Diplomats: Iran censured at UN nuclear meeting

VIENNA (AP) - The U.N. nuclear agency's board censured Iran on Friday, with 25 nations backing a resolution that demands Tehran immediately mothball its newly revealed nuclear facility and heed U.N. Security Council resolutions calling on it to stop uranium enrichment. Iran remained defiant, with its chief representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency declaring that his country would resist "pressure, resolutions, sanction(s) and threat of military attack."

Dubai World's debt freeze 'carefully planned'

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) - A top Dubai finance official said the emirate fully expected fallout from its debt problems and assured foreign creditors that Dubai World's request to postpone payment on some of its $60 billion in debt was "carefully planned." The comments by Sheik Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, the chairman of Dubai's Supreme Fiscal Committee, came as world markets reacted in shock to what some analysts indicated amounted to a default Dubai World, the city-state's key engine of growth with interests ranging from ports to real estate.

Shoppers pack stores as holiday season revs up

Shoppers crowded stores and malls in the wee hours Friday, some after spending the night waiting in line, to grab early morning deals and hard-to-find items. The nation's retailers expanded their hours and offered deep discounts on everything from toys to TVs in hopes of getting consumers, many of whom are worried about high unemployment and tight credit, to open their wallets.

Was president in danger from dinner crashers?

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Secret Service maintains that President Barack Obama was never in danger at a state dinner after an uninvited Virginia couple got through security, but it wouldn't comment on whether anyone is screened for radiological or biological weapons. Edwin Donovan, a Secret Service spokesman, said Thursday the agency doesn't discuss the levels of security screening at the White House.

Food banks go high-tech to feed the hungry

SEATTLE (AP) - Food banks across the country are undergoing a high-tech revolution, adopting sophisticated databases, bar coding, GPS tracking, automated warehouses and other technologies used in the food industry that increasingly supplies their goods. It's a long way from handing out macaroni and canned soup from a church basement.

Off the mound, Pirates pitcher pursues farm policy

WASHINGTON (AP) - An e-mail requesting an internship arrived at the Agriculture Department this summer with an impressive resume: Princeton University degree in operations research and financial engineering, 3.8 college GPA, 1520 SATs. Ross Ohlendorf didn't mention his 95 mph sinking fastball, but it probably wouldn't have hurt his chances. Department officials were impressed that the Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher wanted to work for them in the offseason.

In tobacco-loving Va., bars to quit cold-turkey

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - The bluish haze that has hung over the Third Street Diner's bar and booths for decades finally lifts next month as a new anti-smoking law takes hold in Virginia, a huge shift for a state whose tobacco habit dates to the Jamestown settlement some 400 years ago. Starting Dec. 1, Virginia will join dozens of other states that ban smoking in restaurants. Restaurants in Virginia will be allowed to have a smoking area only if they segregate smokers into rooms with ventilation systems separate from those that heat and cool nonsmoking patrons.

Pinetop Perkins' 80-year career still going

CLARKSDALE, Miss. (AP) - Noisy crowds in smoky bars don't bother 96-year-old bluesman Pinetop Perkins. It's all part of his job. Most nights, after he snuffs out his menthol cigarette, Perkins slides onto the piano bench in some club and eases into a wail about hard times and treacherous women.

2 rescued earlier at site of Utah cave tragedy

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - The medical student who died in a Utah cave was the third spelunker in recent years to get stuck in the same tiny crevice but the only one to die - an outcome that devastated the dozens of rescuers who worked for more than a day to save him. John Jones, 26, of Stansbury Park, died early Thursday, nearly 28 hours after he got stuck in Nutty Putty Cave, a popular spelunking site south of Salt Lake City. It was the first known fatality since cavers began exploring the 1,500-foot cave's narrow passageways in the 1960s, cave access manager Michael Leavitt said.

Broncos end 4-game skid with 26-6 win over Giants

DENVER (AP) - Four weeks after getting ripped for taunting opponents during warmups, Denver coach Josh McDaniels was caught on TV cursing at his bumbling Broncos. This time, he was the object of an apology from the NFL Network instead of league-wide criticism for jawing with San Diego's linebackers. Oh, and the Broncos finally won a game again, beating the New York Giants 26-6 on Thursday night.

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