Philippines declares emergency after 46 killed

AMPATUAN, Philippines (AP) - The Philippine president placed two southern provinces under emergency rule Tuesday as security forces unearthed more bodies from one of the worst incidents of election violence in the nation's history, pushing the death toll to 46. Police and soldiers found 22 bodies in a hillside mass grave Tuesday, adding to the 24 bullet-riddled bodies recovered near the scene of Monday's massacre in Maguindanao province, said Chief Superintendent Josefino Cataluna of the Central Mindanao region.

Pakistani troops kill 18 Islamist militants

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) - Pakistani troops killed 18 militants in a fresh offensive Tuesday against insurgents blamed for a wave of recent bombings in the main northwestern city of Peshawar. The operation in Bara region was the latest salvo in a broadening campaign against al-Qaida and the Taliban in the lawless lands close to the Afghan border since last year.

SPIN METER: Legislation inflation grips GOP

WASHINGTON (AP) - Republicans love to get their hands on the Democrats' health care legislation. They show it to the cameras at every opportunity, even piling one version on top of another to make a big pile look even bigger. Although they complain they don't have time to read all of it, they found the time to tape it together, page by page, so they could roll it up the steps of the Capitol like super-sized toilet paper and show how very long it is.

Govt issues record 2.1M recall for dropside cribs

WASHINGTON (AP) - More than 2.1 million drop-side cribs by Stork Craft Manufacturing are being recalled, the biggest crib recall in U.S history, following reports of four infant suffocations. The Consumer Product Safety Commission said late Monday the recall involves 1.2 million cribs in the United States and almost 1 million in Canada, where Stork Craft is based. Sales of the cribs being recalled go back to 1993.

SC legislators begin Sanford impeachment hearings

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - Legislators irked for months over Gov. Mark Sanford's summertime vanishing act and his tearful revelation that he was in Argentina for a rendezvous with his lover plan to start debating a measure Tuesday that ultimately would remove him from office. The Republican does face new ethics charges about his travel and campaign finances. But the seven lawmakers who comprise a panel of the House Judiciary Committee that will debate impeachment are focused solely this week on his five-day absence in June and failure to put someone in charge of the state while he was gone.

Economic recovery likely not quite that energetic

WASHINGTON (AP) - Remember the economy's return to growth last quarter? Well, it probably wasn't as energetic as first thought. A government report due out Tuesday morning is expected to show that the economy expanded at a pace of 2.9 percent from July through September, according to Wall Street economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters. If they are right, it would mark a slower expansion than the 3.5 percent pace reported a month ago. Most of that rebound reflected federal support for spending on homes and cars.

China executes 2 for role in tainted milk scandal

BEIJING (AP) - China executed two people Tuesday for their roles in a tainted milk powder scandal in which at least six children died and more than 300,000 became sick. Zhang Yujun was executedfor endangering public safety and Geng Jinping was executed for producing and selling toxic food, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.

Big Bang atom smasher starts speeding proton beams

GENEVA (AP) - Scientists running the world's largest atom smasher used the $10 billion machine's accelerator to speed up proton beams for the first time Tuesday, in a step toward experiments about the makeup of the universe. "It was just a preliminary test," said James Gillies, spokesman for the European Organization for Nuclear Research. But the machine showed it could raise the energy of the proton beams whizzing around the massive machine by an initial 10 percent.

Mya is 3 points from perfect at 'Dancing' finale

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Mya is poised to take the "Dancing With the Stars" title after finishing three points away from perfect during the final night of competition Monday. She made it clear that she intends to claim the show's mirrorball trophy.

Late field goal gives Titans 20-17 win over Texas

HOUSTON (AP) - Rob Bironas kicked a 53-yard field goal with less than a minute remaining and the Tennessee Titans beat the Houston Texans 20-17 Monday night for their fourth straight victory after an 0-6 start. The Texans (5-5) had a chance to tie it, but Kris Brown's 49-yard attempt with 1 second remaining was wide left. It was his second miss of the game and the second straight game he's missed a chance to send the Texans to overtime.

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