At the height of what he calls his addiction, Ryan Van Cleave would stand in the grocery store checkout line with his milk and bread and baby food for his little girls and for a split second think he was living inside a video game.

It sounds crazy, but it's true: Something would catch his attention out of the corner of his eye — maybe another shopper would make a sudden move for a Hershey bar — and he was mentally and emotionally transported to another world.

Lewis Hamilton has crashed out of the Belgian Grand Prix after clipping a rival car and spinning into the barriers.

The British driver, who was in third place in the drivers' championship heading into Sunday's race, pushed too hard to overtake driver Kamui Kobayashi on the Spa circuit and bumped into the side of the Japanese driver's Sauber.

Syrian-born poet Adonis has become the first Arabic-speaking author to receive one of Germany's most prestigious literary awards, the Goethe Prize of the city of Frankfurt.

The 81-year-old Adonis accepted the award on Sunday in Frankfurt.

With a strong finishing kick on his carbon-fiber blades, double-amputee sprinter Oscar Pistorius swept past several able-bodied runners in the 400 meters Sunday to qualify for the semifinals at the world championships.

It also was another historic breakthrough for Paralympic athletes.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez checked in to a military hospital Saturday night to begin a third round of chemotherapy, this time getting the cancer treatment at home rather than Cuba.

Chavez walked into the Dr. Carlos Arvelo Military Hospital accompanied by his daughter Maria and aides. He said his treatment has been going well and aims to prevent reappearance of cancer cells more than two months after he underwent surgery.

Steve Jobs has been Apple's most recognizable personality, but much of its cachet comes from its clean, inviting designs. For that, Apple can credit its head designer, Jonathan Ive.

Ive, a self-effacing 44-year-old Brit, helped Jobs bring Apple back from the brink of financial ruin with the whimsical iMac computer, whose original models came in bright colors at a time when bland shades dominated the PC world. He later helped transform Apple into a consumer electronics powerhouse and the envy of Silicon Valley with the iPod, the iPhone and, most recently, the iPad.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has a message for Congress: Do more to stimulate hiring and growth — or risk delaying the economy's return to full health.

Bernanke held out the prospect Friday that the Fed may take further steps later to help the economy. But he offered no new plans for now.

When Chicago-based rock act Rise Against began writing a song about suicide among gay teens, the band's lead singer tried to block out the event that inspired the tune — the death of a gay friend.

"His loss was something big to me," said Tim McIlrath.

Mel Gibson and his Russian ex-girlfriend have reached a financial and custody settlement of a bitter dispute that spawned a criminal case and left the Academy Award winner's reputation damaged.

Los Angeles Superior Court officials said in a statement late Friday that Gibson and musician Oksana Grigorieva had reached an agreement after days of negotiation. Terms and conditions of the settlement were not announced, but a hearing Wednesday will be held to discuss the financial terms.

The MBC media conglomerate has canceled a show by a popular Lebanese presenter known in the Arab world for hosting the Arabic version of "Who Wants To Be a Millionaire?" because of support of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

The Dubai-based MBC Group said it has decided to cancel a show hosted by George Qordahi that was to start airing next week "out of respect for the feelings of the Syrian people."