Far and Wide

Pope reaches out to China

(AP Photo/Elizabeth Dalziel)

The Pope is reaching out to China.

Pope Benedict XVI made the unprecedented move of revoking 1988 Vatican regulations that had called for limiting contact with China's official clergy. Benedict called the government-sanctioned church "incompatible" with Catholic doctrine for appointing bishops without Vatican approval.

The attempt to unite the country's 12 million Catholics came in a letter translated by the Vatican into five languages, including Mandarin in both traditional and simplified characters.

But it doesn't look like it will reach the wide audience that Benedict had hoped for. Liu Bainian, vice chairman of the state-run China Patriotic Catholic Association, said Saturday the church had no immediate plans to read it to the faithful or distribute it.

--Ryan Pearson

A 'Sicko' fact check

(AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

Does this guy have his facts straight?

Michael Moore makes some pretty outrageous claims in his new health care documentary "Sicko." But the health care industry is indeed pretty outrageous.

AP reporters Kevin Freking and Linda A. Johnson comb through his assertions -- and the hard data he uses to make them -- in this article.

--Ryan Pearson

UK on critical alert

(AP Photo/ Alistair Robertson/PA)

Britain is on critical alert.

A day after police found two cars packed with nails and gasoline parked on London streets, a Jeep Cherokee, in flames, rammed into Glasgow's airport. Officials say two men were inside and one was burned by the flames. There were no other reports of injuries as the SUV was blocked from a terminal by security barriers.

"This is being treated as a terrorist incident," said Scottish Police Chief Constable Willie Rae.

The incidents come just days after Gordon Brown took over the office of the prime minister from Tony Blair -- and a week before the anniversary of the July 7 London transit attacks, which killed 52 people.

The airport was shut down. In the U.S., the Homeland Security department said it was increasing security over the July 4th holiday period.

AP reporter Ian Stewart, reporting from Glasgow, has more in this story.

--Ryan Pearson

One last iPhone posting

(AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Oh, no. What are we doing? We ... just ... can't ... help ... ourselves from MENTIONING THE DANG IPHONE AGAIN!!

Here he is: Mr. George E. Kennedy Jr., whose 15 minutes of fame will forever be that time he was the first in line to purchase the new iPhone in Tysons Corner, Va.

Far and Wide congratulates you, George. We love this picture. Almost as much as you love touch-screen.

-- Hillary Rhodes

Paw Prints: animals in today's news

   (AP Photo/Chris Polk)

DONKEYS: Yesterday, adult film actor Ron Jeremy pet (petted? pat?) a pink donkey as he arrived to the opening of the Pink Taco restaurant in Los Angeles. The Pink Taco Web site says, "You won't find any corporate punks in our borders and we wouldn't dare turn politically correct." (Clearly. They dye animals pink! That just ain't right.)

The following stories need no introductions other than their fabulous headlines ...

DEER: Pair in Separate Vehicles Hit Same Deer

ALLIGATORS: Woman Wrangles Gator Into Guinea Pig Pen

MOOSE: Water Hazards, Sand Traps and 3 Moose?

-- Hillary Rhodes

iFinally

(AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

We know, we know. It's finally out, and all the techies will be whispering sweet nothings into their new iPhones' ear(buds?) tonight.

Read the full AP story by May Wong here.

For everybody else, there's this.

Photo: Patrick Scoble, 13, wears a homemade Apple iPhone shirt as he waits in line for the new iPhone in Palo Alto, Calif.

-- Hillary Rhodes

Second unexploded London car bomb confirmed

(AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

The latest from London, where authorities discovered a terror attack in the making: Officials have confirmed they found a second unexploded car bomb.

The first was found filled with gasoline, propane and nails in the city's bustling nightclub district, where authorities said it could have harmed or killed hundreds. The second car had a similarly lethal mix in it when it was towed from a nearby street. The contents were discovered as the car sat in an impound lot.

Stay up on the latest from London with this AP story.

--Jonathan Drew

PHOTO SPOTLIGHT: Hot day in Romania

AP photo wire caption: A boy runs on the edge of a fountain spraying red water at the end of a hot day in Bucharest Romania Friday June 29 2007. A Romanian artist spiced up the downton Bucharest landscape by adding red, green and blue paint to the city fountain water. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

The war in Iraq: Ask us anything

Ever have questions about the Iraq war that you don't see addressed in the day-to-day news stories?

Questions you might be embarrassed to ask friends because you worry they're too, well, obvious? Or maybe stuff you're just curious about -- like what Iraqis like to eat or read or watch on TV?

Now, you can get your answers. Far and Wide will soon be introducing a question-and-answer column about Iraq and the war, with the answers coming from the AP journalists who cover the war every day.

So please send your questions -- on anything from the war to everyday life to what it's like to go on patrol with Marines -- to iraqquestions@ap.org. As the questions roll in, we'll pick a few and do our best to answer them.

So check back with Far and Wide in the coming days and weeks to see the AP's answers to your Iraq questions.

Mickey Mouse rip-off 'Farfour' beaten to death

(AP Photo)

A Mickey Mouse rip-off who preached Islamic domination to children on a Hamas-affiliated television program was beaten to death today in the show's final episode.

The giant rodent with big black ears, white hands and a high-pitched voice, shown above, was called "Farfour," or "butterfly," and was killed by an actor posing as an Israeli official trying to buy Farfour's land. Farfour called the Israeli a "terrorist" before he was slain.

"Farfour was martyred while defending his land," said Sara, the teen presenter. He was killed "by the killers of children," she added.

The weekly children's show "Tomorrow's Pioneers" drew worldwide attention because Farfour urged Palestinian children to fight Israel. The show was broadcast on Al Aqsa TV, a station affiliated with the Hamas militant group.

For more on the demise of Farfour, read this report from Gaza City, Gaza Strip.

--Paul Chavez

Car bomb defused in busy London area; probe underway

(AP Photo/Akira Suemori)

A car bomb near Piccadilly Circus could have killed hundreds -- if not for an alert ambulance crew that spotted smoke coming from a metallic green Mercedes filled with a dangerous mix of gasoline, propane and nails, officials said. The bomb was defused early today in the busy nightclub area of Haymarket, shown above.

TERRORISTS TO BLAME?: Two officials in Washington who were briefed on the investigation said British authorities had so far found no terrorist link in the early stages of the investigation.

THE INVESTIGATION: Authorities are examining footage from closed-circuit TV cameras and hope the surveillance network that covers much of central London will help them track down the Mercedes driver.

Authorities also were investigating a second suspicious vehicle found in the area.

With Independence Day around the corner, U.S. authorities are urging Americans to be vigilant in the wake of the London bomb scare.

For the latest developments, read this report from London by David Stringer.

--Paul Chavez

Around the Word: 'Rivals' in the news

(AP Photo/Pete Cosgrove)

Orlando, Fla.: "Former astronaut Lisa Nowak didn't wear diapers during her 950-mile road trip to confront a romantic rival, her lawyer said Friday, disputing one of the more bizarre details to emerge from the NASA love triangle."

Nablus, West Bank: "A leading Hamas preacher on Friday defied an order by the moderate Palestinian government in the West Bank to stop talking about politics in mosques, instead taunting his Fatah rivals in his weekly sermon."

San Antonio: "Rivals may also see a rise in demand for their own high-end gadgets, especially if Apple can't meet demand."

Washington: "Sen. John McCain disposed of a snag in his personal financial disclosure requirements and a GOP presidential rival, Mitt Romney, has put off his disclosure obligations."

London: "Royal Mail countered that the union was seeking a 27 percent increase which it 'simply can't afford' and said that it must change to compete with rival mail companies."

New Delhi: "The proposed project has been under discussion for some time, mainly because of Indian concerns for the safety of sections of the pipeline that will run through Pakistan — India's rival for more than half a century."

-- Derrik J. Lang

Supreme Court reverses course on Guantanamo

(AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)
In a highly unusual move, the Supreme Court agreed Friday morning to review whether Guantanamo Bay detainees can challenge indefinite confinement in federal court. The decision reverses course from an identical request in April.

The court made the decision without comment, but it is considered a blow to the Bush administration, which argued that a new law strips courts of their jurisdiction to hear detainee cases.

• Supreme Court reporter Pete Yost has the story
• Tom Melia in Puerto Rico has the latest on a detainee refusing medical care
• Diplomatic writer Barry Schweid reported on the latest debates in Congress on the issue
• And finally, Sandy Cohen discovers Michael Moore's inspiration for sailing to Guantanamo: Borat.

--Lisa Tolin

INSIDER INSIGHT: The buzz at NowPublic

Much like the more mainstream media outlets, contributors to NowPublic have spent much of their day focusing on the London car bomb scare, though they certainly have an eye on the highly anticipated release of the Apple iPhone.

That's what we found out in a phone call with Brian Kennedy of NowPublic, a "crowd-powered media" operation that The Associated Press recently started working with to selectively incorporate citizen journalism -- particularly photos and video footage -- into the AP news report.

Here are a couple of clips from the conversation.

Kennedy talks about NowPublic content related to the London bomb scare.

And what about the iPhone?

-- Eric Carvin

Much like the more mainstream media outlets, contributors to NowPublic have spent much of their day focusing on the London car bomb scare, though they certainly have an eye on the highly anticipated release of the Apple iPhone.

That's what we found out in a phone call with Brian Kennedy of NowPublic, a "crowd-powered media" operation that The Associated Press recently started working with to selectively incorporate citizen journalism -- particularly photos and video footage -- into the AP news report.

Here are a couple of clips from the conversation.

Kennedy talks about NowPublic content related to the London bomb scare.

And what about the iPhone?

-- Eric Carvin

INSIDER INSIGHT: The world in focus

(AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

"You don't need a ball and a racket to make a good tennis picture."

Words of wisdom from AP International Photo Editor Michael Feldman at this morning's AP global news meeting, where he showed off this AP photo of Ukraine's Alona Bondarenko delivering a serve to Switzerland's Patty Schnyder during a singles match at Wimbledon. (For those keeping score, Schnyder won the match, 6-4, 3-6, 8-6.)

For a few more noteworthy AP photos Feldman chose to highlight at the meeting, click on the jump.

-- Eric Carvin

Milestone mania in the major leagues

(AP Photo/Jim Mone)

Two big Hall of Fame benchmarks were reached yesterday in baseball. First Frank Thomas hit his 500th homer, then Craig Biggio slapped his 3,000th hit -- all for one team.

(AP Photo/Pat Sullivan)

• Thomas became the 21st player in MLB history to reach the 500-homer mark when he hit a three-run homer in the first inning of the Toronto Blue Jays'  8-5 loss  to the Minnesota Twins. Thomas didn't have much time to celebrate: He was ejected in the ninth for arguing a called strike. Listen to Thomas' reaction to the homer in this audio clip.

• Biggio became the 27th player to collect 3,000 hits. And he did it in grand style, getting five hits for just the second time in his career. The Astros' second baseman reached the mark with a single in the seventh inning of Houston's 8-5, 11-inning win over Colorado. He added two more hits to end the night with 3002. Biggio played all 20 years of his career with Houston. Listen to what Biggio says he was thinking when he got his hit in this audio clip. 

-- Howie Rumberg

U.N. and North Korea agree on nuclear shutdown

U.N. monitors have visited North Korea's main nuclear reactor for the first time since 2002 -- and reached an agreement on how inspectors will monitor and verify its shutdown.

Learn more about this major developing story in this AP video, and in the dispatch from Pyongyang.

-- Stephanie Hoo

Waiting for iPhone... until 6 p.m. local time

(AP Photo/Dima Gavrysh)

Lines are forming at Apple and AT&T stores across the country today as eager consumers wait to buy the new iPhone. The gadgets go on sale at 6 p.m. in each time zone.

More from the AP on the iPhone release:

• AP technology writer May Wong has today's story out of San Francisco on the iPhone release.
• Should you get an iPhone? AP technology writer Peter Svensson has a buyer's guide.
• You're going to need iPhone accessories. AP technology writer Rachel Konrad has that story.
• AP business writer Alex Veiga on how the iPhone will affect the music industry.
• AP Internet writer Anick Jesdanun reports that speculators are grabbing iPhone domain names.
• And then take a look back, with asap's video tour of the evolution of the telephone.

-- Caryn Rousseau

Debate Q&A

Miss last night's Democratic presidential candidates' debate? Let AP correspondent Nedra Pickler fill you in on the key points -- in this Q&A video from the scene.

-- Stephanie Hoo

Car bomb defused in London

Police in London were able to stop an apparent terror attack early Friday when they found a car packed with gas containers and nails. More on the situation in the above AP video or in the story from AP reporters D'Arcy Doran and David Stringer.

-- Caryn Rousseau

Radcliffe on Harry Potter's first kiss

Here's what Daniel Radcliffe had to say during the premiere of "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" Friday in Tokyo about the wizard's first kiss:

"When we started it, we were both a bit nervous. But after the first few takes, it was sort of like any other scene, which is never really what people want to hear. It doesn't really feel any different, because you are still acting."

More on the smooch in this story by AP reporter Catherine Bussewitz.

-- Caryn Rousseau

(AP Photo/Katsumi Kasahara)

In the news on Friday

Police defuse bomb in central London
5 U.S. soldiers killed, 7 wounded in Iraq
Thousands line up to buy Apple iPhone
More rain forecast for Texas, Oklahoma
Israeli president resigns in plea bargain

-- Caryn Rousseau

The dems debate

(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Segregation, Katrina, income taxes, drugs, Iraq ... what didn't the democratic presidential hopefuls talk about during their debate at Howard University in Washington?

Some quotes:

John Edwards: "This issue of poverty is the cause of my life."

Sen. Barack Obama: "You can't leave the money behind and that's what's been done" (about No Child Left Behind)

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton: "The march is not yet finished." (about segregation)

Read Nedra Pickler's full AP story about the debates here.

-- Hillary Rhodes

NBA draft

(AP Photo/Terry Gilliam)

There were no surprises at the top of the NBA draft: the Portland Trailblazers took Ohio State center Greg Oden, then the Seattle SuperSonics picked up Texas forward Kevin Durant.

Then things started to get interesting.

The Atlanta Hawks needed a point guard after passing on Chris Paul and Deron Williams two years ago, so it was expected that they'd go after Ohio State's Mike Conley Jr. Instead, Atlanta took Florida forward Al Horford, leaving Conley there for Memphis to scoop up.

Another surprise was the Milwaukee Bucks, who took a chance with the sixth pick to take Chinese forward Yi Jianlian, the biggest mystery of the draft.

Florida became the first team to have three players go in the top 10 picks of the draft, with Corey Brewer going to Minnesota at the seventh pick and Chicago using the ninth pick on Joakim Noah.

-- John Marshall

Paw Prints: animals in today's news

(AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

ARMADILLOS: Here's an armadillo chowing down at the St. Louis Zoo. The zoo's new $5.3 million state-of-the-art Orthwein Animal Nutrition Center prepares as much as 3,000 pounds of food each day for the animals.

BIGFOOT: Not sure it counts as an animal ... but it might, depending on what they find in Michigan.

CATS: Is your cute little Fluffy a descendant of wild cats in Bahrain? Quite possibly.

DOGS: Sally, a Saluki puppy found hobbling in the Kuwaiti desert, might be a subject in prosthetics research that could help humans one day.

-- Hillary Rhodes

Public sector strike in South Africa ends

(AP Photo/Obed Zilwa)

Unions representing 1 million public sector workers in South Africa called off a nearly monthlong strike today that had shut down schools and crippled hospitals.

A majority of the unions agreed to the government's final offer that included a 7.5 percent wage increase. The union originally had demanded 12 percent wage increases to the government's initial 6.5 percent wage increase offer.

"We are disappointed that we did not win everything we wanted. But no strike has ever been entirely successful," said Zwelinzima Vavi, general secretary of the trade union federation COSATU.

For more on the end of the strike, read this disptach from Johannesburg, South Africa, by reporter Amy Jeffries.

--Paul Chavez

Chinese mine boss convicted in reporter's slaying

A Chinese mine boss has been convicted of organizing the beating death of a reporter in a high-profile case that prompted an unusual intervention by President Hu Jintao.

Hou Zhenrun was convicted and sentenced yesterday to life in prison, a court official said today. He was accused of organizing a gang of five men to beat reporter Lan Chengzhang and his colleague, Chang Hanwen, in January. Lan allegedly had gone to the mine to conduct interviews and died later the next day.

The five men who carried out the beatings also were sentenced to terms of five to 15 years and a sixth man was jailed for a year for harboring them.

For more on this story, read this report from Beijing by Alexa Olesen.

--Paul Chavez

Taken out of context

(AP Photo/St. Paul Saints Baseball Club)

"Plus, it's virtually impossible to misplace the iPig."

What's all that about? Find out after the jump.

--Lisa Tolin

Hot dog underdog?

Coney Island's annual rite of gluttony may not be the same this year. Six-time Nathan's hot dog eating champion Takeru Kobayashi says he can't open his jaw "more than just a little bit."

Kobayashi is "the Michael Jordan of mass consumption" says the AP's Larry McShane. "It's like Tiger Woods tearing his rotator cuff, or LeBron James blowing out his knee."

See McShane's full story here.

--Lisa Tolin (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Where's the beef? Oh, there it is.

(AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

Moooooooooving through New York harbor near the Statue of Liberty, and captured by AP photographer Mary Altaffer, is a barge with 35 American cattle -- part of a promotional event Thursday by A&W Restaurants. The campaign calls for Americans to support 100 percent U.S. beef.

So where's the New York strip steak?

-- Bernadette Tuazon

Around the Word: 'Documents' in the news

(AP Photo/Ben Margot)

South Lake Tahoe, Calif.: "Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger also signed an executive order suspending replacement fees for those who lost personal records such as drivers licenses or vehicle registration documents to the fire. He also asked state tax authorities to grant extensions to those affected."

Vatican City: "Other concerns have come from groups involved in Christian-Jewish dialogue, because the Tridentine rite contains prayers that some non-Christians find offensive, including references to 'perfidious' Jews. The Tridentine liturgy predates the landmark documents from Vatican II on improving relations with Jews and people of other faiths."

Topeka, Kan.: "Abortion-rights supporters complaints that Phil Kline was invading patients' privacy grew stronger days before the election, when Fox News host Bill O'Reilly described parts of the medical records on his show. Kline was interviewed by O'Reilly during the segment, but a Kline spokeswoman denied that he was the one who leaked the documents."

Washington: "The vote was a defeat for a bipartisan group of lawmakers who advocated the bill as an imperfect but necessary fix of current immigration practices in which many illegal immigrants use forged documents or lapsed visas to live and work in the United States."

-- Derrik J. Lang

Immigration reform: maybe next year

(AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Senators put the brakes on President Bush's immigration plan -- probably the last chance for immigration reform before next year's presidential elections.

On Thursday, supporters of the bill fell short of the 60 votes they needed to limit debate and clear the way for a vote -- in fact, they managed only 46.

For more about the fate of the bill -- which would have legalized millions of illegal immigrants -- take a look at a report from Washington by the AP's Charles Babington.

-- Eric Carvin

INSIDER INSIGHT: The buzz at NowPublic

UFOs? E-mailed numerical sequences? Hello Kitty?

It's all part of a mystery that's gotten the attention of contributors to NowPublic, the "crowd-powered media" operation that The Associated Press recently started working with to selectively incorporate citizen journalism -- particularly photos and video footage -- into the AP news report.

In a phone conversation, NowPublic's Brian Kennedy said the mystery -- a video game stealth marketing campaign, some suspect -- is the top story making the rounds today among those who contribute content to the site.

 Click here to hear Kennedy explaining the mystery.

-- Eric Carvin

Iraq latest, an AP video report

Another bloody day in Iraq: A car bomb killed 22 people at a bus station in Baghdad today, amid continued tensions between Shiites and Sunnis. The attack was in a mixed area with a Shiite majority, and many of the victims had been lining up for bus rides to work. ... Learn more in this AP video.

To the south, police say they found the decapitated remains of 20 people. Details are still emerging, and some officials are doubting whether the report is true. ... Read more in the latest AP report from Iraq.

Also today, a U.S. solider was killed and another wounded by a roadside bomb during a combat patrol in eastern Baghdad. At least 3,569 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in 2003.

-- Stephanie Hoo

INSIDER INSIGHT: The world in focus

Here are a few photos highlighted by AP International Photo Editor Michael Feldman at today's AP Global meeting:

(AP Photo/Sergey Ponomarev)
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez enjoys a light moment in Moscow, where he's helping open a new cultural center and might be talking about new arms deal.

(AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)
The weather is cooperating at Wimbledon, though the sky isn't exactly cloudless. AP Photographer Anja Niedringhaus captured the moment.

Click on the jump for some less cooperative weather....

Supreme Court blocks execution of mentally ill killer

Lawyers for a convicted killer have argued that he shouldn't be executed because he's mentally ill. On Thursday, a divided Supreme Court blocked his execution.

Justices ruled 5-4 in the case of Scott Louis Panetti, a former ranch hand with a history of mental problems. He shot and killed his in-laws 15 years ago in front of his wife and daughter in Texas.

Read more about the case in this story by the AP's Pete Yost.

-- Jonathan Drew

High court limits schools' race considerations

Public school diversity plans in hundreds of districts that consider race when placing students could be imperiled by a Supreme Court decision Thursday.

The court rejected two plans -- in Louisville, Ky. and Seattle -- that took race into account when determining which school they will attend. However, the ruling still left the possibility of using race to assign students in limited circumstances.

The court ruled 5-4 to reject the plans, with the four liberal judges dissenting. Read more about the decision here.

--Jon Drew

This could get Messi

(AP Photos/Manu Fernandez)
For a non World-Cup year, this is about as good as international soccer gets in the Western Hemisphere: Mexico upset Brazil last night, 2-0, in the opener of the Copa America, South America's championship. Mexico and the U.S. team, which plays Argentina tonight, are invited guests at the tournament.

Incidentally, the Americans just beat Mexico on Sunday in the final of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, the championship of North and Central America and the Caribbean. But don't take that to mean the U.S. team, by association, has what it takes to run with South America's elite teams.

For starters, the Americans are dreadful on the road; their win over Mexico came at Chicago's Soldier Field. And while the American team that traveled to Venezuela is without nearly all of its stars, Argentina, the world's fifth-ranked team, is stocked with plenty -- like 20-year-old phenom Lionel Messi (above).
--Josh L. Dickey

Bush won't supply subpoenaed documents

(AP Photo/Ron Edmonds, files)

The documents that could reveal a whole lot about the firing of eight federal prosecutors will stay secret, for now. President Bush used his executive privilege to deny lawmakers' demands to see the papers.

The documents in question were subpoenaed by Congress, but AP White House Correspondent Terence Hunt reports that Bush's lawyer told the legislature that the White House would not turn them over. The refusal moves the issue toward a constitutional challenge: The White vs. Congress and the separation of powers.

Senator Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., the chairman of the Senate Judiciary committee speaks out on the matter in this audio clip.

In his letter to the Leahy and the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, White House counsel Fred Fielding said Bush had "attempted to chart a course of cooperation" by releasing more than 8,500 pages of documents and sending Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and other senior officials to testify before Congress.

-- Howie Rumberg

Spice Girls announce reunion for world tour

(AP Photo/Emile Wamsteker)

Can old Spice make a comeback?

The Spice Girls, the "girl power" group from the 1990s, is reuniting for 11 concerts around the world in December and January -- the first concerts since breaking up in 2001, and the first with all five of the original group since Geri "Ginger Spice" Halliwell quit to pursue a solo career in 1998.

Of course, their fans are all grown up. And these sassy women are more Spice Mums than Spice Girls. (The members have seven children between them.) But their first single "Wannabe" topped charts in 31 countries in 1996 and the group went on to sell more than 55 million records.

Guess it's never too late to wannabe a star again.

See the story

Reminisce with this excerpt from "Wannabe"

-- Megan K. Scott

Photo spotlight: Fighting fires across Europe

(AP Photo/Dimitri Messinis)

A heat wave is literally scorching Greece, where authorities battled 110 fires across the country today. That's right: 110 fires, including this one northwest of Athens, captured by AP photographer Dimitri Messinis. The blazes killed at least two people and forced officials to request a loan of fire-fighting aircraft from EU partners Italy and France. The heat wave has also caused extensive power cuts.

Another blaze, this time in Warsaw, after the jump.

-- Stephanie Hoo

U.N. inspectors eye North Korea's nuclear program

United Nations inspectors are headed to North Korea's key nuclear reactor today for the first international inspection since 2002, when the country's communist government expelled the previous monitors.

Learn more about this developing story in this AP video, or read the AP dispatch datelined Pyongyang.

-- Stephanie Hoo

Flood waters around the world

Flood waters have hit cities across the world this week. AP photos have captured the rising waters.

PAKISTAN

A mosque is seen half submerged in flood water in Pakistan's coastal area of Turbat after a heavy storm and rain fall, Thursday, June 28, 2007. Helicopters dropped urgently needed supplies Thursday in a coastal areas where some 800,000 people were stranded by monsoon-spawned flooding, officials said. (AP Photo/Shakil Adil)

More photos from countries hit by flooding after the jump.

Crews gain ground on Tahoe wildfire

Two governors -- California's Arnold Schwarzenegger and Nevada's Jim Gibbons -- spent time Wednesday touring areas destroyed by wildfires.
In the AP photo to the left, Schwarzenegger curls a dumbbell that was found in the remains of a home. AP writer Scott Lindlaw is in South Lake Tahoe, Calif., working on the story and reports that a break in the wind has given firefighters a chance to gain ground on the blaze.
More on the story here.

Schwarzenegger's impressions:
Schwarzenegger talks about what citizens have lost in the fires.
Schwarzenegger says the firefighters know there is a lot of work ahead of them.

-- Caryn Rousseau

(AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, Pool)

In the news on Thursday

Appeal recommended for Lockerbie bomber
Crucial immigration vote due Thursday
20 beheaded bodies found in Iraq, car bomb kills another 20
Firefighters gaining on California wildfire
Paris Hilton says jail changed her life

-- Caryn Rousseau

Paris and Larry

  (AP Photo/CNN, Kyle Christy)

Prize quotes from Paris Hilton on CNN's "Larry King Live."

-- "Even though it was really hard, I took that time just to get to know myself."

-- "I feel like God does make everything happen for a reason."

Read the full story by the AP's Sandy Cohen here.

-- Hillary Rhodes

Paw Prints: animals in today's news

  (AP Photo/Color China Photo)

PIGS: Water-injected pigs in Beijing were found in part of a crackdown on illegal pork processing operations.

BALD EAGLES: All excited that you spotted an oh-so-rare bald eagle? Well, you aren't so special after all (a good thing).

ROOSTERS: Soon, all of America will be cockfighting-free. Guess which state will be the last one pecking? The answer's here: Massachusetts? Indiana? Montana? New Mexico? ...

CROC HUNTER KIN: Even though her dad died of a stingray attack, 8-year-old Bindi Irwin is anything but scared of animals. In fact, she's a regular Jungle Girl.

DOGS: Rescuing dogs that don't need to be rescued can be a felony.

-- Hillary Rhodes

Liz Claiborne, dead at 78

(AP Photo/Mitch Jacobson, FILE)

She dressed the working woman with outfits that were stylish and affordable.

Liz Claiborne -- whose clothes were an instant hit in the early 1980s -- died Tuesday. Here's what some observers say about her impact on the fashion industry:

• "It's what the working woman needed. Her coordinated pieces -- you went from the turtleneck to sweater to pants to the socks. It's like what Gap did for kids, and she did it beautifully." -- Joanne Arbuckle, chairwoman of the art and design department at the Fashion Institute of Technology
• "In losing Liz Claiborne, we have not only lost the founder of our company, but an inspirational woman who revolutionized the fashion industry 30 years ago. ... Her commitment to style and design is ever present in our thinking and the way we work. We will remember Liz for her vision, her entrepreneurial spirit and her enduring compassion and generosity." -- Liz Claiborne CEO Bill McComb

Read more about Claiborne in this obituary by AP fashion writer Samantha Critchell.

--Ryan Pearson

Coulter's vitriol aids Edwards' campaign fundraising

(AP Photo/File/Jim Cooper)

Conservative political pundit Ann Coulter is at it again.

Coulter, 45, earlier this week said that she wished that Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards would be "killed in a terrorist assassination plot." Coulter in March called Edwards a "faggot" at a conservative conference in Washington.

The Edwards campaign in both instances have used Coulter's vitriolic remarks to solicit campaign donations from supporters.

Her latest remark also prompted Edwards' wife, Elizabeth, to call into MSNBC's "Hardball" yesterday where she asked Coulter to end the personal attacks. The exchange deteriorated with Coulter shouting over Mrs. Edwards. John Edwards today responded to Coulter's remarks in this AP story by reporter Nedra Pickler.

--Paul Chavez

18 dead in police crackdown in Rio de Janeiro slum

(AP Photo/Ricardo Moraes)

At least 18 people died today in Rio de Janeiro during a massive police operation in a crime-ridden shantytown. About 1,200 officers deployed around the sprawling Alemao slum where drug traffickers have been engaging in skirmishes that have left 31 dead since May and about 80 people injured.

The crackdown occurred just weeks before tens of thousands of athletes and spectators will start arriving for the Olympic-style Pan American Games.

A woman wounded by a stray bullet is shown above being carried by neighbors seeking help.

For the latest, read this report from Brazil.

--Paul Chavez

Catwalk like an Egyptian

(AP Photo Illustration/Lisa Tolin)
We think Egypt's Queen Hatshepsut, above left, had chutzpah. She wielded more power than either Cleopatra or Nefertiti. She dressed like a man, wore a beard and insisted on being called a pharaoh.

It was all very "girl power" when they discovered her mummy -- until they called her fat. Here at asap, we think she looks almost skeletal (see Nicole Richie, above right, for comparison).

--Lisa Tolin

Doh!

Check out the hilarious new Simpsons movie trailer, right here on "Far and Wide."

-- Stephanie Hoo