MOORESVILLE, N.C. (AP) — Lowe's first-quarter net income rose almost 3 percent, even as a wet and cool spring dampened sales of gardening products.

CAIRO (Reuters) - Seven members of the Egyptian security forces kidnapped by Islamist militants in Sinai last week were released on Wednesday, ending a crisis that has highlighted lawlessness in the desert peninsula bordering Israel. Security sources said the men were freed following talks mediated by Bedouin tribal leaders. They were handed over to the army in an area south of Rafah, a town straddling the border with the Palestinian Gaza Strip. ...