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AP Top News at 2:22 p.m. EST - November 30

Obama facing tough selling job on Afghan policy

WASHINGTON (AP) - Barack Obama has begun one of the toughest sales jobs of his presidency, launching the much-awaited rollout of his new Afghan war strategy by informing top military and civilian advisers in Washington and Kabul and telephoning key allies around the globe. Obama is outlining his decision to an increasingly skeptical U.S. public on Tuesday night in a nationally broadcast address from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. The strategy will include deploying thousands more American forces to Afghanistan, clarifying why the U.S. is fighting the war and laying out a path toward disengagement.

Divided Senate poised to start health care debate

WASHINGTON (AP) - Senate Democrats face deep divisions within their ranks as they begin debate Monday on President Barack Obama's health care overhaul, with the recent all-hands-on-deck coalition frayed over abortion and the option of government-run insurance. While majority Democrats will need 60 votes to finish, some in the party say they'll jump ship from the bill without tighter restrictions on abortion coverage. Others say they'll go unless a government plan to compete with private insurance companies gets tossed. Such concessions would enrage liberals, the party's heart and soul.

Demjanjuk trial on Nazi death camp charges opens

MUNICH (AP) - A German court put John Demjanjuk on trial Monday to face charges of being an accessory to the murder of 27,900 Jews at a Nazi death camp, and his lawyer immediately accused the court of bias. The 89-year-old retired Ohio autoworker arrived at the opening of the trial in a wheelchair to face the final chapter of some 30 years of efforts to prosecute him, wearing a navy baseball cap and covered in a light blue blanket.

Gov't increases pressure on mortgage industry

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Obama administration will crack down on mortgage companies that are failing to do enough to help borrowers at risk of foreclosure, as part of a broad effort to boost participation in its mortgage assistance program. The Treasury Department said Monday it will withhold paymentsfrom mortgage companies that aren't doing enough to make the changes permanent. Officials will monitor the largest of the 71 participating mortgage companies via daily progress reports.

Suspect in officer killings eludes law in Seattle

SEATTLE (AP) - A heavily armed SWAT team stormed a Seattle home Monday where they thought they had cornered the suspect in the slaying of four police officers at a coffee shop, only to find out that he was not in the house and still on the loose. The discovery added new urgency to the manhunt for Maurice Clemmons as police canvassed the neighborhood with search dogs and hundreds of officers were deployed around Seattle for any sign of the suspect. Authorities put up a $125,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.

Iran holds yacht with 5 UK nationals

LONDON (AP) - Iran is holding five British sailors after stopping their racing yacht in the Persian Gulf, the British government said Monday. The yacht, owned by Sail Bahrain, was stopped on its way from the tiny island country to the Gulf city of Dubai on Wednesday when it "may have strayed inadvertently into Iranian waters," Britain's Foreign Office said.

Clinton daughter Chelsea engaged to be married

NEW YORK (AP) - Chelsea Clinton, the 29-year old daughter of former President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, has become engaged to her longtime boyfriend, investment banker Marc Mezvinsky. The couple sent an e-mail to friends Friday announcing the news. They said they were looking at a possible wedding next summer. Matt McKenna, a spokesman for the former president, confirmed the engagement Monday.

Jackson's 'This Is It' out on DVD in January

NEW YORK (AP) - "Michael Jackson's This Is It," a film about the King of Pop's final rehearsals before his death, will be released on DVD on Jan. 26, 2010. The DVD release was announced Monday by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

Woods speaks up, says crash is 'private matter'

WINDERMERE, Fla. (AP) - Despite presenting his side of the car-crash story and asking that it remain "a private matter," Tiger Woods may still not be in the clear. Troopers arriving at his Isleworth home requesting an interview were turned down for a third straight day, but the Florida Highway Patrol said it will continue to investigate. Yet the tabloid-fueled rumors now swirling around one of the world's richest and most-recognizable athletes could turn out to be more troublesome still.

Williams fined record $82,500 for US Open tirade

Serena Williams was fined a record $82,500 for her U.S. Open tirade and could be suspended from that tournament if she has another "major offense" at any Grand Slam in the next two years. Grand Slam administrator Bill Babcock's ruling was released Monday, and he said Williams faces a "probationary period" at tennis' four major championships in 2010 and 2011. If she has another "major offense" at a Grand Slam tournament in that time, the fine would increase to $175,000 and she would be barred from the following U.S. Open.

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