VATICAN CITY - The Vatican is getting back into its centuries-old tradition of arts patronage with its first-ever exhibit at the Venice Biennale, commissioning a biblically inspired show about creation, destruction and renewal for one of the world's most prestigious contemporary arts festivals.

LAS VEGAS, Nev. - His leg shackles rattling as he shuffled to the witness stand, a greyer, bulkier O.J. Simpson made his case for a new trial on armed robbery charges Wednesday, saying he was relying on the advice of his trusted attorney when he tried to reclaim mementos from his football glory days.

CLEVELAND - The man accused of keeping three women in captivity in his Ohio home for about a decade will plead not guilty, a member of his defence team said Wednesday.

Craig Weintraub, a former prosecutor representing Ariel Castro, 52, on rape and kidnapping charges, said in an interview he was concerned his client would not be able to receive a fair trial anywhere, giving the publicity surrounding the case.

MOSCOW - A Russian security services operative — his features bathed in shadows — went on state television Wednesday to claim that the U.S. diplomat who was ordered out of the country was the second American expelled this year over spying allegations.

The anonymous operative said the CIA had failed to halt this "disturbing activity" despite Moscow asking it to do so.

WASHINGTON - Congressional Republicans and Democrats on Wednesday challenged Attorney General Eric Holder over the Justice Department's handling of the investigation of national security leaks and its failure to talk to The Associated Press before issuing subpoenas for the news service's telephone records.

VATICAN CITY - The Vatican on Wednesday ordered a disgraced Scottish cardinal to leave Scotland for several months to pray and atone for sexual misconduct, issuing a rare public sanction against a "prince of the church" and the first such punishment meted out by Pope Francis.

NEW YORK, N.Y. - The American Civil Liberties Union is lobbying for the most prominent gay parents on U.S. television to get married.

The campaigned aimed at "Modern Family" comes as momentum for gay marriage builds in parts of the country.

ACLU Action started a campaign to urge the show's producers to write a wedding episode for Mitchell and Cameron, fathers of an adopted child and one of three couples at the heart of the show.

GREENWICH, Conn. - Britain's Prince Harry complimented the American people for their generosity and touted the successes of his charity for African children as he wrapped up a weeklong trip to the U.S. with a polo match in an affluent New York City suburb.

WASHINGTON - The crew of the International Space Station is boldly going where no one has gone before — to see the new "Star Trek" film.

The three astronauts were offered a sneak peak of "Star Trek Into Darkness" days before it opens Thursday on Earth, seeing it not in 3-D, but Zero-G.

NASA spokesman Kelly Humphries said the movie was beamed up to the outpost Monday and the two Russians and American on board had a day off Tuesday. That gave them a chance to view it on their laptops. It's unclear if they watched it.

LAS VEGAS, Nev. - More than four years after the world last heard from O.J. Simpson in court, one of the nation's most famous prisoners spoke again Wednesday in a bid to win freedom from a sentence that could keep him behind bars until he dies.

Simpson took the stand to testify about his legal representation by attorney Yale Galanter in the case involving a strange hotel room confrontation with sports memorabilia dealers that led to a robbery-kidnap conviction.