Far and Wide

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