Far and Wide

Stop with the 'perfect storm' already

(AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Seriously, when will people stop saying "perfect storm"?

There's nothing stormy about cover-ups, artificial honors or leadership failures. It's just bad government, bad administration.

Still, those are the words used by the Army in censuring Lt. Gen. Philip Kensinger, who led Army special ops forces after the Sept. 11 attacks.

Army Secretary Pete Geren -- that's him above -- says Kensinger deceived investigators looking into the 2004 friendly-fire death in Afghanistan of the former NFL player Pat Tillman, an Army Ranger.

See the full AP coverage out of Washington.

--Ryan Pearson

News Corp. board approves $5 billion deal to buy Dow Jones

(AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

Just moving this evening on the AP wire: this story from AP business writer Seth Sutel reporting that Rupert Murdoch is closer to his goal of owning Wall Street Journal publisher Dow Jones & Co. after the board of his News Corp. media conglomerate signed off on the $5 billion deal today.

-- Caryn Rousseau

Cute Knut on a diet

(AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

Remember cute little polar bear Knut from Berlin? That's him above on March 23 weighing just 19 pounds.

Turns out Knut's not so little anymore. He's 8 months old and weighs 132 pounds -- and zookeepers are putting him on a diet: No more croissants!

Read more about what Knut's been up to in this AP story and check after the jump for a photo of what Knut looks like now...

-- Caryn Rousseau

War deployments raise risk of abuse for children

Are the children in Army families more vulnerable to abuse?

A new study funded by the Pentagon finds that when fathers are away at war, mothers are three times more likely to have a report of child mistreatment than when fathers are at home.

What does the Army think about the study? Officials say it confirms what they've seen at large military bases for nearly two years: overwhelmed and depressed mothers neglecting their children.

More in the story from AP writer Carla K. Johnson in Chicago.

-- Caryn Rousseau

Not a blockbuster night

Eric Gagne. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)            Mark Teixeira.         (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Lots of moving, no one shaking. Baseball's trade deadline came and went this afternoon, with a flurry of activity that resulted in little for any fan to get too excited -- or upset -- about.

Perhaps the biggest names to move were Texas Rangers reliever Eric Gagne, and his erstwhile teammate, Mark Teixeira. Gagne went to the Boston Red Sox -- who already have a closer in Jonathan Papelbon -- and Teixeira went to the Atlanta Braves.

To see if your team busted a move, check out the list after the jump.
--Josh L. Dickey

Sunshine of your lawmaker

(AP Photo/Ken Lambert)
Straighten up and fly right, congressfolk.

The House passed a bill that aims to shed some sunlight on lawmakers' pet projects and links to lobbyists -- a reaction to recent scandals that sent two lawmakers to prison and left another one facing bribery charges.

To learn about the provisions of the bill -- which passed the House 411 to 8 and is expected to make it through the Senate this week -- read this AP story by Charles Babington.

-- Eric Carvin

Just the right shot: John Roberts

(AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

For the photographers, it's a little bit like a red-carpet gig. You wait and wait and wait, and finally your moment comes to shoot the target: in this case, Supreme Court Justice John Roberts, leaving the Penobscot Bay Medical Center in Rockport, Maine, after suffering a seizure.

AP photographer Robert F. Bukaty was on the scene when Roberts finally emerged, giving eager photographers about four seconds to capture the news in an image.

Is it a lot of pressure?  Bukaty describes his assignment today in this audio clip.

-- Hillary Rhodes

Volcane spews ash in the Philippines

Scientists insist no major eruption is imminent, but check out this AP video of the Bulusan volcano spewing ash into the air in the central Philippines.

-- Caryn Rousseau

Be careful what you ask for

After two RM Auto International employees asked for raises, their boss shot them, according to police. In this news story, AP writer Giovanna Dell'orto says car dealership owner Rolandas Milinavicius, who was having financial problems, turned himself in two days after the shootings and confessed to killing Inga Contreras and Martynas Simokaitis, his only two employees. All three are from the eastern European nation of Lithuania but had been living in Atlanta, authorities said.

-- Derrik J. Lang

Reporting Back: the world's lungs

(AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano)

The Amazon rain forest is often called the "lungs of the world," but environmental issues are quickly raising concerns that the forest may soon need a respirator.

In a podcast coming up on asap later today, AP Deputy International Editor Nicolas B. Tatro speaks with Michael Astor, a reporter from the AP bureau in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, about the current state of the rain forests. In this excerpt they discuss a few of the driving forces behind the changes.

-- Ray Kugler

History in the making?

(AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

One day, three milestones. 755. 500. 300.

Three of baseball's marquee numbers can be reached tonight , led by Barry Bonds' chase to be the home run king.

• Bonds needs one home run to tie Hank Aaron's all-time home run record.
• Alex Rodriguez is a homer shy of becoming the youngest player to reach 500.
• Tom Glavine looks to become the 23rd 300-game winner.

Bonds' pursuit of the all-time record heads to L.A. as the Giants face the Dodgers. Rodriguez's Yankees host the Chicago White Sox and Mets ace Glavine gets the ball against the Brewers in Milwaukee.

-- Howie Rumberg

INSIDER INSIGHT: The world in focus

(AP Photo/ Korea Pool)

The mother of one of the South Korean hostages in Afghanistan cries during a news conference calling for their safe return, in one of several pictures AP International Photo Editor Michael Feldman showcased at this morning's AP global news meeting.

In another photo Feldman showed at the meeting, the body of Shim Sung-min, 29, one of the hostages, is carried to the back of a vehicle by policemen after he was killed by his Taliban captors.

(AP Photo/Amir Shah)

See below for more of Feldman's top photo picks of the moment.

-- Donald King

Drop you from the lineup overnight

(AP Photo/Matt Sayles)

When it comes to Twista's lyrics, McDonald's apparently isn't loving it.

The Chicago-based rapper was supposed to perform during a stop in the nationwide concert series put on by the fast-food giant. But on Monday, the hamburger chain said it was dropping him from the lineup over "controversial lyrics."

Twista had hits with the songs "Slow Jamz" and "Overnight Celebrity." Here's AP music writer Nekesa Mumbi Moody's take on his lyrical style:

The Chicago rapper is better known for his lightning-fast rap delivery than particularly raunchy content: His hits include "Slow Jamz," with Kanye West and Jamie Foxx, and "Overnight Celebrity." However, he does use explicit language and reference drugs in his some of his rhymes.

Check out her story here.

--Jonathan Drew

Gang bust

The feds went after California gang members Tuesday, fanning out across Long Beach in a sweep aimed at taking down violent offenders.
   
The AP reports the raids started at around 4 a.m. and involved more than 400 federal agents and local police officers.
   
Mike Campbell, a spokesman for the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said the operation was one of the largest he had seen.
   
The effort was part of a wider crackdown that has taken place in recent months in cities nationwide and spearheaded by the U.S. Justice Department. It is aimed at gang members suspected of dealing drugs and committing violent crimes.

-- Jaime Holguin

U.S. seeking support in the Middle East

(AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

No deal: The U.S. won no new promises of Arab help in stabilizing Iraq -- despite a diplomatic push in the Middle East by Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that includes a proposed $20 billion U.S. arms package.

As AP correspondent Lolita C. Baldor reports, the Cabinet secretaries were also trying to gain support from moderate Arab states against an increasingly unpredictable Iran. She explains:

Unity against Iran is not a hard sell. But Washington has had far less success in rallying Arab help for Iraq that goes much beyond words.

Arab money and diplomatic support has lagged behind Europe's, and some of Iraq's neighbors quietly tolerate, or may secretly support, attacks inside Iraq.

Read the full story here.

Photo: Gates, left, and Rice, center, meet with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, right, in the  Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheik, Egypt, today.

-- Stephanie Hoo

Director Michelangelo Antonioni dies

First Ingmar Bergman, now Michelangelo Antonioni.
   
The Italian director, best known for his movies "Blow-Up" and "L'Avventura," has died at the age of 94, the AP reports.
   
"With Antonioni dies not only one of the greatest directors but also a master of modernity," Rome Mayor Walter Veltroni said in a statement.
   
In 1995, Hollywood honored Antonioni's career work -- 25 films and several screenplays -- with a special Oscar for lifetime achievement.
   
Antonioni depicted alienation in modern world through sparse dialogue and long takes. Along with Federico Fellini, he helped turn post-war Italian film away from the Neorealism movement and toward a personal cinema of imagination.

-- Jaime Holguin

Deal or no deal

With Wall Street closely watching, both sides negotiating a possible sale of Dow Jones & Co. to Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. planned to meet Tuesday.
   
As a 5 p.m. deadline arrived Monday for the Bancroft family -- which has controlled Dow Jones for a century -- to decide, their company's stock tumbled more than 5 percent.  The Bancrofts declined to comment late Monday.
   
Murdoch has made a $5 billion offer to buy the company.
   
So what's next?
   
The next expected step was for News Corp., Murdoch's media conglomerate, to be informed of how many Bancroft family members were in favor of the offer and decide whether it has enough support to proceed.

For more, read this story by AP business writer Seth Sutel.

-- Jaime Holguin

In the news Tuesday

(AP Photo/Nick Ut)

Here are today's top stories, straight from the AP wires:

FBI, IRS search Alaska home of Sen. Stevens
Taliban issues another hostage deadline
Iraqi prime minister faces revolt within his party
Chief Justice Roberts suffers seizure
Tropical Storm Chantal forms in Atlantic

PHOTO: Chief Justice John Roberts speaks at a conference of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Huntington Beach, Calif., July 13, 2006.

-- Jaime Holguin

Celebrity news on Monday

(AP Photo/Danny Moloshok, FILE)

• Britney Spears, Kevin Federline divorce final
• Christina Aguilera cancels two shows in Australia
• Ball State to name building after alum David Letterman
• No more "Simple Life" for Paris, Nicole

-- Caryn Rousseau

Bush and Brown meet at Camp David

President Bush and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown met at Camp David on Monday. The pair showed a unified front on Iraq. More in this AP video.

UPDATE: Chief Justice rushed to hospital

An update on the earlier post about Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts. Turns out Roberts didn't just trip at his summer home in Maine.

AP reporter Mark Sherman writes in this story that Roberts suffered a seizure causing the fall, which resulted in minor scrapes. The outcome? According to Supreme Court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg, Roberts was taken by ambulance to the Penobscot Bay Medical Center, where he underwent a "thorough neurological evaluation.

-- Caryn Rousseau

Some hard-to-swallow medical research

(AP Photo/Remy de la Mauviniere)
"Just say 'no' to drugs"? Sometimes, that's exactly the problem.

According to a report coming out this week, half of people with chronic illnesses skip doses of their medication or otherwise don't take the drugs as directed. It's a problem that can be deadly, and it's costing billions of dollars.

Find out why in this story by AP medical writer Lauren Neergaard.

-- Eric Carvin

The father of modern NFL offense dies

(AP Photo/File)
Quick out to the slot receiver for a first down? Thank Bill Walsh. Swing pass to the running back? Thank Bill Walsh. Zip pass to a surehanded crossing receiver threading through traffic? Bill Walsh.

Are you George Seifert, Mike Holmgren, Dennis Green, Sam Wyche, Ray Rhodes, Bruce Coslet, or any of the second-generation NFL head coaches under them (Mike Shanahan, Jon Gruden, Brian Billick, Andy Reid, Pete Carroll, Gary Kubiak, Steve Mariucci, Jeff Fisher)? You, too, may now thank Bill Walsh.

The intricately coordinated schemes that favor short, high-percentage passes -- a system that later came to be known as the West Coast offense -- revolutionized professional football forever. All from the mind of Bill Walsh.

Walsh died at his California home Monday morning following a long battle with leukemia. While he'll be remembered for his Super Bowls won with the likes of Joe Montana and Jerry Rice, he'll be felt almost every time an NFL team takes the field.

--Josh L. Dickey

Taliban claim to kill 2nd Korean hostage

(AP Photo/ Yonhap, Park Chang-ki)

A Taliban spokesman is claiming that the militia killed a second South Korean hostage -- even though Afghan government officials haven't found a body and cannot confirm the claim.

THE MOTIVE
Militant spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi said senior Taliban leaders decided to kill the male hostage because the government hasn't come through on promises to release Taliban prisoners.

BACKTRACK
The Taliban kidnapped 23 South Koreans riding on a bus through Ghazni province on the Kabul-Kandahar highway on July 19 -- the largest group of foreign hostages taken in Afghanistan since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion. The Taliban killed their first hostage last Wednesday. He was the leader of the group. The Taliban has set several deadlines for the Koreans' lives.
 
See the AP story

Photo: Baek Jong-chun, South Korea's chief presidential secretary for security affairs, expresses condolences to the bereaved at President House in Seoul, South Korea.

Chief justice rushed to hospital

(AP Photo/M. Spencer Green, file)

The Supreme Court's top dog is in the hospital.

The AP's Mark Sherman reports that John Roberts took a spill at his home on Hupper Island off the coast of Maine and was taken to Penobscot Bay Medical Center as a precaution.

A spokesman at the Rockport hospital did not immediately return a call from The Associated Press, but St. George fire chief Tim Polky said the chief justice was alert before he was placed in the ambulance.

Read the entire story here.

-- Otis Hart

Paw Prints: animals in today's news

  (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

ELEPHANTS: An elephant named Little Master ran berserk in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Maybe he was bored of the religious pageant he was a part of. But not all elephants are going to be walking through busy city streets.

PANDAS: Mommy, Mommy, can I puhleeeease buy a panda poop bookmark?

ALLIGATORS: We've heard of leaving babies on doorsteps ... but not orphaned alligators in pillowcases.

DOGS: For those too busy to own a dog, but too trendy not to own one, comes FlexPetz! For all your canine-cuddling needs.

-- Hillary Rhodes

Towering talent

Ingmar Bergman, one of cinema's greatest artists, has died at the age of 89. Learn more about his life and work in this AP video -- which includes a snippet of his most famous scene: a knight playing chess with the shrouded figure of Death.

-- Stephanie Hoo

INSIDER INSIGHT: The buzz at NowPublic

A re-enacted "Thriller" video, new news about an old fire, a subway crash in Venezuela and allegations of shenanigans involving Yahoo! employees.

Those are some of the top stories getting attention from contributors to NowPublic, the "crowd-powered media" site The Associated Press recently started working with to selectively incorporate citizen journalism -– especially photos and video -– into its news report.

Listen to this audio clip to find out more about the top NowPublic stories from the site's Brian Kennedy.

-- Eric Carvin

Vick co-defendant pleads to conspiracy

(AP Photo/Lisa Billings)

Micheal Vick could be facing some courtroom trouble from one of his co-defendants. Tony Taylor, pleaded guilty to federal dogfighting conspiracy charges in a plea agreement with prosecutors. He agreed to aide the prosecution.

Taylor wasn't promised a specific sentence, but it should be less than the federal guidelines. AP Writer Larry O'Dell reports that prosecutors say Taylor helped find the property that Vick bought for use as the site of "Bad Newz Kennels." Taylor also allegedly help purchase pit bulls and killed at least two dogs.

Vick and two other co-defendants pleaded not guilty last week to the same charge.

-- Howie Rumberg

INSIDER INSIGHT: The world in focus

AP Photo/Charles Dharapak

President Bush welcomes British Prime Minister Gordon Brown to the presidential retreat at Camp David, Md., in one of several pictures AP International Photo Editor Michael Feldman showcased at this morning's AP global news meeting.

The meeting (the one at Camp David) is the first between the president and the new head of Britain's government.

"Dramatic" is how Feldman described the photo below, of a man being comforted by a relative after being injured in an explosion at a busy transit point in the Tayaran Square area of central Baghdad.

AP Photo/Adil al-Khazali

See below for another of Feldman's top photo picks of the moment.

-- Donald King

Photo spotlight: Patrolling the Egypt-Gaza border

(AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

An Egyptian army armored personnel carrier patrols the Egyptian side of the border with the Gaza Strip, in this image captured by AP photographer Ben Curtis. The U.S. wants Egypt to do more to stop the smuggling of weapons into Gaza ever since the Palestinian militant group Hamas seized control, but Egypt says it needs more money and more equipment.

In news today, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was headed to the Middle East to discuss military equipment sales to U.S. allies in the region. Read more in this AP dispatch from Washington.

-- Stephanie Hoo

Grim death toll from China's summer floods

(AP Photo/EyePress)

Mother Nature is on a rampage in China, where floods and landslides have killed 652 people so far this year, government media reported today.

WHAT'S GOING ON?: Deadly flooding is a problem every summer in China -- especially in central and southern regions where millions of people live in the flood plains of rivers.

WHAT'S BEING DONE?: China has built huge dams to control the flooding and provide hydroelectric power -- though environmentalists differ on whether the dams help or hurt.

Photo: A rescue worker carries an elderly resident through floodwaters in southwestern China earlier this summer.

-- Stephanie Hoo

Cities sue gangs

Fort Worth and San Francisco are among the latest cities to file lawsuits against gangs --  an effort to disrupt drug dealing, drive-by shootings and graffiti.

The court injunctions sought by the cities give police legal reasons to stop and question gang members, who often are found with drugs or weapons, authorities said. In some cases, they don't allow gang members to even talk to people passing in cars or to carry spray paint.

Critics say such lawsuits go too far, limiting otherwise lawful activities and unfairly targeting minority youth.

Civil injunctions were first filed against gang members in the 1980s in the Los Angeles area, a breeding ground for gangs including some of the country's most notorious, such as the Crips and 18th Street.

For more, read this AP story  by AP's Angela K. Brown.

-- Jaime Holguin

Should diabetes drug be pulled?

Do heart risks associated with the widely used diabetes drug Avandia outweigh its benefits in helping some or all patients?
   
That's the question Food and Drug Administration reviewers will consider today as they hear from experts on whether the drug should be pulled from the market or restricted to use in select patients and branded with prominent warnings.
   
Information from dozens of studies of the GlaxoSmithKline PLC drug points to an increased risk of heart attack, FDA officials said.
   
Glaxo, meanwhile, says its own data show no increase in heart risks with Avandia compared with other diabetes drugs.
   
For more, read this story by AP's Andrew Bridges.

-- Jaime Holguin

Hollywood pigeons to go on the pill

  (AP Photo/Brad Doherty)

In the coming months, Hollywood's pigeons will be given a birth control product in an effort to reduce their population and messes.

Community leaders planned to announce the pilot program, which is believed to be the first of its kind in the nation, at a news conference Monday.

"We think we've got a good solution to a bad situation," said Laura Dodson, president of the Argyle Civic Association, the group leading the effort to try the new contraceptive. "The poop problem has become unmanageable and this could be the answer."

Even better, it seems everyone supports the idea.

Dodson said representatives from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals contacted her group with the idea. Other animal rights groups, including the Humane Society of the United States, support the contraceptive over electric shock gates, spiked rooftops, poisons or other methods.

No word yet on what pro-life supporters think about the plan.

Read this AP story for more.

-- Jaime Holguin

In the news Monday

(AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Here are today's top stories, straight from the AP wires:

Bush and Brown have first official sit-down
Minibus explodes in Baghdad, killing 6
Evacuation ordered as California wildfire flares up
Taliban deadline passes for South Korean hostages
Ingmar Bergman dies at 89

PHOTO: President Bush drives British Prime Minister Gordon Brown in a golf cart after welcoming him to the presidential retreat on Sunday.

-- Jaime Holguin

Floods in India

(AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

A family leaves its submerged home. Floods and mudslides caused by heavy monsoons have been plaguing the east and northeast of India.

Read the full AP story after the jump.

-- Hillary Rhodes

Major green for the yellow family

(AP Photo/20th Century Fox, Matt Groening)

Guess how much "The Simpsons Movie" grossed at the box office this weekend?

Click here to find out.

-- Hillary Rhodes

Say 'no' to doping, 'yes' to Contador

(AP Photo/Bas Czerwinski)

That's him, in the yellow: Alberto Contador of Spain, winner of this year's Tour de France. He's only 24, and cycles for the Discovery Channel team. Spain hasn't topped the winner's podium since 1995.

Read all about it in this AP story by Jamey Keaten.         

-- Hillary Rhodes

Iraq wins Asian Cup

  (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)

You just can't keep that celebratory gunfire down!!

Despite a ban on gunshots into the air, Iraqi soccer fans couldn't help their jubilation at their first Asian Cup victory Sunday. The Iraqi team, known as the "Lions of the Two Rivers" beat Saudi Arabia 1-0.

Click here to read the full story by the AP's Bushra Juhi.

-- Hillary Rhodes 

Karzai has a word for the kidnappers

(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

"Shameful."

That's what Afghan President Hamid Karzai said about the kidnapping of 23 South Koreans by Taliban militants. He said that abducting women in particular was un-Islamic.

In the photo: A South Korean Christian prays during a service demanding the safe return of the hostages.

Click here to read the full story by the AP's Rahim Faiez.         

-- Hillary Rhodes

A new visitor from Britain

  (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

Time to test the relationship between the new Prime Minister of Britain, Gordon Brown, and the United States.

On his agenda for his U.S. travels: visiting Camp David and the United Nations.

Will we like him? Will he like us? Read this story by the AP's David Stringer for some insight.

And click here to hear AP correspondent Charles de Ledesma.

-- Hillary Rhodes

In the news Sunday

(AP Photo/Junji Kurokawa)

Here are today's top stories, straight from the AP wires:

Iraqi Authorities Impose Vehicle Bans
Brown Turns Page in U.K.-U.S. Relations
Karzai: SKoreans' Kidnapping Un-Islamic
Polls: Big Loss for Japan's Ruling Party (see above photo)
Sex Suit Could Be Problem for Bloomberg
Heart Ailment Sidelines Kiss Singer

-- Hillary Rhodes

Pakistan: two sides talking

(AP Photo/Irina Kalashnikovam, File)

The prez of Pakistan, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, held secret talks with his once-rival -- opposition leader and former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto (pictured above).

Why would you do that? Well, Musharraf's opposition is coming at him from both sides. He's caught between a secular rock and a militant hard place.

Read all about it here, in the full AP story by Rohan Sullivan.

-- Hillary Rhodes

TV helicopters crash, fatally

(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Four died when two television helicopters following a police chase on the ground collided in Phoenix. Officials are trying to figure out just what went wrong.

Click here to read the complete story by the AP's Jacques Billeaud.

Photo: A Phoenix Police Department officer stands near crash debris.

-- Hillary Rhodes

Modernizing the hunt for terrorists

(AP Photo/Lawrence Jackson)

President Bush: "Our intelligence community warns that under the current statute, we are missing a significant amount of foreign intelligence that we should be collecting to protect our country."

In his weekly radio address, Bush said Congress needs to get up-to-date with catching terrorists. ... before they catch up to us.

Click here for an audio clip.

And here to read the full story by the AP's Deb Riechmann.

-- Hillary Rhodes

South Koreans in Afghanistan

(AP Photo/Rahmat Gul) 

Enough with the kidnappings, already.

Elders and militia in Afghanistan are in negotiations for the release of 22 South Korean hostages, an official said Saturday.

Click here to read the full story by the AP's Amir Shah.

-- Hillary Rhodes 

In the news Saturday

(AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Here's today's top news, straight from the AP wires:

Former Taliban Lawmaker in SKorea Talks
4 Killed, 10 Hurt by Car Bomb in Baghdad
Congress Sends Security Bill to Bush
TV News Helicopters Collide, Killing 4
Witnesses: Teen Said Principal Would Die
Bonds Hits 754th Homer, 1 Behind Aaron

-- Hillary Rhodes

Gunbattle in Karbala

(AP Photo/Ghassan al-Yassiri)

Mourners carry coffins following clashes in Karbala, Iraq, today, in this photo by the AP's Ghassan al-Yassiri. A fierce gunbattle broke out after a joint U.S.-Iraqi force arrested a rogue Shiite militia leader in the city, leading to an airstrike and the deaths of some 17 militants, the military said.

Read more in this report by AP correspondent Kim Gamel.

-- Stephanie Hoo

Photo spotlight: Very bendy

(AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano)

Rut Castillo Galindo of Mexico performs during the gymnastics rhythmic's individual all-around final at the Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, today, in this mesmerizing image captured by AP photographer Victor R. Caivano. Galindo won the bronze medal.

-- Stephanie Hoo

World news in a minute

World news in a minute, AP style. Today: NASA investigating drunk astronauts; Stock market extends sell-off; Korean hostage pleads for help; Nicole Richie headed for jail.

-- Stephanie Hoo

Dismal Dow

It was a bad day on Wall Street -- a pretty bad day.
            
Wall Street extended its steep decline Friday, propelling the Dow Jones industrials down more than 500 points over two days.

It was the Dow's worst week in nearly five years.

A Commerce Department report that the U.S. gross domestic economy rose at a better-than-expected pace in the second quarter appeared to do little to quell investors' unease Friday.
   
GDP increased at a 3.4 percent annual rate, indicated that the drag from the housing sector lessened. Economists had expected an increase of 3.3 percent.
   
For more, read this story by AP business writer Tim Paradis.

-- Jaime Holguin

INSIDER INSIGHT: The world in foucs

(AP Photo/Ghassan al-Yassiri)

This is one of several pictures AP International Photo Editor Michael Feldman showcased at this morning's AP global news meeting, this one showing a heavily armed Iraqi man attending a funeral in the holy city of Karbala.

Elsewhere in the Middle East, in another photo he highlighted, the picture below shows relatives of a Hamas militant  reacting at the family house during his funeral.

(AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
See below for more of Feldman's top photo picks.

--Donald King

Qwest's ex-CEO gets six years for insider trading

(AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

Sentenced: The former CEO of Qwest Communications, Joe Nacchio, has been sentenced to six years in jail and fined $19 million -- and must forfeit the $52 million he made in illegal stock sales, for his April conviction for insider trading.

SOUNDBITE: "The crimes the defendant has been found guilty of are crimes of overarching greed," U.S. District Judge Edward Nottingham said at today's sentencing.

WHAT HAPPENED: Nacchio, 58, was convicted of making the stock sales at a time when he knew Qwest faced financial risk but didn't tell investors.

WHAT IT MEANS: He is among the latest in a string of former top-level executives to be convicted in corporate fraud scandals targeted by a government task force established in 2002.

Photo: Nacchio arrives at the federal courthouse in Denver today with his wife, Anne.

-- Stephanie Hoo

New violence at reopened Pakistan mosque

(AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

AP writer Sadaqat Jan is in Islamabad, Pakistan, today reporting on a suspected suicide bombing that left 13 people dead and 71 wounded at a hotel near the city's Red Mosque. Today is the first day the mosque is open since students clashed with security forces there earlier this month.

Read more about today's violence in this AP story.

-- Caryn Rousseau