A solar-powered airplane that developers hope eventually to pilot around the world landed safely in Phoenix on the first leg of an attempt to fly across the United States using only the sun's energy, project organizers said.

The plane, dubbed the Solar Impulse, took 18 hours and 18 minutes to reach Phoenix on the slow-speed flight, completing the first of five legs with planned stops in Dallas, St. Louis and Washington on the way to a final stop in New York.

The spindly-looking plane barely hummed as it took off Friday morning from Moffett Field, a joint civil-military airport near San Francisco.

It landed in predawn darkness at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix, according to a statement on the Solar Impulse's website.

The flight crew plans pauses at each stop to wait for favorable weather. It hopes to reach John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York in about two months.

Swiss pilots and co-founders of the project, Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg, will take turns flying the plane, built with a single-seat cockpit. Piccard was at the controls for the first flight to Arizona.

The lightweight carbon fiber Solar Impulse has a wingspan of a jumbo jet and the weight of a small car and from a distance resembles a giant floating insect.

The plane was designed for flights of up to 24 hours at a time and is a test model for a more advanced aircraft the team plans to build to circumnavigate the globe in 2015. It made its first intercontinental flight, from Spain to Morocco, last June.

The aircraft is propelled by energy collected from 12,000 solar cells built into the wings that simultaneously recharge four large batteries with a storage capacity equivalent to a Tesla electric car that allow it to fly after dark.

The lightweight design and wingspan allow the plane to conserve energy, but make it vulnerable. It cannot fly in strong wind, fog, rain or clouds.

The plane can climb to 28,000 feet and flies at an average of 43 miles per hour (69 km per hour).

The project began in 2003 with a 10-year budget of 90 million euros ($112 million) and has involved engineers from Swiss escalator maker Schindler and research aid from Belgian chemicals group Solvay.

(Reporting by David Bailey, Laila Kearney and Braden Reddall; Editing by Doina Chiacu)

Several relatives of Grimilda Figueroa, who left Ariel Castro years ago and died after a long illness last year, painted a nightmarish portrait of Castro's family life as authorities made public horrifying details of the abuse endured by the imprisoned women.

In interviews with The Associated Press on Thursday, the relatives described Castro as a "monster" who abused his wife and locked his family inside their own home. Their views were at odds with those of some of Castro's family and a neighbor, who knew the former school bus driver only as a happy and respectful man.

Figueroa's relatives said Castro savagely beat her, pushing her down a flight of stairs, breaking her nose and dislocating her shoulder, among other injuries. Her sister, Elida Caraballo, said Castro once shoved Figueroa into a cardboard box and closed the flaps over her head.

"He told her, 'You stay there until I tell you to get out,'" said Caraballo, who cried as she recounted her late sister's torment. "That's when I got scared and I ran downstairs to get my parents."

Prosecutors said Thursday they may seek the death penalty against Castro as police charged that he impregnated one of his captives at least five times and made her miscarry by starving her and punching her in the belly. The allegations were contained in a police report that also said another one of the women, Amanda Berry, was forced to give birth in a plastic kiddie pool.

Cuyahoga County prosecutor Timothy McGinty said his office will decide whether to bring aggravated murder charges, punishable by death, in connection with the pregnancies that were terminated by force. McGinty said Castro will be charged for every act of sexual violence, assault and other crimes committed against the women, suggesting the counts could number in the hundreds, if not thousands.

Castro, 52, is being held on $8 million bail under a suicide watch in jail, where he is charged with rape and kidnapping.

"Capital punishment must be reserved for those crimes that are truly the worst examples of human conduct," McGinty said. "The reality is we still have brutal criminals in our midst who have no respect for the rule of law or human life."

The three women said Castro chained them up in the basement but eventually let them live on the home's second floor. Each woman told a similar story about being abducted after accepting a ride from him.

Berry, now 27, told officers that she was forced to give birth in a plastic pool in the house so it would be easier to clean up. Berry said that none of the women or her 6-year-old child had ever been to a doctor during their captivity.

Michelle Knight, now 32, said her five pregnancies ended after Castro starved her for at least two weeks and "repeatedly punched her in the stomach until she miscarried." She also said Castro forced her to deliver Berry's baby under threat of death if the baby died. When the newborn stopped breathing, Knight said she revived her through mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

During his brief arraignment Thursday, Castro tried to hide his face, tucking his chin inside his shirt collar. He appeared to close his eyes during the hearing and awkwardly signed documents while handcuffed. He did not speak or enter a plea.

In court, prosecutor Brian Murphy said Castro used the women "in whatever self-gratifying, self-serving way he saw fit."

Kathleen DeMetz, a public defender assigned to represent him at the hearing, didn't comment on his guilt or innocence or object when prosecutors recommended that bail be set at $5 million. The judge, instead, ordered Castro held on $8 million bail.

Castro was arrested Monday, when Berry broke out of his run-down house and called 911 while he was away. Police found the two other women inside. The women had vanished separately between 2002 and 2004, when they 14, 16 and 20.

Police then entered the house and found the other women, who flung themselves into the officers' arms.

Berry and former captive Gina DeJesus, 22, went home with relatives on Wednesday. Knight was reported in good condition at a Cleveland hospital.

Castro's two brothers, who were arrested with him but later cleared of involvement in the case, appeared in court on unrelated charges Thursday and were released.

Figueroa's relatives said Castro often forced her to remain inside her home and forbade her from using the telephone. After warning her not to leave, he would test her to see if she obeyed, Caraballo said.

Some relatives of Castro have said they were shocked by the allegations against him. An uncle, Julio Castro, said it's been difficult news to absorb.

"Of course we have taken it hard," he said. "We only knew one Ariel, my sweet nephew. He was a sweet, happy person, a musician. We didn't have the slightest idea of the second person in him."

Juan Perez, who lives two doors down from Castro, said Castro was always happy and respectful. "He gained trust with the kids and with the parents. You can only do that if you're nice," Perez said.

On a recent visit to Castro's rundown home, his friend Ricky Sanchez said he heard noises "like banging on a wall" and noticed four or five locks on the outside door. While he was there, a little girl came out from the kitchen and stared at him. But she didn't say anything.

"When I was about to leave, I tried to open the door," he said. "I couldn't even, because there were so many locks in there."

Relatives say that in 1996, Figueroa finally left Castro after he hit her for the last time. After one particularly bad beating, Figueroa ran outside with one of her sons, crying out to neighbors just as the captive women did.

"The neighbors went across the street to get her," Elida Caraballo said. "And that was the last time she ever stepped in the house."

___

Associated Press writers Thomas J. Sheeran, Mike Householder and freelance reporter John Coyne in Cleveland; Brendan Farrington in Florida; and Dan Sewell in Cincinnati contributed to this report.

Grammy-winner Underwood will take the reins from fellow country singer Faith Hill, who had sung the theme "Waiting All Day for Sunday Night" before each telecast since 2007. Underwood's performance will be prerecorded.

"I'm very excited," Underwood, 30, said in a conference call. "I think it's a perfect fit and I am such a sports fan and football fan, and we love Sunday nights around my household, so for me to be a part of it is something really special."

Underwood, who shot to recognition by winning the TV singing competition "American Idol" in 2005, is married to Canadian ice hockey player Mike Fisher and sang the national anthem at the 2010 Super Bowl.

A prominent musical introduction is a staple of U.S. prime time football broadcasts after Hank Williams Jr. reworked his song "All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming over Tonight" as the theme for the "Monday Night Football" program in 1989.

"Sunday Night Football" begins its weekly run on September 8 with a game between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants.

NBC is part of Comcast Corp.

(Reporting by Eric Kelsey, editing by Jill Serjeant and Cynthia Osterman)

A court spokeswoman says the case is set for Sept. 30 in Clark County District Court for the 54-year-old former rap and reality TV star. His legal name is William Jonathan Drayton Jr.

He could get up to 12 years in prison if he's convicted.

Drayton pleaded not guilty Tuesday in Nevada state court to felony assault with a weapon and child endangerment charges stemming from a family argument last October.

His attorney didn't immediately respond to messages.

A local judge who heard the teen testify last month decided there was enough evidence for Drayton to stand trial in state court.

Marc Gasol scored 24 points and Zach Randolph added 15 as the visiting Grizzlies out-scored the Thunder 30-19 in the fourth quarter. Game Three is in Memphis on Saturday.

Kevin Durant had 36 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists in another big performance for Oklahoma City. Derek Fisher tallied 19 points and went 4-for-5 from three-point range, but the Thunder were hurt by 21 turnovers.

The Grizzlies took a 92-90 lead when Conley drained a three-pointer with 1:58 to play and he followed that up by knocking down an 18-footer with 1:04 left and a free throw with 29.4 seconds remaining to make it a five-point game.

Randolph hit two free throws and Tony Allen slammed home a dunk to cap a 10-0 run and give Memphis a 99-90 advantage.

Gasol had 17 first-half points as Memphis took a 54-51 lead into the break. Durant scored 13 points in the third quarter as Oklahoma City held the Grizzlies to 15 points and led 74-69 entering the final stanza.

(Editing by John O'Brien)

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks dipped in thin volume on Friday, though the market had a strong week overall despite a mixed bag of earnings and weak economic figures.

Shares of online retailer Amazon.com Incposted the largest daily drop in 15 months after the company reported results late on Thursday. It was Friday's biggest drag on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq indexes.

Gains in shares of Chevron Corpbuoyed the blue-chip Dow industrials.

The market fell early after a negative surprise from the gross domestic product report, but the decline attracted bargain-hunting investors late in the session. Major indexes posted solid gains for the week.

J.C. Penney Cowas the S&P 500's biggest percentage gainer, up 11.5 percent to $17 after CNBC reported Goldman Sachs lined up a $1.75 billion loan for the retailer. The news added to previous gains a day after investor George Soros reported a 7.9 percent passive stake in the company.

"We traded off a decent amount after the GDP number but we didn't break any technical levels or really didn't get much momentum in the selloff past late morning," said Paul Zemsky, head of asset allocation at ING Investment Management in New York.

"I guess there was some bottom fishing. There was so much fear of poor earnings going into earnings season that this is still somewhat of a positive surprise."

The Dow Jones industrial averagerose 11.75 points or 0.08 percent, to 14,712.55, the S&P 500lost 2.92 points or 0.18 percent, to 1,582.24 and the Nasdaq Compositedropped 10.72 points or 0.33 percent, to 3,279.26.

For the week, the Dow gained 1.1 percent, the S&P added 1.7 percent and the Nasdaq rose 2.3 percent.

Of the 271 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported earnings to date for the first quarter, 69 percent have beaten analyst expectations - above the 63 percent average since 1994 and slightly over the 67 percent beat rate over the past four quarters.

Eastman Chemicaldropped 5.1 percent to $68.97 a day after posting results, to lead percentage declines among S&P materials , which was the worst performing sector of the index with a 1.4 percent drop.

The S&P traded Thursday within a point of its historic closing high set earlier this month and the 1,593 level is expected to be technical resistance in the near future.

Gross domestic product expanded at a 2.5 percent rate in the first quarter, below estimates of 3 percent, heightening fears the U.S. economy could struggle to cope with deep government spending cuts and higher taxes that kicked in earlier this year.

Amazon.com shed 7.2 percent to $254.81 after it said revenue growth slowed in the first quarter as the company struggled overseas, but margins jumped on lower shipping expenses.

Chevron rose 1.3 percent to $120.04 after it posted earnings that beat expectations, even as lower oil prices bit into the profits of the second largest U.S. oil company.

The PHLX housing sector indexgained 1 percent, getting a lift from D.R. Horton Incafter the No. 1 U.S. homebuilder reported earnings. D.R. Horton shares closed at their highest in six years after an 8.7 percent jump to $26.60.

About 5.7 billion shares changed hands on the New York Stock Exchange, the Nasdaq and NYSE MKT, below the daily average so far this year of about 6.4 billion shares.

On the NYSE, roughly seven issues fell for every five that rose and on Nasdaq about three fell for every two advancing issues.

(Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Editing by Kenneth Barry)

[More from BGR: ]

He added that with the Home experience, they did a nice job expressing the Facebook experience, but so much of the Google design experience with Ice Cream Sandwich [Android 4.0] was in there as well.

[More from BGR: ]

The executive wasnt bothered by the fact that Facebook Home replaced traditional Android homescreens. Like Schmidt, Durate cited openness as a core philosophy of the Android operating system. He went on to say that he was generally excited about a trend where people have more designers involved in their customizations of Android, adding that the work we do with the Google apps fits more seamless with it.

Facebook Home is currently available for the HTC One, One X, One X+, Galaxy Note II, Galaxy S III, Galaxy S4 and comes preloaded on the HTC First.

This article was

A fourth woman has accused Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain of sexual harassment--this time in public. Sharon Bialek told reporters in a press conference Monday that Cain groped her and exhibited "sexually inappropriate" behavior toward her when he was head of the National Restaurant Association.

Bialek, a former NRA employee who worked for the association in between 1996 and 1997, said the encounter occurred shortly after she was laid off from the group's education fund in July 1997.

She said she had approached Cain for help in looking for a new job and had traveled to Washington, D.C., where she had dinner with the then-NRA head. She told reporters that upon her arrival in D.C. she discovered that Cain had secretly upgraded her hotel room to a suite.

After dinner, the two were sitting in his car when she claimed he "suddenly reached over and put his hand on my leg under my skirt and reached for my genitals" and moved her head toward his crotch.

"I was surprised and shocked, and I said, what are you doing? You know I have a boyfriend," Bialek recalled saying. "This is not what I came here for."

Bialak claimed that when she protested, Cain replied, "You want a job, right?

She told reporters Cain backed off after she asked him to stop, and he drove her back to her hotel.

Bialek, who identified herself as a stay-at-home single mom who lives in Chicago and is a registered Republican, said she didn't file a complaint with the NRA in part because she was no longer formally employed by the group--and also because she was "very embarrassed." She was joined at the press conference by her attorney, celebrity lawyer Gloria Allred, who offered sworn affidavits from two friends to whom Bialek spoke shortly after the alleged encounter.

"I was very very surprised and very shocked," Bialek said, adding that she had come forward to be a "face" for women who had been harassed by Cain. "I want you, Mr. Cain, to come clean. Just admit what you did. Admit you were inappropriate to people ... I implore you. Make this right."

The Cain campaign issued a statement denying Bialek's claims.

"All allegations of harassment against Mr. Cain are completely false," the campaign said in a statement. " Mr. Cain has never harassed anyone."

Bialek is the fourth woman to accuse Cain of sexual harassment when he was head of the NRA, but she's the only accuser who has spoken publicly.

More popular Yahoo! News stories:

Want more of our best political stories? Visitor connect with usand follow us .

Now she'll give it a try against Serena Williams.

Sharapova, a four-time runner-up, earned another berth in the final by beating Jelena Jankovic 6-2, 6-1 Thursday at the Sony Open. Eight hours later, five-time champion Williams advanced when she beat defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska 6-0, 6-3.

Sharapova has lost the Key Biscayne final to four different players Kim Clijsters in 2005, Svetlana Kuznetsova in '06, Victoria Azarenka in '11 and Radwanska last year. The No. 1-ranked Williams might be the toughest matchup for her yet.

Sharapova is 2-11 against Williams, with both of the wins way back in 2004. Williams has won their past 10 meetings and their past 13 sets.

"They have been pretty quick matches," Sharapova said. "She's a tremendous athlete, has so much power, and a confident player as well. So if you have a few games where you're not stepping in and not playing the way you should be, she takes really good advantage of it."

With a victory Saturday, the No. 3-seeded Sharapova would plug one of the few holes in her resume. She completed a career Grand Slam by winning the French Open last year but has never won the tournament near downtown Miami.

"It would mean so much to me," the Russian said. "I absolutely love this city. It's the first city I landed in when I came to the United States as a little girl."

Palm Beach Gardens resident Williams considers Key Biscayne her home tournament, and she was at her best before a near-capacity crowd for the night's final match.

"I'm excited because I'm in the final again. Yay!" she told the crowd. "So many of my friends are here. My family is here. I have to do well here. I can't let my friends down."

Williams broke the tournament record for victories by a woman. She's 60-7; Steffi Graf went 59-6.

Andy Murray, the 2009 champion and runner-up last year, advanced to the semifinals by beating No. 9 Marin Cilic 6-4, 6-3. Murray has yet to drop a set, and his path is made easier because Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer skipped the tournament, and Novak Djokovic lost in the fourth round.

"Obviously, if they aren't there, then you don't have to play against two or three of the best players that have played the game," Murray said. "So it's not as challenging. I always enjoy playing against them because it's good for me. It's a good test of my game."

Murray's opponent Friday night will be No. 8-seeded Richard Gasquet, who beat No. 4 Tomas Berdych 6-3, 6-3. The other semifinal will match No. 3 David Ferrer against 34-year-old Tommy Haas, who upset Djokovic.

Williams had struggled in her previous two matches but played almost error-free tennis in the semifinal, using her superior power to keep Radwanska pinned deep and on the run. They played for 37 minutes and 55 points before Radwanska won a game, prompting a big roar from the crowd.

That made it 1-all in the second set, but there would be no comeback. Williams hit 12 aces, including four in one game, and enjoyed a 40-6 advantage in winners.

Radwanska, who also lost to Williams in last year's Wimbledon final, fell to 1-11 against No. 1 players.

The earlier semifinal was just as lopsided. On a sunny, mild afternoon, Sharapova won the first 10 points against the No. 22-seeded Jankovic, then hardly let up from there.

Sharapova swept seven consecutive games during one stretch, and committed only 10 unforced errors from the baseline in 88 points while breaking serve six times.

Sharapova took the Indian Wells title two weeks ago and has won 22 consecutive sets, a career best, while winning 11 matches in a row.

Williams said her final against Sharapova should be a crowd-pleaser.

"She's playing so well," Williams said. "I'll do the best I can. It'll be a good match. We love playing against each other. I love playing her and we always have a great match."

Like Williams, Sharapova survived a sloppy quarterfinal, winning despite 57 unforced errors, including 13 double-faults. She double-faulted only three times against Jankovic and won 23 of 25 points on her first serve.

"I just really thought I needed to step it up from my last match and play a little better," she said. "I was really happy with the way I focused."

Jankovic, playing for the second time in less than 18 hours, was repeatedly a step late trying to reach Sharapova's shots.

"I wasn't moving," she said. "I felt heavy on the court. I felt really tired and exhausted."

Jankovic questioned scheduling that forced her to play in consecutive sessions while Williams and Radwanska had a day off before the semifinals.

"Kind of crazy," she said. "I had a couple of hours of sleep, and then I had to be back on the court."

Sharapova looked fresh even though she has played a lot of tennis lately. She's bidding to become the third woman to win Indian Wells and Key Biscayne in the same year.

Steffi Graf did it in 1994 and 1996, and Kim Clijsters won both in 2005.

"Winning a title on its own, whether it's here or Indian Wells, is a great achievement," Sharapova said. "To be able to come back from that and recover in just a few days and come back to the final here, it's great. Physically, many years ago I wouldn't be able to do that, so I'm very proud of the way I have recovered."

He said the opposition would not participate in the audit because the National Electoral Council did not meet its demand for an examination of registers containing voters' signatures and fingerprints.

Capriles said the opposition would go to the Supreme Court to challenge the results of the April 14 presidential vote, which was narrowly won by Hugo Chavez's political heir, Nicolas Maduro.

The electoral council, which is dominated by Chavista loyalists, announced last week that it would allow an audit of 46 percent of the vote not already audited. It said it would compare vote tallies from each machine with individual vote receipts from that machine.

"We consider this to be a joke," said Capriles, who contends the election was stolen from him.

"If we don't have access to the registers, we are not going to participate," he said.

Capriles said he was not optimistic that the Supreme Court, which also is packed with allies of the late Chavez, would overturn the election result.

"This is a fight for the truth," he said. "This fight is not over."

Earlier, Capriles had called on the council to allow his team to also examine registers containing voters' signatures and fingerprints. It would be impossible for the opposition's technicians to pinpoint irregularities without access to the registers, he said.

Allies of Capriles have received 3,200 complaints of irregularities all by pro-government forces.

Opposition politician Diego Scharifker said a complete audit would reduce tensions on both sides of Venezuela's political divide.

"The country wants to end the election chapter, but with the truth," Scharifker, a former student leader, said in an email sent to The Associated Press.

As Capriles sought to pressure the council, Maduro's allies threatened to prosecute him over violence that erupted after the vote.

Iris Varela, an official responsible for overseeing Venezuela's penitentiary system, suggested that Capriles would soon be behind bars.

"We are preparing a cell for you because you must pay for your crimes," Varela said.

Capriles vehemently denies responsibility for isolated acts of violence committed by some of his supporters. On numerous occasions since his narrow election defeat, Capriles has said he's leading "a peaceful struggle" to force the council to agree to a complete audit.

___

Christopher Toothaker on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ctoothaker