The NFL is tightening stadium security starting this preseason, limiting the size and type of bags fans can bring to the game.

The restrictions are designed to enhance security while speeding up entry into stadiums.

With the exception of medically necessary items, only clear plastic, vinyl or PVC bags no larger than 12 inches by 6 inches by 12 inches will be allowed. One-gallon clear plastic freezer bags also will be OK, as will small clear plastic bags approximately the size of someone's hand, with or without a handle or strap.

One of those clear bags and a small clutch bag will be allowed per person.

Binoculars, cameras, and smartphones also will be permitted.

Banned items will include purses larger than a clutch bag; coolers; briefcases; backpacks; fanny packs; cinch bags; seat cushions; luggage; computer bags; and camera bags or any bag larger than the permissible size.

The league is encouraging fans not to bring any bags to games.

"Our fans deserve to be in a safe and secure environment," Jeffrey Miller, the NFL's chief security officer, said Thursday. "Public safety is our top priority. This will make the job of checking items much more efficient and effective. We will be able to deliver a better and quicker experience at the gates and also provide a safer environment. We appreciate our fans' cooperation."

An NFL committee on stadium security recommended these measures in May and the owners have approved them.

A secondary buffer area well outside the stadium will be established where security personnel will check for prohibited items or bags being carried toward the ballpark. Fans with prohibited bags will be turned away until they dispose of those bags. Stadium personnel are being encouraged to have approved bags on hand to give to fans, or to have a place outside the restricted areas to check items, so that fans can reclaim after games.

Recently, the NFL has done pat downs and bag checks and also used metal detectors to upgrade security. The new policy announced Thursday has worked well at colleges such as Penn State, Michigan and Michigan State, which do not permit any bags in their stadiums. Boston's TD Garden allows only clutch bags.

The NFL ramped up security at the draft in late April, its one major event since the Boston Marathon bombings. In a statement Thursday, the league said:

"We had been discussing a new approach to bag restrictions before the Boston Marathon incident. We have come up with a way to do it that will actually make access more convenient for fans than it has been. We think the fans will embrace and appreciate it."

Stadium workers and media will continue to enter NFL stadiums through designated gates where they will be subject to screening and bag inspections.

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Online: http://pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL

It was the fifth failure involving three women swimmers who have tried to make the marathon swim since 2011. Jellyfish stings and strong currents have been the main impediments.

Her support team released a statement saying that McCardel stopped her effort to become the first person to swim across the Straits of Florida nonstop without a shark cage "due to a severe debilitating jellyfish sting."

It said she had been taken on to one of her support vessels and was sailing to Key West. She would need 24 hours to recuperate, it said.

Bob Olin, skipper of the primary support boat, the Sunluver, said McCardel had suffered multiple stings.

"She got nailed all over her body back, legs and arms. Nailed multiple times, all at the same time," he told The Associated Press by satellite phone.

He said the team tried to treat her wounds while she remained in the water, but had to take her on board a boat because she was suffering "excruciating pain."

The swimmer had not said much since leaving the water, Olin said.

Diana Nyad, an endurance athlete who failed three times to make the same crossing and has said she'd like to take another shot this summer, tweeted her commiseration.

"It's a tough night for Chloe McCardel, a superior swimmer and an exemplary spirit," Nyad wrote.

McCardel, a 28-year-old from Melbourne, had hoped to complete the swim in about 60 hours.

Before starting out from Cuba in the morning, a smiling, upbeat McCardel had arrived in a pink 1950s Chevy convertible at a rocky jetty in western Havana

"As confident as I can be. I think it's all going to work out well," she said of her chances. "It'll be tough, though."

McCardel then jumped feet first into the water at 10 a.m. sharp.

Her goal, the Florida Keys, lay a little more than 100 miles (160 kilometers) to the northeast of Havana.

The sea off Havana was flat and glassy, precisely the ideal conditions that McCardel's science team had forecast.

The strait has been busy the last three summers, with fellow marathon swimmers Nyad and Penny Palfrey making four failed attempts at the crossing between them since 2011.

Australian Susie Maroney successfully made the swim in 1997, although she did it with the benefit of a shark cage.

"It is the hardest swim in the world today," McCardel had said Tuesday at a news conference. "No one has been able to achieve this. It's possibly harder than winning the World Cup or getting a gold medal."

The challenge also outstripped by far, at least in terms of distance, anything she had done before. McCardel, who has twice made a double crossing of the English Channel, said the most time she had spent in the water continuously was 25 hours.

She swam under English Channel Marathon rules, which meant she could not touch her support boat or hold on to anything. Nor was she allowed to wear a full-body wetsuit, which would have helped protect against exposure and jellyfish stings.

McCardel and her team had spent nine and a half months planning the trip and studying others' attempts to try to figure out why those athletes were unable to complete the swim.

The team picked June for the attempt in a bit of a trade-off: While seas are warmer later in the summer, this month typically sees lower concentrations of box jellyfish, whose dangerous stings have scuttled past attempts.

"The Gulf Stream ... it's like a wild animal," McCardel said.

It was an unlikely dream for a woman who didn't even learn to swim until she was 10 years old.

McCardel, who makes a living doing first-aid training, and her husband took out a second mortgage on their home to finance the $150,000 in costs associated with the swim.

They had made about half of it back through sponsorships, and leaned heavily on volunteers and donations.

At the marina Wednesday morning, McCardel was just about to hop into the water when suddenly she turned around and called out for her husband, Paul.

"I love you," she said, giving him a quick kiss. "Thank you. Bye!"

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Peter Orsi on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Peter_Orsi

The retired Spanish police dog has received a prestigious award by a British animal charity group in recognition of his bravery and skill.

The bushy-coated, black-and-gold German Shepherd detected a bomb on the Spanish island of Mallorca only hours after two officers were killed in a terror attack on July 30, 2009.

The 12-year-old dog found the bomb planted under a car by the armed Basque group ETA in the town of Palma Nova.

He was decorated with the People's Dispensary for Sick Animals' Gold Medal at a ceremony Tuesday on the outskirts of Madrid.

Ajax is the 22nd dog to receive the award.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Ten years ago, poker shows proliferated on TV and then faded but with several states and federal legislators moving to legalize the game online, some networks are betting that TV poker is back.

"Online poker will introduce a lot of new people to the game and I think that will bring another big wave to television," said Jamie Horowitz, vice president original programming and production for Walt Disney's ESPN.

ESPN televises the popular World Series of Poker (WSOP) tournament, currently taking place in Las Vegas through July 6. ESPN will air 26 segments on WSOP starting on July 23.

On Wednesday, CBS's Showtime will air for the first time on TV a 2009 documentary called "All In - The Poker Movie," about how poker has come to be part of the mainstream culture.

Hollywood agents, TV executives, poker and gaming executives have been meeting to discuss and pitch new poker programs, from reality shows about female tournament players, to shows potentially featuring new online gaming companies.

Others caution, however, that a resurgence in poker TV needs more than the three states, Delaware, Nevada and New Jersey, that have passed online gambling laws to kickstart the game on TV again.

"Although online gambling may only have momentum in three states right now, it could be a great lead-in for programming," said Alec Driscoll, director of gaming development for American Casino and Entertainment Properties LLC.

Off-shore poker websites such as PokerStars were the forces behind the poker TV boom, starting around 2003, serving as on-air sponsors and buying air time for their own shows.

But that all changed on April 15, 2011, known in the gaming industry as "Black Friday," when the U.S. Department of Justice indicted the founders of these sites on charges of bank fraud, money laundering and illegal gambling offenses.

The sites were closed to U.S. online players, sending shockwaves through the poker world and the TV industry.

Networks slashed shows. But then the DOJ in late 2011 clarified its stance on the Wire Act, enabling states to legalize online gambling.

CASINOS AND NETWORKS EXPECT BIGGER MARKET

Nevada was the first state to go live in late April, while others like New Jersey and Delaware are preparing to start online poker in coming months. Several others are considering similar laws, while lawmakers in Congress are also working on legislation to allow online poker gambling across the United States, giving casinos and TV networks a bigger market.

Larry Gerbrandt, principal of Media Valuation Partners, said the last poker TV boom helped offshore online poker sites to drive viewers to their sites. Gerbrandt said it will take similar investment by fledgling online gaming companies to fuel television, although he believes poker show ratings are rising.

Comcast's NBC Universal's E! Network is developing a new reality show called "Queens are Wild" that follows four top female poker players who room together as they travel the world and compete to win millions.

Ben Spector, of Los Angeles-based Tollin Productions, said he was approached by top Hollywood agency CAA to pitch the reality show on female poker players to networks.

Taiwanese-born professional poker player Maria Ho, who has accrued more than $1 million in tournament earnings, is one of the women featured. Ho is no stranger to TV and has appeared on "The Amazing Race" and "American Idol" and is a commentator on the "Heartland Poker Tour" syndicated TV series.

"When I got into poker, I didn't see myself going down the TV path," Ho said. She gave up plans to go to graduate school to play poker. "It's been the ride of my life."

Gary Quinn, vice president, programming, NBC Sports Group, said the unit is in discussions about different poker projects. It airs the "National Heads Up Poker Championship" and brought back "Poker After Dark" in 2012 after withdrawing it a few years earlier.

New online gaming companies are mulling TV opportunities. Station Casino Inc's Ultimate Gaming, the first company to take online bets in the U.S. in Nevada last April 30, is in discussions with networks.

"We are speaking with NBC and Fox and several other networks to see what the appetite is for the category over the next 24 months," said Joe Versaci, Ultimate Gaming's chief marketing officer.

Versaci and others are watching California closely because of its size and entertainment footprint. "What happens in California in late 2014 and 2105 will be key, not only because it's the epicenter of where TV is produced, but because it's like a country itself and can support a large poker market," he said.

(Editing by Patricia Reaney and Grant McCool)

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Finland's Mikko Ilonen produced a steady final round to complete a first European Tour victory in six years at the Scandinavian Masters in Stockholm on Sunday.

Ilonen, who last won at the same event in 2007, carded a three-under par 69 to finish with a 21-under total at the Bro Hoff Slott Golf Club.

Jonas Blixt was the best of the Swedish contingent in second after a 72 on the final day left him 18-under.

Austria's Bernd Wiesberger finished third, a shot further back, while Denmark's Thomas Bjorn ended in a four-way tie for fourth at 16-under with Swedes Alexander Noren and Rikard Karlberg and Italian Matteo Manassero.

Ilonen's victory was set up on Friday with a stunning second round nine-under par 63. He followed it up with a 65 to put him in the driving seat.

A bogey on the 12th hole was Ilonen's only blemish on the final day but birdies either side of the blip before five straight pars ensured there would be no last day meltdown.

In contrast to Ilonen's consistent performance, Blixt entertained the crowds with a topsy-turvy back nine. He made four birdies but gave all the shots back with two bogeys and a double bogey to prevent him making a run at the title.

Another Swede, Noren, looked the player most likely to haul in Ilonen and his chances were bolstered as he birdied the same 12th hole where the Finn had struggled.

But when Noren found the water on the 15th to register a double-bogey seven his challenge faded away, leaving Ilonen to take home the trophy.

(Editing by Tom Bartlett)

The plea was made in a court filing Tuesday on behalf of James Everett Dutschke of Tupelo.

Dutschke is charged with sending the poison-tainted letters on April 8 to Obama, U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi and Lee County Justice Court Judge Sadie Holland.

Dutschke had been scheduled for arraignment Thursday in U.S. District Court in Oxford.

His lawyer, George Lucas, waived Dutschke's right to appear and entered not guilty pleas to all five charges.

Lucas had no comment when contacted Wednesday.

Dutschke, a former martial arts instructor, was arrested April 27. He is being held without bond in the Lafayette County jail.

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazil is closer to choosing Boeing Co.'sF-18 for one of the developing world's most sought-after defense contracts after U.S. Vice President Joe Biden addressed the government's main misgivings during a visit to Brasilia, officials told Reuters.

Biden met with President Dilma Rousseff on Friday and assured her that the U.S. Congress was likely to respect Boeing's agreement to transfer sensitive technology to Brazil as part of the deal, three officials who were present said on condition of anonymity.

The deal will involve 36 jets worth about $4 billion, with probable follow-up orders that would greatly increase the value of the contract over time. That makes it a critical prize for defense companies at a moment when the United States and many European countries are tightening military budgets.

The other finalists are France's Dassault Aviation SAand Sweden's Saab AB .

Rousseff has not made her final decision, and the timing for an announcement remains unclear, the officials stressed.

But they said Rousseff's comments to Biden and other recent developments suggest a preference for Boeing, with a decision possible before she makes a state visit to the White House to see President Barack Obama in October.

"If it's Boeing, Biden will deserve much of the credit," one senior Brazilian official said.

Rousseff's main concern with Boeing's bid has been that the U.S. Congress could block technology transfers because of national security concerns. Brazil has cordial relations with the United States but angered some legislators in recent years through its interactions with Iran, Venezuela and other countries that antagonize Washington.

Rousseff, a pragmatic leftist, has said the technology is even more important than the jets themselves because the deal must boost Brazil's own budding defense industry, including planemaker Embraer SA , to be worth the price.

In Friday's meeting, Rousseff first raised the jets deal and her concern over the transfers, officials said.

Biden did not make absolute promises about what Congress would do. But he did cite his more than three decades of experience in the Senate to address her worries point by point, the officials said.

"SEQUESTRATION" A FACTOR?

According to the officials' account, Biden explained that Senate Democrats have never gone against Obama on strategic defense sales, while most Republicans take the lead from Arizona Senator John McCain, who has expressed support for the Brazil deal.

Biden said U.S. defense budget cuts could reduce opposition in Congress to a deal that could help a U.S. company.

He also cited examples showing Congress has blocked defense sales in strategically difficult parts of the world such as the Middle East, but not peaceful, overwhelmingly democratic areas such as South America.

Before the conversation turned to other matters, Rousseff thanked Biden for giving her "strong" arguments to use in Boeing's favor, two of the officials said.

Asked to confirm the account, a White House official said: "We aren't going to comment on private conversations, but in general the United States strongly supports Boeing's bid."

Handicapping Brazil's decision on the jets deal has been difficult, largely because it has dragged on for so long.

Brazil first began looking into replacing its aging Mirage jets in the 1990s, and Rousseff's predecessor declared publicly in 2009 he was going to choose Dassault.

Yet for a variety of reasons, from budget constraints to election cycles, successive governments have not pulled the trigger. Company executives, some of whom have spent a decade or more pursuing Brazil, have joked in private that the country may have no real intention of buying the jets at all.

LONG-TERM RELATIONSHIP

Nevertheless, there are mounting reasons to believe that Rousseff will announce her decision before the end of this year, and that Boeing will be the winner.

Brazil's military has said maintaining its Mirages will become difficult after this year. Meanwhile, the sensitivities of spending billions of dollars during a rough economic spell could lead Rousseff to announce her decision before 2014, when she faces reelection.

Rousseff has cast the deal as a crucial part of Brazil's strategic alignment for decades to come - a message she repeated to Biden on Friday, the officials said.

While defying Washington's wishes on issues like Syria, Rousseff has sought a closer partnership with the United States. She has received a steady stream of Cabinet secretaries and senators, and accepted Obama's invitation for a state visit, the first by a Brazilian leader in 20 years.

The United States, for its part, chose Embraer in February to provide the Air Force with 20 light attack planes - a deal many Brazilians saw as a necessary condition to buy the F-18.

Boeing has also deepened its partnership with Embraer in recent months.

Meanwhile, the government has been less happy with the other finalists. France's recent agreement to build submarines with Brazil has resulted in fewer technology transfers than expected, one official said.

France and Sweden reportedly opposed Brazil's candidate to lead the World Trade Organization, who won the post last month. The United States also favored a different candidate, but was more restrained in its support, in Brazil's view.

"We notice these things, and they're all factors in the (jets) decision," a Brazilian official said. "This is so much money, and we want to choose the right partner."

(Reporting By Dave Gregorio)

In an interview published in the Guardian newspaper, Douglas appeared to blame his own battle with throat cancer on oral sex although that interpretation was later disputed by one of his representatives.

The Guardian quoted Douglas as attributing his illness to the HPV virus spread through oral sex. When asked about his cancer, Douglas said, "without wanting to get too specific, this particular cancer is caused by HPV (human papillomavirus), which actually comes from cunnilingus."

In response, spokesman Allen Burry said Douglas never said oral sex was the cause of his own cancer, just one of the many causes.

"In a discussion with the newspaper, they talked about the causes of oral cancer, one of which was oral sex, which is noted and has been known for a while now," Burry said.

Health officials say smoking and drinking alcohol are the main causes of oral cancer, although the human papillomavirus has been linked to one kind of throat cancer. The human papillomavirus is mostly known for causing cervical cancer.

Douglas also told the Guardian he didn't regret his years of smoking and drinking.

A spokesman for the Guardian said in an email that the paper hadn't received any complaints about its interview either from Douglas or his representatives.

Douglas has starred in many movies including "Basic Instinct," ''Fatal Attraction" and "Wall Street" and is married to the actress Catherine Zeta-Jones. He is currently appearing in a biopic about Liberace titled "Behind the Candelabra."

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AP Entertainment Writer Jake Coyle in New York contributed to this report.

Roy Hibbert recorded 23 points and 12 rebounds, Lance Stephenson scored 20 and the Pacers responded to a blowout loss in Game Three with a determined home-court effort.

Game Five is on Thursday back in Miami where the defending NBA champions will try to regain control.

"When (Stephenson) plays like that we're unstoppable," Hibbert told reporters. "We're here, we're not going anywhere. We're going back down to Miami to go out there and fight again."

Miami roughed up the Pacers in an 18-point rout on Sunday but Indiana scored the first 11 points of Game Four and led for most of the contest, fending off runs from the Heat.

LeBron James led Miami with 24 points and Mario Chalmers added 20 but the Heat fell short in the fourth quarter.

Miami used a 14-2 run to turn a nine-point deficit into an 86-83 lead midway through the fourth quarter but Indiana quickly responded with a 7-0 run of their own and when James fouled out in the final minute there was no way back for the Heat. (Writing by Jahmal Corner in Los Angeles; Editing by Peter Rutherford)

It was "furlough Friday." Roughly 5 percent of the federal workforce 115,000 people at six major agencies were told not to show up as the government dealt with the continuing effects of the sequester spending cuts.

The good news for many federal workers: a four-day Memorial Day weekend. The bad news: no pay for the day.

The across-the-board budget reductions, the result of Washington's failure to work out a long-term, deficit-cutting plan in November 2011, essentially shut down some government agencies, though it had a negligible impact on others.

The IRS, embroiled in a scandal over agents targeting tea party groups, got a day of quiet. Its offices were closed with more than 90,000 employees furloughed on Friday, one of five days the agency plans to shut down this year to save money.

A self-employed, small business owner calling the agency's hotline to check on the deadline for second-quarter estimated taxes got a recording saying, "Due to the current budget situation, all IRS offices are closed on Friday, May 24." The tax deadlines are unaffected.

HUD furloughed nearly its entire staff of more than 8,400 employees, closed the agency's headquarters in Washington and shut down about 80 field offices.

That meant no walk-in housing counseling services at HUD offices to help people wanting to buy homes, refinance or avoid foreclosure. The furloughs also created delays for developers and municipalities needing technical assistance or approval of housing projects, officials said.

At the Labor Department, spokeswoman Elizabeth Alexander said 437 employees out of about 16,500 were furloughed. She said the layoffs were negotiated between supervisors and employees to have the least possible impact on the agency's operations.

Furloughs also hit the Environmental Protection Agency, the Office of Management and Budget and the Interior Department.

J. David Cox Sr., president of the American Federation of Government Employees, dismissed any suggestion that the extra day was welcome news to anyone.

"'Furlough Friday' is a disgrace to our nation," Cox said in a statement. "Let no one believe for a moment that this is some kind of four-day weekend or holiday for federal employees forced out of work without pay."

He called it "a day of shame for the lawmakers and administration officials who allowed sequester and furloughs to occur."

The automatic cuts that kicked in March 1 have had a disparate effect on individual agencies and their workers. The State Department, for example, says it can handle a $400 million cut without forcing employees to take unpaid leave. The Pentagon, on the other hand, decided to furlough about 680,000 civilian employees for 11 days through Sept. 30, the end of the fiscal year.

President Barack Obama has pressed Congress to reverse the automatic cuts, but many Republicans have shown little inclination to do so. Lawmakers see the broad reductions, recently estimated at $81 billion, as a surefire way to trim the federal deficit despite the outcry from defense hawks in Congress that the military cuts are too painful.

Congress did step in last month to undo furloughs for air traffic controllers after a week of coast-to-coast flight delays, and lawmakers have found money for meat inspectors.

The furloughs have frustrated many government employees facing several days without pay.

The EPA's decision to post job openings after sequestration began angered union officials who argued the agency should be using any available money to reduce the number of furlough days instead of hiring new employees.

Acting EPA administrator Bob Perciasepe informed agency employees in an April 9 memo that the agency would "limit new hires to only those that are critically needed." But representatives of the American Federation of Government Employees said several of the posted openings were for budget analysts, environmental and chemical engineers and other positions they considered to be nonessential.

EPA said in an emailed statement that it was allowing limited hiring, subject to budget constraints, in order to fill personnel gaps in priority areas that would place a burden on existing staff if left vacant.

John O'Grady, president of AFGE Local 704 in Chicago, left a protest on his voice mail.

"I will be furloughed on Friday the 24th thanks to this Congress and this administration," O'Grady's message said. "I don't appreciate it. I will remember this in November. Leave a message if you care to. I will not respond until I get back into the office on Tuesday the 28th.

In addition to Friday, the IRS plans to close its offices and furlough employees on June 14, July 5, July 22 and Aug. 30. The agency said no tax returns will be processed on those days.

The Interior Department said more than 13,000 people were being furloughed, including all 767 employees of the U.S. Park Police. That number includes Chief Teresa Chambers, who along with other employees must take three unpaid days by June 1.

The furloughs had been expected to continue through the summer tourist season but will now end June 1, because the agency was able to find other savings to offset mandatory cuts, the National Park Service said Friday. The Park Service oversees the Park Police, which patrols national parkland in three urban areas: Washington, New York and San Francisco.

An additional 8,500 employees of the U.S. Geological Survey and 4,100 employees of the Bureau of Indian Affairs also face furloughs, although they have not yet begun.

Interior Secretary Sally Jewell said cuts to the Interior budget "push us back in time to funding levels we last saw in 2006."

The department has frozen hiring, eliminated seasonal positions and cut back on programs and services, including visiting hours at national parks. Jewell called those steps essential in order to maintain the department's core mission to serve the public.

Even so, the cuts "are not sustainable, as these actions which are eroding our workforce, shrinking our summer field season and deferring important work cannot be continued in future years without further severe consequences to our mission," she said.

At HUD, some telephone hotline services run by outside contractors providing housing counseling services to the public were still operating on Friday, including the Federal Housing Administration Resource Center. But callers needing more specialized assistance might have needed to call back once HUD offices re-open on Tuesday after Memorial Day.

HUD plans to shut its offices and furlough workers for seven days spread out over the summer because of the budget cuts. The furlough days will either precede a federal holiday or be on a Friday or Monday.

"When selecting its furlough days, HUD did so in a way in which impacts to the mission of the agency and to the general public would be minimized," said Melanie Roussell, a spokeswoman.

The furloughs have frustrated many in Congress, too, especially lawmakers in the Washington area who represent a disproportionate number of federal employees.

"Congress has failed the 115,000 federal workers being furloughed today, many of whom have children in college, mortgages and car payments. Our federal workers did not cause this mess. It's unfair they must bear the brunt of our dysfunction," said Rep. James Moran, D-Va.

There was another reminder on Friday of the budget cuts. Missing from the promotion ceremony and pageantry at the U.S. Naval Academy where Obama delivered the commencement address was the Navy's Blue Angels aerobatic team. Budget cuts led to the cancellation of their program.

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Associated Press writers Richard Lardner, Andrew Miga, Matthew Daly and Sam Hananel contributed to this report.