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AP Top News at 3:20 p.m. EST - November 22

Senate Democrats at odds over health care bill

WASHINGTON (AP) - Senate Democrats on Sunday sparred with each other over how to fix the nation's troubled health care system, the moderates threatening to scuttle legislation if their demands weren't met and the more liberal members warning their party leaders not to bend. The dispute among Democrats foretells of a rowdy floor debate next month on legislation that would extend health care coverage to roughly 31 million Americans. Republicans have already made clear they aren't supporting the bill.

Iran begins war games to protect nuclear sites

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran on Sunday began large-scale air defense war games aimed at protecting its nuclear facilities from attack, state TV reported, as an air force commander boasted the country could deter any military strike by Israel. It said the five-day drill will cover an area a third of the size of Iran and spread across the central, western and southern parts of the country.

RI bishop asked Kennedy in 2007 to avoid Communion

EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - The Roman Catholic bishop of Rhode Island said Sunday that he asked Rep. Patrick Kennedy in a 2007 letter to stop receiving Communion, the central sacrament of the church, because of the congressman's public stance on moral issues. Bishop Thomas Tobin divulged details of his confidential exchange with Kennedy after the Democratic lawmaker told The Providence Journal in a story published Sunday that Tobin had instructed him not to receive Communion. The two men have clashed repeatedly in the past few weeks over abortion.

Lawyer: 9/11 defendants want platform for views

NEW YORK (AP) - The five men facing trial in the Sept. 11 attacks will plead not guilty so that they can air their criticisms of U.S. foreign policy, the lawyer for one of the defendants said Sunday. Scott Fenstermaker, the lawyer for accused terrorist Ali Abd al-Aziz Ali, said the men would not deny their role in the 2001 attacks but "would explain what happened and why they did it."

Iraq PM ramps up attacks on Baathists before vote

BAGHDAD (AP) - A stepped-up campaign by Iraq's prime minister against Saddam Hussein loyalists is alienating Sunni Muslims and stoking tensions between them and the majority Shiites ahead of key national elections. In its latest anti-Baathist attack, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's Shiite-dominated government put three men on state television Sunday to confess their alleged role in planning suicide attacks in Baghdad last month. The three, all in detention and dressed in orange prison jumpsuits, said the bombings were ordered by Saddam's Baath Party.

Sizing up the Kennedy dynasty's next generation

WASHINGTON (AP) - Sen. Edward M. Kennedy will be a tough act to follow, even for the Kennedys. His death, coupled with the decision by family members not to seek the seat he held for nearly five decades, has prompted predictions that the family's long-running political dynasty is over. There's talk the Kennedy political bloodlines are running thin. Some say the younger brood lacks the grit and zest for political combat that drove the liberal Democrat to become one of the leading politicians of the last 40 years.

Study: Scavengers big and small dwell in deep sea

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Thousands of marine species eke out an existence in the ocean's pitch-black depths by feeding on the snowlike decaying matter that cascades down, and even sunken whale bones, according to a report released Sunday. Oil and methane also are an energy source for the bottom-dwellers, the report says.

'New Moon' wolfs down $140.7M in opening weekend

LOS ANGELES (AP) - The vampire romance "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" sucked up $140.7 million in its first three days and pulled in a total of $258.8 million worldwide, according to studio estimates Sunday. The No. 1 domestic debut for Summit Entertainment's "New Moon" was more than twice the $69.6 million haul over the same weekend last year for "Twilight," the first in the franchise based on Stephenie Meyer's novels.

Canadian woman loses benefits over Facebook photo

BROMONT, Quebec (AP) - A Canadian woman on long-term sick leave for depression says she lost her benefits because her insurance agent found photos of her on Facebook in which she appeared to be having fun. Nathalie Blanchard has been on leave from her job at IBM in Bromont, Quebec, for the last year.

Ole Miss, Cal, UNC back in AP Top 25

NEW YORK (AP) - Mississippi, California and North Carolina, teams that started the season with lofty expectations before stumbling, have surged back into the AP Top 25 college football poll. There was little change, however, at the top of The Associated Press rankings Sunday after a weekend when most of the highly ranked teams had easy victories or time off.

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