Obama says talks under way on Iran sanctions

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - President Barack Obama said Thursday the United States has begun talking with allies about fresh punishment against Iran for defying efforts to halt its nuclear weapons pursuits. Obama's tough talk came as Iran indicated it would not ship its low-enriched uranium to Russia for processing, the centerpiece of deal aimed at a peaceful resolution to Iran's contested nuclear program.

Afghan president sworn in to second 5-year term

KABUL (AP) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai says his country's security forces should take the lead in tackling the insurgency there, and that the forces should be able to take control of security in the next five years. Karzai also addressed corruption during his inauguration ceremony in the presidential palace. He says officials who are corrupt should be "tried and prosecuted." Karzai has come under intense international pressure to tackle the issue, and he described corruption as a "dangerous enemy of the state."

Reid sets markers for historic health care debate

WASHINGTON (AP) - Setting up a historic year-end health care debate, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid unveiled long-awaited legislation Wednesday night to extend coverage to all but 6 percent of eligible Americans and bar private industry from denying insurance because of pre-existing medical conditions. The Democrat's $849 billion measure is designed to remake the nation's health care system, relying on cuts in future Medicare spending to cover costs - as well as on higher payroll taxes for the well-to-do and a new levy on patients undergoing elective cosmetic surgery.

Judge: Corps' negligence caused Katrina flooding

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - A federal judge ruled Wednesday that the Army Corps of Engineers' failure to properly maintain a navigation channel led to massive flooding in Hurricane Katrina, a decision that could make the federal government vulnerable to billions of dollars in claims. U.S. District Judge Stanwood Duval sided with six residents and one business who argued the Army Corps' shoddy oversight of the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet led to the flooding of New Orleans' Lower 9th Ward and neighboring St. Bernard Parish. He said, however, the corps couldn't be held liable for the flooding of eastern New Orleans, where two of the plaintiffs lived.

AP source: Ex-official to head Fort Hood review

WASHINGTON (AP) - Defense Secretary Robert Gates has tapped a former senior defense official to lead a broad Pentagon review of the circumstances surrounding the Fort Hood shootings, The Associated Press has learned. Gates will announce Thursday that it will be a single, coordinated review, and will call for a quick, short-term report, followed by a longer, more extensive study, according to an administration official.

Obama, Holder predict conviction in 9/11 case

WASHINGTON (AP) - From opposite ends of the globe, President Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder firmly rejected criticism Wednesday of the planned New York trial of the professed Sept. 11 mastermind and predicted Khalid Sheikh Mohammed would be exposed as a murderous coward, convicted and executed. "Failure is not an option," Holder declared.

16 killed in Pakistan courthouse bombing

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) - A suicide bomber killed 16 people Thursday outside a courthouse in northwestern Pakistan, the latest attack in an onslaught by Islamist militants fighting back against an army offensive in the nearby Afghan border region. The bombing was the sixth in less than two weeks in and around Peshawar, the largest city in the northwest. The attacks have killed more than 80 people.

Police: Mo. teen dug grave anticipating murder

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - Blessed with a Friday off school, 15-year-old Alyssa Bustamante dug two holes in the ground to be used as a grave, authorities said. For the next week, she attended classes, all the while plotting the right time for a murder, they said. That time arrived the evening of Oct. 21, when Bustamante strangled 9-year-old neighbor Elizabeth Olten without provocation, cut the girl's throat and stabbed her, prosecutors said. Why?

Nicole Richie is hospitalized for pneumonia

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Nicole Richie has been admitted to a Los Angeles hospital and is being treated for pneumonia. Her representative says she's doing well. Publicist Nicole Perna said Wednesday the 28-year-old actress checked herself into Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

Selig: Baseball will tighten playoff schedule

CHICAGO (AP) - Baseball plans to cut down on off days during the postseason next year. Commissioner Bud Selig said Wednesday he's working on tightening up the 2010 playoff schedule so there will be fewer gaps between games. Los Angeles Angels manager Mike Scioscia criticized the current format after the Yankees and Angels played only eight times in 20 days going into Game 6 of the AL championship series.

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