can plunge borrowers deeper in debt.

Joseph A. Smith Jr., the independent monitor of last year's national mortgage settlement, said that while the banks are doing a better job complying with new mortgage servicing rules, more needs to be done.

OTTAWA - Homelessness in Canada affects about 200,000 people every year and comes with a $7 billion price tag, the first-ever national report on the issue has found.

The results paint a picture of a disaster in communities across the country, said Tim Richter, one of the report's authors and the president of the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness.

NEW ORLEANS - Justice Department prosecutors secured new indictments Wednesday against a former BP engineer and a former BP executive charged separately with obstructing probes of the company's 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

The new indictment of former BP executive David Rainey adds language alleging that he knew of the pending congressional investigation he is charged with obstructing. A federal judge had dismissed the obstruction of Congress charge from Rainey's original indictment, in part because it didn't contain that allegation.

TORONTO - Senior managers agreed that intervening every time a teen inmate tied a ligature around her neck was unnecessary because she was not always in immediate danger, an inquest into her death heard Wednesday.

Michelle Bridgen, a middle manager at the Grand Valley Institution in Kitchener, Ont., said it was the warden and deputy warden who decided essentially that guards should intervene only if Ashley Smith risked imminent death.

OTTAWA - The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) is about to launch a 48-hour emergency appeal for Syria.

The goal is to help the four million children affected by the two-year-old civil war that the UN says has killed 93,000 people.

MONTREAL - After months of digging through corruption and sleaze, Quebec's Charbonneau commission is taking a break for the summer.

Public testimony is done until after Labour Day although the inquiry will continue to conduct investigations and prepare for the fall sitting.

HALIFAX - Mere hours after the Nova Scotia legislature was recalled to deal with his possible expulsion, an Independent member who had pleaded guilty to fraud and breach of trust in the province's spending scandal changed his mind and abruptly resigned Wednesday.

Trevor Zinck had said he would fight for his job shortly after hearing that the house had been reconvened by Speaker Gordie Gosse for noon on Thursday.

The Wayne Gretzky of Wayne Gretzky collectors has netted big bucks for old pucks after an auction of some of his choicest memorabilia closed Wednesday.

Shawn Chaulk, a construction contractor from Fort McMurray, Alta., received more than $500,000 for a collection of jerseys, skates, helmets, gloves and pucks used in action by the Great One.

OTTAWA - For a few minutes last week, all the hope, conflict and spin of this Conservative spring stood in a circle of camera lights and microphones in the foyer of the House of Commons.

As Calgary MP Michelle Rempel gamely handled questions from reporters about allegations of unethical Conservative behaviour, she was clutching a glossy "Caucus Briefing Package" — upbeat talking points designed to help Tory backbenchers put a positive spin on their disastrous spring sitting.

TORONTO - A long-awaited report on a large and possibly still ongoing outbreak of MERS coronavirus in Saudi Arabia reveals the virus spreads easily within hospitals, at one point passing in a person-to-person chain that encompassed at least five generations of spread.

The study, co-written by Toronto SARS expert Dr. Allison McGeer, also hints there may have been a superspreader in this outbreak, with one person infecting at least seven others.

KAMLOOPS, B.C. - Mounties in Kamloops, B.C., are investigating the alleged sexual assault of a teenager at a bush party attended by as many as 1,000 high school graduates.

Police say the 17-year-old girl became separated from her friends, was approached by a male she didn't know and was taken into a wooded area where she was sexually assaulted on Tuesday night.

OTTAWA - The last legislative fight of the spring session in the Commons appears to have been won by the New Democrats.

The decision by the House to adjourn for the summer a few days early nixed Conservative efforts to amend a private member's bill to strip Canadian citizenship from dual nationals convicted of terrorist acts.

WINNIPEG - It looks like a significant piece of Canadian Metis history will soon be returned to public view after disappearing more than 20 years ago.

But one of the country's top Metis leaders is not excited that the bell of Batoche may finally be brought back to its home in Saskatchewan.

HURON EAST, Ont. - An investigation into missing underwear that spanned a dozen years has wrapped up with an arrest in southwestern Ontario.

Police say a thief partial to women's undergarments is believed responsible for a string of burglaries that occurred in Morris-Turnberry and Huron East.

MONTREAL - Telecom giant VimpelCom has withdrawn its bid to acquire full ownership of Canada's Wind Mobile, leaving the founder of the small wireless company the option of buying it back.

Wind Mobile CEO and chairman Anthony Lacavera said Wednesday that he retains his 35 per cent ownership stake in the company and will go back to the capital markets to raise money to buy the rest of the company.

VANCOUVER - A great-grandmother who has waited 56 years to get her high school diploma says she can finally cross that dream off her bucket list after her grad ceremony today in Agassiz (aga-SEE), B.C.

Maureen Baker says she has attended several high school reunions with her classmates from the 1950s but felt like an outsider because she never finished school.

CALGARY - Billions of dollars could be saved in Canada's health-care system with the introduction of preventative programs that focus on those individuals in poor health, says a study by the School of Public Policy at the University of Calgary.

"Canadian medicare with its focus on illness treatment has made illness and disease a growth industry," lead author Herb Emery told reporters Wednesday.

OTTAWA - Bob Rae, a fixture on Canada's political scene for more than three decades, is giving up his seat in the House of Commons in order to devote himself to work on behalf of First Nations in northern Ontario.

Rae said he is leaving politics so he can focus on his new role as chief negotiator for First Nations in talks with the province about development of the Ring of Fire mining development in northern Ontario.

TORONTO - An anticipated financial recovery south of the border is likely to help economic growth in Canada, economists said Wednesday, although the U.S. is likely to outpace its neighbour for the first time in years.

RBC Economics raised its estimate for Canada's 2013 economic growth to 1.9 per cent, from 1.8 per cent in March, citing an improving picture on trade and the strength of corporate balance sheets.

BURLINGTON, Ont. - Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz says Canadian consumers did their part for the economy by borrowing the country through the worst recession since the Great Depression and now it is the turn of businesses to start spending.

In his first major speech since taking over from former governor Mark Carney earlier this month, Poloz preached the virtues of "stability and patience," noting the central bank's long-standing target of low, stable inflation remains "sacrosanct."

TORONTO - Half of Canada's First Nations children are living in poverty, triple the national average, according to a new analysis of census statistics that pegs the cost of easing the problem at $580-million a year.

The study by the left-leaning Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives being released Wednesday also paints a grim picture of Metis, Inuit, and non-status Indian children, as well as of children of immigrants and visible minorities.

WASHINGTON - White House officials will be at the Canadian embassy on Thursday to discuss a joint Canada-U.S. initiative feared to be on life support in recent months — the Regulatory Co-operation Council, aimed at harmonizing trade regulations to ease cross-border trade between the world's two biggest trading partners.

Both Canadian and American stakeholders and business representatives, many of whom will be in attendance at 501 Pennsylvania Avenue, have been complaining for months about the slow pace of progress on behalf of American officials, and have questioned the U.S. commitment to the two-year-old initiative.

OTTAWA - Homelessness in Canada affects about 200,000 people every year and comes with a $7 billion price tag, the first-ever national report on the issue has found.

The results paint a picture of a disaster in communities across the country, said Tim Richter, one of the report's authors and the president of the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness.

PADERBORN, Germany - Leonie Maier scored the lone goal of the game to lead Germany's women's soccer team to a 1-0 win over Canada on Wednesday.

Maier launched a shot from the right side in the 53rd minute to beat Canadian 'keeper Erin McLeod.

Forward Danny Briere is preparing to become an unrestricted free agent as part of the Philadelphia Flyers' off-season shakeup of their high-priced roster.

A person familiar with discussions confirmed on Wednesday that Briere has been informed by the Flyers that they intend to buy out the final two years of his contract. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the Flyers have not announced their decision.

MONTREAL - Quebec has found a place to play soccer on the international stage, but it is not in a World Cup or any other event with national teams.

A group of 18 players patched together and coached by former Montreal Impact player Patrick Leduc will begin play Sunday in the International Tournament of Peoples and Cultures in Marseille, France.

The Wayne Gretzky of Wayne Gretzky collectors has netted big bucks for old pucks after an auction of some of his choicest memorabilia closed Wednesday.

Shawn Chaulk, a construction contractor from Fort McMurray, Alta., received more than $500,000 for a collection of jerseys, skates, helmets, gloves and pucks used in action by the Great One.

In little more than a month, Tiger Woods went from being tough to beat to having a tough time even playing.

Woods said Wednesday that soreness in his left elbow would keep him from defending his title next week in the AT&T National at Congressional, and that he would not compete again until the British Open next month at Muirfield.

Serena Williams says she's reaching out to the family of the victim in the Steubenville rape case after the tennis star was quoted in a Rolling Stone article saying "she shouldn't have put herself in that position."

"I am currently reaching out to the girl's family to let her know that I am deeply sorry for what was written in the Rolling Stone article," Williams said in a statement released through her agent Wednesday. "What was written — what I supposedly said — is insensitive and hurtful, and I by no means would say or insinuate that she was at all to blame."

NORTH ATTLEBOROUGH, Mass. - State police returned to the home of New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez on Wednesday, two days after a body was found about a mile away.

Two troopers knocked on the door of Hernandez's sprawling house in an upscale subdivision Wednesday morning, but no one answered. The night before, police spent hours there as another group of officers searched an industrial park where the body was found Monday. No more details about the body have been released.

DETROIT - The Detroit Red Wings and city officials on Wednesday announced a $650 million plan for a new arena development for the NHL team in Detroit's downtown entertainment and sports district.

Plans for the 18,000-seat arena were announced Wednesday at a meeting of economic development officials to approve the deal. Red Wings owner Mike Ilitch has long said he wanted a replacement for the 32-year-old Joe Louis Arena.

FORTALEZA, Brazil - The historic wave of protests that has swept across Brazil in recent days has gained some important allies — the players of the Brazilian national football team.

Brazil is hosting the Confederations Cup, a tournament of continental champions which serves as a warm-up for next year's World Cup, but the Brazilian players' focus has turned to the demonstrations which have taken over a country fighting for improvements in basic services such as public transportation, schools and hospitals.

CALGARY - Max Gartner is leaving Alpine Canada.

The president and CEO of Canada's national ski organization says he plans to step down once a successor can be found.

TORONTO - Dwane Casey will remain as the Toronto Raptors head coach, holding onto his job amid a major front office overhaul.

There had been some question regarding Casey's future in Toronto following the hiring of new GM Masai Ujiri. But Ujiri said Wednesday that Casey will be back with the Raptors for the upcoming season.

It looks like Georges St-Pierre will defend his UFC welterweight title on Nov. 16 in Las Vegas against No. 1 contender Johny (Bigg Rigg) Hendricks.

The UFC had no official comment on the fight and nothing has been signed yet. But a source confirmed the news, saying: "Seriously it looks like it." UFC president Dana White has said that November was the likely time.

TORONTO - Pat Watkins is back with the Toronto Argonauts.

The all-star cornerback rejoined the defending Grey Cup champions Wednesday and was with his teammates for the first time since the start of training camp.

CALGARY - Jonathan Hefney holds no grudges against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

The veteran defensive back is now with the Calgary Stampeders after being released by the Bombers following four seasons with the CFL club.

LONDON - The doping case involving Jamaican sprint star Veronica Campbell-Brown appears to involve a "lesser" offence of unintentional use of a banned substance, the sport's world governing body said Wednesday.

The reigning 200-meter world champion and three-time Olympic gold medallist was suspended by Jamaica's national federation on Tuesday pending an investigation into a positive drug test.

BOSTON - The Chicago Blackhawks say Marian Hossa will be back in the lineup for Game 4 of the Stanley Cup final and that the line of Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Bryan Bickell will likely be reunited.

Hossa was a surprise scratch Monday, sidelined with an upper body injury.

REGINA - It didn't take Daryl Stephenson long to land with another CFL team.

The former Hec Crighton Trophy-winning running back signed Wednesday with the Saskatchewan Roughriders after being released earlier this week by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

EASTBOURNE, England - It wasn't quite the Wimbledon warmup Canadian Milos Raonic was hoping for.

The top seed from Thornhill, Ont., dropped his second-round match Wednesday at the Eastbourne grass-court tournament, falling 6-2, 7-6 (7) decision to Croatian Ivan Dodig.

BOSTON - It's just a game, but maybe this Stanley Cup final can heal as well as entertain.

The Boston Bruins know nothing can take away the pain of the Boston Marathon bombings that ravaged their city. Still they know that stringing together wins in the NHL post-season is bringing a smile to their sports-crazy home town.

BOSTON - Jonny Gomes hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning to lift the Boston Red Sox to a 3-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday night, completing a doubleheader sweep.

Daniel Nava was aboard on a leadoff walk when Gomes followed with a towering shot off Joel Peralta (1-3) that cleared the Green Monster and bounced off the sign just to the right of the foul pole.