WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama set his sights on Capitol Hill, ready to rally House Democrats on Saturday for a final health care push as party leaders appeared confident they had overcome a flare-up within their ranks over abortion funding restrictions in the legislation. Building on Democrats' momentum, the House Rules Committee worked to set the terms for floor debate and a final vote Sunday on Obama's top priority and the focus of his first year in office.
VATICAN CITY (AP) - Pope Benedict XVI rebuked Irish bishops Saturday for "grave errors of judgment" in handling clerical sex abuse cases and ordered an investigation into the Irish church. But he laid no blame for the problem on the Vatican's policies of keeping such cases secret. In a letter to the Irish faithful read across Europe amid a growing, multination abuse scandal, the pope apologized to victims but doled out no specific punishments to bishops blamed by Irish government-ordered investigations for having covered up abuse of thousands of Irish children from the 1930s to the 1990s.
LONDON (AP) - Retiree Richard Moore arrived at Heathrow with a suitcase of summer clothes for a Miami cruise only to be sent to Denver. Susan Danby wondered if plans for a joint 50th birthday celebration in Las Vegas would be a losing bet. The start of a three-day strike by cabin crew at British Airways spurred chaos and passenger angst on Saturday as union members promised more airline and rail walkouts in the coming weeks as Britain prepares for a hotly contested general election.
RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) - Visiting U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon said Saturday that Israeli settlement building anywhere on occupied land is illegal and must be stopped, even as a Palestinian teenager was killed in clashes with Israeli troops elsewhere in the West Bank. The death of 16-year-old Mohammed Qadus, who was shot in the chest by Israeli security forces, comes amid heightened tensions between Israelis and Palestinians after Israel announced plans last week for 1,600 new homes for Jews in disputed east Jerusalem.
Thousands rally on anniversary of invasion of Iraq WASHINGTON (AP) - Thousands are protesting in the nation's capital on the seventh anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, carrying signs reading "Indict Bush Now" and flag-draped cardboard coffins. Protesters gathered at Lafayette Park across from the White House and planned to march through downtown. Stops on the route include military contractor Halliburton, the Mortgage Bankers Association and The Washington Post offices.
HEMET, Calif. (AP) - The tense atmosphere surrounding a California police department plagued by booby trap attacks has been stepped up a notch following the latest threat against officers. Someone called 911 at about 5:45 p.m. Friday saying a police car would be blown up in the Hemet-San Jacinto area in the next 24 to 48 hours, Hemet Police Chief Richard Dana said.
FARGO, N.D. (AP) - A city used to fighting floods was confident Saturday that it had done enough to hold back the swelling Red River - even as the water inched higher - but officials stressed that it was too early to celebrate. Homeowners checking on piles of sandbags in their yards and National Guard soldiers inspecting clay dikes said they didn't see any immediate problems. City officials, who weathered record flooding last year that forced thousands of residents to evacuate, even passed out cigars that they said they would light - but not until after Sunday's expected crest.
WASHINGTON (AP) - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke made a fresh pitch Saturday to retain oversight of small banks, contending that what the Fed learns from that role helps it assess the overall health of the entire U.S. financial system. Bernanke, in a speech to the Independent Community Bankers of America's meeting in Orlando, Fla., argued against a Senate proposal that would scale back the Fed's banking duties.
WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP, N.J. (AP) - A 16-year-old boy patronizing a Walmart store in southern New Jersey took over the public-address system and ordered black people to leave, angering customers and prompting company leaders to apologize, police said Saturday. Police said the boy, whose name is not being released because he is a juvenile, went on the intercom at Walmart's Washington Township store Sunday evening and calmly announced: "Attention, Walmart customers: All black people, leave the store now."
Omar Samhan is getting a breather, and the Gaels subbed in another big guy in Ben Allen. Allen scored 20 points against Gonzaga in the West Coast Conference title game, the kind of performance that served as something of vindication for him. He began his career at Indiana but struggled to get on the court, so he transferred about 9,000 miles west. The change was stark, going from a school with 38,000 kids to one with fewer than 4,000, but perhaps the greatest irony is that the basketball is better in California.
