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AP Top News at 7:21 a.m. EDT - August 20

Turnout appears low as Afghans vote for president

KABUL (AP) - Taliban threats appeared to dampen voter turnout in the militant south Thursday as Afghans chose the next president for their deeply troubled country. Insurgents launched scattered rocket, suicide and bomb attacks that closed some polling sites. Low turnout in the south would harm President Hamid Karzai's re-election chances and boost the standing of his top challenger, former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah. Turnout in the north appeared to be high, a good sign for Abdullah.

Ailing Kennedy asks for speedy replacement process

BOSTON (AP) - A cancer-stricken Sen. Edward M. Kennedy has written a poignant letter to Massachusetts leaders asking that they change state law to allow a speedy replacement of him in Congress. The note has been sent to Gov. Deval Patrick and the state's Senate president and House speaker while Congress considers an overhaul of the nation's health care system, a life cause of Kennedy's.

Decision in Lockerbie case due Thursday

EDINBURGH, Scotland (AP) - The only man ever convicted in the bombing of a Pan Am jet over Lockerbie, Scotland, was due to learn Thursday whether he will be freed on compassionate grounds and allowed to return to Libya or die in a British prison. British television networks Sky News and the BBC reported Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, who has terminal prostate cancer, will be released. Neither network cited the source of its information.

Democrats prepare to push health care without GOP

WASHINGTON (AP) - Publicly, President Barack Obama is still calling for a bipartisan bill to overhaul the nation's health care system. Privately, Democrats are preparing a one-party push, which they feel is all but inevitable. Obama urged religious leaders Wednesday to back his proposals, and he prepared for a pep talk to a much larger audience of liberal activists, whose enthusiasm is in question. Polls continued to show slippage in support for the president's approach, although Americans expressed even less confidence in Republicans' handling of health care.

Bicycle bomb kills 2 near restaurant in Baghdad

BAGHDAD (AP) - A bicycle bomb exploded near a restaurant in Baghdad Thursday killing two people in a deadly reminder of Iraq's security problems as the death toll rose to at least 101 from a string of blasts the day before that mainly targeted heavily guarded government buildings. More than 500 people also were wounded when nearly simultaneous truck bombs struck Iraq's Foreign and Finance ministries on Wednesday - the deadliest day of coordinated bombings in more than a year.

AP source: White House projects lower deficit

WASHINGTON (AP) - The federal budget picture will look slightly better next week. Relatively speaking. The White House plans to announce the federal deficit will still be a record breaker, at $1.58 trillion, for the current 2009 fiscal year. But the amount is about $262 billion less than officials predicted earlier this year.

White House planning to wind down Clunkers program

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Obama administration is developing plans to wind down the popular Cash for Clunkers program and could announce by Friday when the incentives will no longer be available. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said Wednesday the department would announce within 48 hours how it intends to discontinue the program that offers car buyers rebates of $3,500 or $4,500 for trading in older vehicles for new, more fuel-efficient models. Department officials met with car dealer trade groups on Wednesday to discuss how the program will eventually end and respond to complaints over a backlog of rebate payments to dealers.

China says 1,300 sick in new lead poisoning case

BEIJING (AP) - More than 1,300 children have been sickened by lead poisoning in central China, the second such case involving a large number of children this month, state media said Thursday. The official Xinhua News Agency said 1,354 children - or nearly 70 percent of the children tested - who lived near a manganese processing plant in Wenping township in Hunan province were found to have excessive lead in their blood.

Reality TV contestant sought in ex-model's death

BUENA PARK, Calif. (AP) - Ryan Alexander Jenkins, who is wanted for questioning in the death of his former wife, exuded so much confidence on the reality TV show "Megan Wants a Millionaire" that other contestants took to calling him "Smooth Operator." After taping for the VH1 series finished, Jenkins met Jasmine Fiore in Las Vegas casino in March and the two soon got married, said Fiore's mother, Lisa Lepore.

SAfrican runner wins 800 amid gender questions

BERLIN (AP) - Track and field's ruling body is investigating whether a South African teenager meets the requirements to compete as a woman amid concerns about her dramatic improvement in times, muscular build and deep voice. Caster Semenya easily won the 800-meter gold medal at the world championships Wednesday, her dominating run coming on the same day the IAAF said she was undergoing a gender test.

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