NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - CNN found itself reporting live Tuesday on a deadly shooting close to home: inside the building that houses its downtown Atlanta television center.

AP - Gunfire inside the CNN Center sent a lunchtime crowd at the landmark scurrying for cover as a domestic dispute turned violent and ended with the death of a hotel employee and the wounding of her former boyfriend.

AP - Confirming weeks of conjecture and rumor, DaimlerChrysler AG's chairman said Wednesday that it has been in talks with people about the sale of its struggling Chrysler unit.

AFP - Political turmoil raged on in Ukraine Wednesday, after President Viktor Yushchenko pressed ahead with plans to dissolve parliament and hold early elections while his opponents vowed to take to the streets in protest.

AFP - Britain was waiting for Iran's response on Wednesday to its proposal for direct bilateral discussions over the 15 naval personnel detained by Tehran, following revelations the two countries had "further contacts."

TEHRAN (Reuters) - A senior Iranian official said on Wednesday Britain was taking 'appropriate action' to end the row over Tehran's detention of 15 British military personnel, emphasizing a softer diplomatic approach to the crisis.

DAMASCUS (Reuters) - U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi met President Bashar al-Assad on Wednesday, against White House wishes, to urge Syria to help stabilize Iraq and stop supporting Washington's adversaries in the Middle East.

HONIARA (Reuters) - Thousands of people left homeless by a powerful earthquake and tsunami in the Solomon Islands may not get help for another two days, the government warned, as rescuers struggled to reach remote villages.

HAVANA (Reuters) - Convalescing Cuban leader Fidel Castro blasted U.S. President George W. Bush's biofuel plan as 'genocidal' in an editorial on Wednesday, saying it would worsen global hunger.

AP - Aid efforts following a devastating earthquake and tsunami were hampered Wednesday by transport bottlenecks and regular aftershocks, and relief workers warned that the need for fresh drinking water was becoming urgent.

AP - U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi met Syrian government officials Wednesday for talks criticized by the White House as undermining American efforts to isolate the hard-line Arab country.

AP - Iranian state media reported Wednesday that an Iranian envoy will be allowed to meet the five Iranians detained in January by U.S. forces in the northern Iraqi town of Irbil.

Reuters - A senior Iranian official said on Wednesday Britain was taking "appropriate action" to end the row over Tehran's detention of 15 British military personnel, emphasizing a softer diplomatic approach to the crisis.

Reuters - U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi met President Bashar al-Assad on Wednesday, against White House wishes, to urge Syria to help stabilize Iraq and stop supporting Washington's adversaries in the Middle East.

Reuters - Thousands of people left homeless by a powerful earthquake and tsunami in the Solomon Islands may not get help for another two days, the government warned, as rescuers struggled to reach remote villages.

Reuters - Convalescing Cuban leader Fidel Castro blasted U.S. President George W. Bush's biofuel plan as "genocidal" in an editorial on Wednesday, saying it would worsen global hunger.

AFP - US House speaker Nancy Pelosi holds talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Wednesday on a two-day trip to Damascus that has infuriated the White House.

TEHRAN (Reuters) - An Iranian representative is to be allowed to meet five Iranians who have been held in Iraq by U.S. forces since January, Iran's official IRNA news agency said on Wednesday.

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Rich countries bent on power and profit have mercilessly 'plundered and sacked' Africa and other poor regions and exported to them the 'cynicism of a world without God,' Pope Benedict writes in his first book.

AP - Iran's state media reported Wednesday that an Iranian envoy will be allowed to meet five Iranians detained by U.S. forces in northern Iraq since January — a possible sign of further progress toward ending a British-Iranian standoff.

AP - President Bush denounced 'irresponsible' Democrats on Tuesday for going on spring break without approving money for the Iraq war with no strings. He condemned House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's trip to Syria, too, accusing her of encouraging a terrorism sponsor.

AP - U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi met Syrian President Bashar Assad Wednesday for talks criticized by the White House as undermining American efforts to isolate the hard-line Arab country.

AP - Gunmen opened fire on a minibus carrying power plant workers in a predominantly Sunni area west of Kirkuk on Wednesday, killing six men, officials said.

AP - DaimlerChrysler AG is confident a turnaround program at its Chrysler unit will return the beleaguered American brand to profitability, but Chairman Dieter Zetsche said Wednesday the automaker is in talks with unidentified buyers about a possible sale.

Reuters - Britain said on Wednesday it had held talks with a senior Iranian official about 15 captured British sailors and Syria said it was mediating in the crisis, fuelling hopes that a diplomatic solution can be found.

Reuters - An Iranian representative is to be allowed to meet five Iranians who have been held in Iraq by U.S. forces since January, Iran's official IRNA news agency said on Wednesday.

AFP - Thousands of protesters took to the streets of Kiev Wednesday to demonstrate against President Viktor Yushchenko's order to dissolve parliament that has plunged the country into political turmoil.

AFP - US House speaker Nancy Pelosi was holding talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Wednesday on a two-day trip to Damascus that has infuriated the White House.

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran's president said on Wednesday Iran was releasing 15 detained British naval personnel as a 'gift to the British people'.

BOGOR, Indonesia (Reuters) - Around 20 Muslim clerics from around the world called on Wednesday for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, but no clerics from the war-shattered country made it to the meeting in Indonesia.

CAIRO (Reuters) - The head of the Arab League said on Wednesday that Israeli leaders were sending out mixed messages on whether they were serious about Middle East peace, and Israeli actions on the ground suggested they were not.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The U.S. military confirmed on Wednesday receiving an 'informal' request for an Iranian consular official to visit five Iranians who have been held in Iraq by U.S. forces since January.

OSLO (Reuters) - Likely headlines predicting a global warming 'catastrophe', 'disaster' or 'cataclysm' after a U.N. report due on Friday risk sapping public willingness to act by making the problem seem too big to tackle, some experts say.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Two lawmakers from the movement of anti-American Shi'ite Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr were dismissed on Wednesday for meeting U.S. officials, an official in the movement said.

AP - President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Wednesday that Iran would free the 15 detained British sailors and marines as a gift to the British people.

AP - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday that Syrian President Bashar Assad assured her of his willingness to engage in peace talks with Israel.

AP - After a nine-year title drought, Tennessee and coach Pat Summitt are NCAA champions. The Lady Vols captured an elusive seventh national title Tuesday night, beating Rutgers to the ball for second and third shots in a 59-46 win to reclaim their customary place above all other programs.

Reuters - The U.S. military confirmed on Wednesday receiving an "informal" request for an Iranian consular official to visit five Iranians who have been held in Iraq by U.S. forces since January.

Reuters - Likely headlines predicting a global warming "catastrophe," "disaster" or "cataclysm" after a U.N. report due on Friday risk sapping public willingness to act by making the problem seem too big to tackle, some experts say.

Reuters - Two lawmakers from the movement of anti-American Shi'ite Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr were dismissed on Wednesday for meeting U.S. officials, an official in the movement said.

Reuters - Rich countries bent on power and profit have mercilessly "plundered and sacked" Africa and other poor regions and exported to them the "cynicism of a world without God," Pope Benedict writes in his first book.

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad freed 15 British sailors and marines on Wednesday, offering a 'gift' to Britain that ended a 13-day crisis which had rattled world financial markets.

DAMASCUS (Reuters) - U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, on a visit to Syria opposed by the White House, said on Wednesday President Bashar al-Assad was ready to hold peace talks with Israel.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama raised at least $25 million in the first quarter of 2007, his campaign said on Wednesday, just shy of front-runner Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton who took in $26 million.

TOKYO (Reuters) - North Korea is unlikely to meet a mid-April deadline to shut a nuclear reactor as Washington and Pyongyang remain divided over a transfer of the North's funds in Macau, a Chinese envoy was quoted as saying on Wednesday.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. Immigration arrested 60 to 70 sanitation workers early Wednesday at Cargill's pork plant in Beardstown, Illinois, the mayor said.

AP - Democrat Barack Obama raked in $25 million for his presidential bid in the first three months of 2007, placing him on a par with front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton and dashing her image as the party's inevitable nominee.

AP - Keith Richards was joking when he claimed to have snorted his father's ashes along with cocaine, a spokesman said Wednesday.

Reuters - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad freed 15 British sailors and marines on Wednesday, offering a "gift" to Britain that ended a 13-day crisis which had rattled world financial markets.

Reuters - U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, on a visit to Syria opposed by the White House, said on Wednesday President Bashar al-Assad was ready to hold peace talks with Israel.

Reuters - Around 20 Muslim clerics from around the world called on Wednesday for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, but no clerics from the war-shattered country made it to the meeting in Indonesia.

Reuters - U.S. Immigration arrested 60 to 70 sanitation workers early Wednesday at Cargill's pork plant in Beardstown, Illinois, the mayor said.

AFP - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced on Wednesday that 15 British sailors captured almost two weeks ago in the Gulf had been pardoned and would be freed imminently as "a gift".

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad freed 15 British sailors and marines on Wednesday, offering Britain a 'gift' in a surprise announcement that ended a 13-day crisis which rattled world financial markets.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Federal immigration agents arrested 60 to 70 sanitation workers during an early Wednesday morning raid at Cargill Inc.'s pork plant in Beardstown, Illinois, disrupting meat production for about three hours, said city, company, and immigration officials.

AP - Iran on Wednesday freed the 15 detained British sailors and marines in what President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called an Easter gift to the British people. Prime Minister Tony Blair said he bore 'no ill will' toward the Iranian people.

AP - Democrat Barack Obama raked in $25 million for his presidential bid in the first three months of 2007, placing him on a par with front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton and dashing her image as the party's inevitable nominee.

AP - Gunmen opened fire on a minibus carrying power plant workers Wednesday in a predominantly Sunni area west of Kirkuk, killing six men, officials said. West of Baghdad, 22 shepherds were abducted.

AP - Shareholders of DaimlerChrysler AG had hoped for a decision on the sale of the money-losing Chrysler unit, or at least news on when that might happen — but got neither Wednesday at a meeting marked by simmering tension over the automaker's future.

Reuters - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad freed 15 British sailors and marines on Wednesday, offering Britain a "gift" in a surprise announcement that ended a 13-day crisis which rattled world financial markets.

Reuters - Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama raised at least $25 million so far in 2007, his campaign said on Wednesday, just $1 million shy of the party's early front-runner Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.

AFP - Iran released 15 British sailors on Wednesday as a "gift" to the people of Britain in a dramatic end to a two-week ordeal that had triggered a new diplomatic crisis between Tehran and the West.

AFP - Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of Kiev on Wednesday to protest an order from President Viktor Yushchenko to dissolve parliament that has plunged the country into turmoil.

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Wednesday he would free 15 British sailors and marines, making Britain a 'gift' in a surprise announcement that ended a crisis which rattled world financial markets.

DAMASCUS (Reuters) - U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, on a visit to Syria opposed by the White House, said on Wednesday President Bashar al-Assad was ready to hold peace talks with Israel.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Wednesday warned that limiting troops' activities in Iraq and withdrawing from Baghdad could lead to 'ethnic cleansing' in the capital and elsewhere in the country.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States remains confident North Korea will meet a mid-April deadline to close a nuclear reactor despite a delay on the transfer of funds frozen in a Macau bank, the State Department said on Wednesday.

NEW HAVEN, Connecticut (Reuters) - A former U.S. Navy sailor pleaded not guilty in federal court on Wednesday to charges of spying and providing material support to terrorists.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - John McCain is 70, Rudy Giuliani has been married three times and Mitt Romney is Mormon -- not a problem for being president, Vice President Dick Cheney says.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council will debate climate change for the first time on April 17, the result of a British campaign to force it onto the agenda of a body that deals with matters of war and peace.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Defense lawyers at Conrad Black's criminal fraud trial sought to show jurors on Wednesday that the board overseeing his former company approved tens of millions of dollars in payments that prosecutors say the fallen media baron and his co-defendants stole.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Federal immigration agents arrested 62 sanitation workers during a Wednesday morning raid at Cargill Inc.'s pork plant in Beardstown, Illinois, some on identity theft charges and others for being illegal immigrants, immigration officials said.

AP - President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in a surprise move that defused escalating tension in the Middle East, announced the release of 15 captive British sailors and marines Wednesday in what he called an Easter gift to the British people.

AP - One doctor authorized all 11 prescription medications found in Anna Nicole Smith's hotel room the day the Playboy Playmate died of a drug overdose, according to documents released by the medical examiner's office Wednesday.

AP - As home foreclosures mount, mortgage companies are knocking on doors, sending letters and making phone calls with a simple message for struggling homeowners: They'd rather modify your loan than foreclose.

AP - The Thai government blocked access to YouTube on Wednesday after complaining that a short clip on the popular video-sharing site is insulting to the country's beloved monarch.

Reuters - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Wednesday he would free 15 British sailors and marines, making Britain a "gift" in a surprise announcement that ended a crisis which rattled world financial markets.

Reuters - U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, on a visit to Syria opposed by the White House, said on Wednesday President Bashar al-Assad was ready to hold peace talks with Israel.

Reuters - U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Wednesday warned that limiting troops' activities in Iraq and withdrawing from Baghdad could lead to "ethnic cleansing" in the capital and elsewhere in the country.

Reuters - The United States remains confident North Korea will meet a mid-April deadline to close a nuclear reactor despite a delay on the transfer of funds frozen in a Macau bank, the State Department said on Wednesday.

Reuters - A former U.S. Navy sailor pleaded not guilty in federal court on Wednesday to charges of spying and providing material support to terrorists.

Reuters - John McCain is 70, Rudy Giuliani has been married three times and Mitt Romney is Mormon -- not a problem for being president, Vice President Dick Cheney says.

Reuters - The U.N. Security Council will debate climate change for the first time on April 17, the result of a British campaign to force it onto the agenda of a body that deals with matters of war and peace.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A New York City jazz musician and martial arts instructor pleaded guilty on Wednesday to pledging allegiance to al Qaeda and offering to train would-be terrorists in hand-to-hand combat.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. officials have questioned suspected Islamist militants in Ethiopia in hopes of uncovering details about al Qaeda activities in East Africa, officials said on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic presidential newcomer Barack Obama said on Wednesday he has raised $25 million this year, almost matching his higher profile opponent Hillary Rodham Clinton and solidifying his bid for the party nomination.

AP - President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad defused a growing confrontation with Britain, announcing the surprise release of 15 captive British sailors Wednesday and then gleefully accepting the crew's thanks and handshakes in what he called an Easter gift.

AP - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi held talks with Syria's leader Wednesday despite White House objections, saying she pressed President Bashar Assad over his country's support for militant groups and passed him a peace message from Israel.

AP - The lawyer and parents of American-born Taliban soldier John Walker Lindh asked President Bush on Wednesday to commute his 20-year prison term, citing the case of an Australian man who was sentenced to less than a year for aiding terrorism.

AP - Heavily armed gunmen on Wednesday abducted 22 Shiite shepherds who were tending thousands of sheep and had wandered into a dangerous Sunni area west of Baghdad, while six power plant workers were gunned down in northern Iraq.

AP - President Bush named Republican fundraiser Sam Fox as U.S. ambassador to Belgium on Wednesday, using a maneuver that allowed him to bypass Congress where Democrats had derailed Fox's nomination.

AP - A good mammogram reader may do just as well at spotting cancers without expensive new computer systems often used for a second opinion, a new study suggests. Computerized mammography, now used for about a third of the nation's mammograms, too often finds harmless spots that lead to false scares, researchers found. That conflicts with earlier studies showing benefit from the systems.

AP - One doctor authorized all 11 prescription medications found in Anna Nicole Smith's hotel room the day the Playboy Playmate died of a drug overdose, according to documents released by the medical examiner's office Wednesday.

AP - Wall Street caught its breath Wednesday after the previous session's big advance, advancing only slightly amid a mix of economic data and a slight drop in oil prices. Bond prices rose as investors brushed off the economic reports and went on a buying spree.

Reuters - A New York City jazz musician and martial arts instructor pleaded guilty on Wednesday to pledging allegiance to al Qaeda and offering to train would-be terrorists in hand-to-hand combat.

Reuters - U.S. officials have questioned suspected Islamist militants in Ethiopia in hopes of uncovering details about al Qaeda activities in East Africa, officials said on Wednesday.

FORT IRWIN, California (Reuters) - President George W. Bush admitted on Wednesday that Americans are weary of the Iraq war and defended his decision to send more troops to Iraq before a number of soldiers about to deploy there.

NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - The head of the U.S. National Hurricane Center said on Wednesday a busy Atlantic hurricane season was likely this year, which the federal government's chief emergency official vowed to be ready for.

MIAMI (Reuters) - Evidence from alleged al Qaeda operative Jose Padilla can be used against him at trial despite defense claims the American's arrest was based on information obtained through torture, a U.S. judge ruled on Wednesday.

AP - President Bush said Wednesday he knows the nation is weary of war and wondering if the U.S. can win. Still, he said efforts to pull troops home from Iraq only make the U.S. more vulnerable to attack from an enemy that is 'pure evil.'

AP - Two soldiers killed in Iraq in February may have died as a result of friendly fire, Army officials said Wednesday.

AP - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi challenged the White House on Middle East policy Wednesday, meeting with Syria's leader and insisting 'the road to Damascus is a road to peace.'

AP - With a stunning $25 million fundraising haul for his presidential campaign, Democrat Barack Obama affirmed his status Wednesday as Hillary Rodham Clinton's chief rival.

AP - Film director Robert Clark, best known for the beloved holiday classic 'A Christmas Story,' was killed with his son Wednesday in a car wreck, the filmmaker's assistant and police said.

AP - Wall Street caught its breath Wednesday after the previous session's big advance, rising only slightly amid lackluster economic data and a slight drop in oil prices. Bond prices rose following the economic reports.

AP - To his very last day, Eddie Robinson was always battling something. There was the institutional racism that surrounded him, the piddling football budget he and his coaching staff subsisted on at predominantly black Grambling State and, ultimately, the Alzheimer's disease that took his life at age 88.

Reuters - President George W. Bush admitted on Wednesday that Americans are weary of the Iraq war and defended his decision to send more troops to Iraq before a number of soldiers about to deploy there.

Reuters - The head of the U.S. National Hurricane Center said on Wednesday a busy Atlantic hurricane season was likely this year, which the federal government's chief emergency official vowed to be ready for.

Reuters - Evidence from alleged al Qaeda operative Jose Padilla can be used against him at trial despite defense claims the American's arrest was based on information obtained through torture, a U.S. judge ruled on Wednesday.

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Fifteen British military personnel are to be freed by Iran on Thursday after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said he would forgive them despite Britain's failure to acknowledge they had strayed into Iranian territory.

BANGKOK (Reuters) - A bomb was thrown into a mosque in Thailand's rebellious Muslim-majority south on Thursday, wounding at least 14 worshippers, a senior policeman said.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's office, which is probing the $85 billion student loan industry, said on Wednesday it is investigating grants of stock from a student lender to financial aid officers at three major U.S. universities.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New U.S. intelligence chief Mike McConnell said on Wednesday that coping with a grueling work schedule has proven to be one of the main challenges of his first two months on the job.

Reuters - Fifteen British military personnel are to be freed by Iran on Thursday after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said he would forgive them despite Britain's failure to acknowledge they had strayed into Iranian territory.

Reuters - A bomb was thrown into a mosque in Thailand's rebellious Muslim-majority south on Thursday, wounding at least 14 worshippers, a senior policeman said.

Reuters - New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's office, which is probing the $85 billion student loan industry, said on Wednesday it is investigating grants of stock from a student lender to financial aid officers at three major U.S. universities.

AFP - The 15 British sailors who have been held by Iran for nearly two weeks met with British Ambassador Geoffrey Adams for the first time during their detention, the British foreign ministry said on Wednesday.

TEHRAN (Reuters) - The 15 British military personnel held by Iran will leave Tehran at 0430 GMT on Thursday on a flight to London, an airline official said.

AP - President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad defused a growing confrontation with Britain, announcing the surprise release of 15 captive British sailors Wednesday and then gleefully accepting the crew's thanks and handshakes in what he called an Easter gift.

AP - The former head of a national organization of black Baptist churches, who spent four years in prison for stealing millions of dollars from the group, lost his bid Wednesday to lead the group's Florida chapter.

AP - Gina Glocksen, who had her share of good and bad 'American Idol' moments, kissed the show goodbye Wednesday, becoming the latest casualty in viewer voting. The exit of Glocksen, 22, of Naperville, Ill., trimmed the number of finalists to eight. The winner will be chosen in May.

AP - An Air Force veteran has filed a federal claim after an operation at a Veterans Administration hospital in which a healthy testicle was removed instead of a potentially cancerous one.

AP - John Maine kept the St. Louis Cardinals' bats quiet and Carlos Beltran homered twice and drove in four runs, helping the New York Mets sweep the World Series champions with a 10-0 victory Wednesday night.

Reuters - The 15 British military personnel held by Iran will leave Tehran at 0430 GMT on Thursday on a flight to London, an airline official said.

AFP - Fifteen British sailors freed by Iran after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad dramatically pardoned them for violating the Islamic republic's waters were to fly home Thursday, ending a two-week ordeal.