AP - Rick DiPietro to the rescue? With their star goaltender cleared for practice for the first time in three weeks, the New York Islanders certainly need a boost after discovering how difficult it is to beat Buffalo when the No. 1-seeded Sabres are on top of their game.

AFP - A deadly suicide bombing in a heavily guarded area in Baghdad housing Iraqi and US authorities rattled the United States Thursday and turned a spotlight on US-led security in Iraq's capital.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's parliament was set to meet in special session on Friday to condemn a suicide bombing in the building a day earlier that demonstrated the ability of militants to strike anywhere and anytime.

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea said on Friday it may be ready to move in a stand-off over frozen assets it insists be unblocked before shutting down its nuclear reactor, one day before the first deadline of an atomic disarmament deal.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The World Bank's board of directors adjourned a meeting on Friday to review the promotion by bank President Paul Wolfowitz for his girlfriend, Shaha Riza, saying it would move quickly to decide how to proceed.

AP - Morgan Stanley is buying 13 hotels from Japanese carrier All Nippon Airways Co. for 281 billion yen ($2.4 billion), the airline said Friday, in a transaction that would roughly double the U.S. investment bank's portfolio of hotels in Japan.

AP - After scoring a career-high 39 points in the Los Angeles Clippers' most important game of the season, Corey Maggette said he was just grateful to be on the winning side. And upset about missing seven free throws. Maggette scored 10 points and Sam Cassell added eight during a 26-8 run to finish the game, giving the Clippers a 118-110 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night.

Reuters - Iraq's parliament was set to meet in special session on Friday to condemn a suicide bombing in the building a day earlier that demonstrated the ability of militants to strike anywhere and anytime.

Reuters - North Korea said on Friday it may be ready to move in a stand-off over frozen assets it insists be unblocked before shutting down its nuclear reactor, one day before the first deadline of an atomic disarmament deal.

Reuters - The World Bank's board of directors adjourned a meeting on Friday to review the promotion by bank President Paul Wolfowitz for his girlfriend, Shaha Riza, saying it would move quickly to decide how to proceed.

AFP - North Korea promised Friday to start scrapping its nuclear programme once it can confirm that a long-running dispute over millions of dollars in frozen assets has been resolved.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Three cafeteria workers in Iraq's parliament have been detained for questioning over a deadly suicide bombing at the heavily guarded building the day before, a senior lawmaker said on Friday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The World Bank's board of directors adjourned a meeting on Friday over the promotion by bank President Paul Wolfowitz of his girlfriend, Shaha Riza, saying it would move quickly to decide how to proceed.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is ready to start discussions with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday on the legal, economic and governmental structures of a future Palestinian state, Olmert's office said.

BEIJING (Reuters) - The United States is confident it can reach an agreement with China by May on broadening airline service between the two countries, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters said on Friday.

AP - Few Iraqi lawmakers managed to attend a rare emergency legislative session Friday, a day after a suicide bomber ripped through their cafeteria in a brazen attack inside Baghdad's U.S.-guarded Green Zone.

AP - The chief of CBS Corp. said the furor over Don Imus' racist remarks had escalated beyond mere disgust with the talk show host. But it was Imus who ultimately paid the price.

AP - Gov. Jon S. Corzine will be unable to resume his duties as governor for several days, in the least, and it will be months before he can walk normally after a car accident left him hospitalized with serious injuries, a doctor said.

AP - CIA Director Michael Hayden said his position as a four-star general does not hinder his ability to run the civilian spy agency despite concerns raised when he got the job last year.

AP - A 2005 earthquake off the coast of Indonesia raised an island nearly four feet out of the water, causing one of the biggest coral die-offs recorded, scientists said Friday.

AP - The old guy, bad back and all, came to the rescue of the Los Angeles Clippers when they needed it the most. Sam Cassell had eight points and three assists in the fourth quarter, helping the Clippers rally from a 10-point deficit to beat the Los Angeles Lakers 118-110 on Thursday night for their most significant win of the season.

Reuters - Three cafeteria workers in Iraq's parliament have been detained for questioning over a deadly suicide bombing at the heavily guarded building the day before, a senior lawmaker said on Friday.

Reuters - The World Bank's board of directors adjourned a meeting on Friday over the promotion by bank President Paul Wolfowitz of his girlfriend, Shaha Riza, saying it would move quickly to decide how to proceed.

Reuters - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is ready to start discussions with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday on the legal, economic and governmental structures of a future Palestinian state, Olmert's office said.

Reuters - The United States is confident it can reach an agreement with China by May on broadening airline service between the two countries, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters said on Friday.

AFP - Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao took his milestone Japan visit to Kyoto on Friday, sipping tea and mingling with the public as he tried to add a human touch to warming political relations.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The Iraqi parliament met in special session on Friday in a show of defiance after a suicide bombing in the building that deputies said united them in their resolve to fight terrorism.

TEHRAN (Reuters) - A former FBI agent is being held by Iranian authorities, the Financial Times on Friday quoted an associate of the missing American as saying.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia urged Britain to strip Russian billionaire Boris Berezovsky of his refugee status on Friday after he told a British newspaper he was planning a revolution to topple President Vladimir Putin.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's parliament on Friday alleged the United States was helping train radical political groups which threatened the country's stability in the run-up to key parliamentary and presidential elections.

AP - New Jersey Gov. Jon S. Corzine was in critical condition Friday but expected to recover after his motorcade was hit on the Garden State Parkway and crashed into a guardrail, breaking his leg, six ribs, his sternum and fracturing a vertebrae.

Reuters - A former FBI agent is being held by Iranian authorities, the Financial Times on Friday quoted an associate of the missing American as saying.

Reuters - Russia urged Britain to strip Russian billionaire Boris Berezovsky of his refugee status on Friday after he told a British newspaper he was planning a revolution to topple President Vladimir Putin.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Leaders from across Iraq's sectarian divide pleaded for unity at a special session of parliament on Friday, gathering under high security to condemn a suicide bombing that tore through the building the day before.

MIAMI (Reuters) - Five years after the U.S. attorney general announced on live television that Jose Padilla was a 'known terrorist' plotting to set off a radioactive bomb, a federal court must find a jury willing to presume he is innocent.

AP - An insurgent umbrella group that includes al-Qaida in Iraq claimed Friday one of its 'knights' carried out the parliament suicide bombing in Baghdad's Green Zone, and the U.S. military revised the death toll sharply downward to one dead.

AP - Don Imus' wife took over his radio fundraiser Friday after CBS fired the host for racist remarks about the Rutgers women's basketball team. She described Imus' brief meeting with the team the night before and praised the women as 'beautiful and courageous.'

AP - Wholesale prices shot up by 1 percent in March, mostly reflecting more expensive gasoline and food.

AP - Prime Minister John Howard said Friday that people with HIV should not be allowed to migrate to Australia, and that the government was investigating whether it could tighten existing restrictions.

AP - The U.S. trade deficit improved for a second month as oil imports fell sharply and the politically sensitive deficit with China narrowed to its lowest point in nine months.

AP - The New York Rangers, the New Jersey Devils, the Detroit Red Wings and the Buffalo Sabres won their opening playoff games on Thursday night.

Reuters - Leaders from across Iraq's sectarian divide pleaded for unity at a special session of parliament on Friday, gathering under high security to condemn a suicide bombing that tore through the building the day before.

Reuters - Five years after the U.S. attorney general announced on live television that Jose Padilla was a "known terrorist" plotting to set off a radioactive bomb, a federal court must find a jury willing to presume he is innocent.

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict, in his first book since becoming Pontiff, shares his 'personal search for the face of the Lord' and indirectly dismisses popular speculative versions of Christ's life like 'The Da Vinci Code'.

(Corrects location of governor’s mansion to Princeton from Trenton in 6th paragraph.)

AP - An insurgent umbrella group that includes al-Qaida in Iraq claimed Friday one of its 'knights' carried out the parliament suicide bombing in Baghdad's Green Zone, and the U.S. military revised the death toll sharply downward to one dead.

AP - Don Imus' wife took over his radio fundraiser Friday after CBS fired the host for racist remarks about the Rutgers women's basketball team. She described her husband's meeting with the team, praised the women as 'beautiful and courageous,' and demanded that all hate mail being sent to the team stop.

AP - The Justice Department on Friday sent Congress more documents on the firings of U.S. attorneys, satisfying one Democratic demand even as a new fight erupted over White House e-mails that may have been lost.

AP - Wholesale prices shot up by 1 percent in March, mostly reflecting more expensive gasoline and food.

AP - President Bush, at the national Catholic prayer breakfast, stressed his opposition to easing restrictions on federally funded embryonic stem cell research, a reference to a bill he's threatened to veto.

Reuters - Pope Benedict, in his first book since becoming Pontiff, shares his "personal search for the face of the Lord" and indirectly dismisses popular speculative versions of Christ's life like "The Da Vinci Code."

AFP - US and Afghan troops backed by warplanes killed more than 35 Taliban militants during a five-hour battle in a bitterly contested area of southern Afghanistan, the US-led coalition said Friday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Public figures like influential broadcaster Don Imus increasingly pay a price for making racist remarks, but some experts say the focus on individual bigotry falls short of addressing deeper racial problems in the United States.

TEHRAN (Reuters) - A former FBI agent is being held by Iranian authorities, the Financial Times reported on Friday, but U.S. officials said they were still unable to verify the whereabouts of the missing American.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Wheat fields ruined by freezing temperatures, snowed-out baseball games in Cleveland and Chicago, and shivering vacationers have made this spring one to forget across much of the United States.

AP - An insurgent umbrella group that includes al-Qaida in Iraq claimed Friday one of its 'knights' carried out the parliament suicide bombing in Baghdad's Green Zone, and the U.S. military revised the death toll sharply downward to one dead.

AP - Rutgers women's basketball coach C. Vivian Stringer said Friday the team had accepted radio host Don Imus' apology. She said he deserves a chance to move on but hopes the furor his racist and sexist insult caused will be a catalyst for change.

AP - Karl Rove's lawyer on Friday dismissed the notion that President Bush's chief political adviser intentionally deleted his own e-mails from a Republican-sponsored server, saying Rove believed the communications were being preserved in accordance with the law.

AP - Former Spice Girl Melanie Brown has listed Eddie Murphy's name on the birth certificate of her infant daughter, her publicist said Friday.

AP - Jake Westbrook signed a three-year, $33 million contract extension through 2010 on Friday with the Cleveland Indians, who locked up a key starter before possibly losing him as a free agent.

Reuters - Public figures like influential broadcaster Don Imus increasingly pay a price for making racist remarks, but some experts say the focus on individual bigotry falls short of addressing deeper racial problems in the United States.

Reuters - A former FBI agent is being held by Iranian authorities, the Financial Times reported on Friday, but U.S. officials said they were still unable to verify the whereabouts of the missing American.

Reuters - Wheat fields ruined by freezing temperatures, snowed-out baseball games in Cleveland and Chicago, and shivering vacationers have made this spring one to forget across much of the United States.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - White House political adviser Karl Rove was embroiled in a new controversy over potentially missing e-mails on Friday, the latest twist in the firings of eight U.S. prosecutors last year.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Pressure for World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz to resign intensified on Friday as the bank's board wrangled over whether his approval of a high-paying promotion for his girlfriend bent staff rules.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Public figures like influential broadcaster Don Imus increasingly pay a price for making racist remarks, but some experts say the focus on individual bigotry falls short of addressing deeper racial problems in the United States.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Israelis and Palestinians could start to explore fundamental peace issues this summer, U.S. officials said, in a sign they believe some progress is possible despite myriad obstacles.

AP - Iraq's parliament met in an extraordinary session of 'defiance' on Friday, the Muslim day of prayer, and declared it would not bow to terrorism. A bouquet of red roses and a white lily sat in the place of Mohammed Awad, the lawmaker killed a day earlier in the dining hall suicide bombing claimed by al-Qaida.

AP - Iraqi civilian deaths have fallen in Baghdad in the two months since the Feb. 14 start of the U.S.-led offensive, according to an Associated Press tally.

AP - Rutgers women's basketball coach C. Vivian Stringer said Friday the team had accepted radio host Don Imus' apology. She said he deserves a chance to move on but hopes the furor his racist and sexist insult caused will be a catalyst for change.

AP - Karl Rove's lawyer on Friday dismissed the notion that President Bush's chief political adviser intentionally deleted his own e-mails from a Republican-sponsored computer system.

Reuters - White House political adviser Karl Rove was embroiled in a new controversy over potentially missing e-mails on Friday, the latest twist in the firings of eight U.S. prosecutors last year.

Reuters - Pressure for World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz to resign intensified on Friday as the bank's board wrangled over whether his approval of a high-paying promotion for his girlfriend bent staff rules.

Reuters - Public figures like influential broadcaster Don Imus increasingly pay a price for making racist remarks, but some experts say the focus on individual bigotry falls short of addressing deeper racial problems in the United States.

Reuters - Israelis and Palestinians could start to explore fundamental peace issues this summer, U.S. officials said, in a sign they believe some progress is possible despite myriad obstacles.

AFP - US and Afghan troops backed by warplanes killed more than 35 Taliban militants during a five-hour battle in a bitterly contested area of southern Afghanistan, the US-led coalition said Friday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Bush administration asked Congress on Friday to expand the number of people it can subject to electronic surveillance in the United States.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican presidential hopeful Rudolph Giuliani ended the first quarter with about $10.8 million in the bank for his primary bid and spent $5.7 million, his campaign said on Friday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Better relations between Washington and Tehran would help Iraq and lessen the tendency of Iran to meddle in the affairs of its neighbor, the Iraqi government spokesman said on Friday.

AP - Iraq's parliament met in an extraordinary session of 'defiance' Friday, the Muslim day of prayer, and declared it would not bow to terrorism. A bouquet of red roses and a white lily sat in the place of Mohammed Awad, the lawmaker killed in the parliament dining hall suicide bombing claimed by al-Qaida.

AP - President Bush and the first lady paid $186,378 in federal taxes on their income of $765,801 for last year. Vice President Dick Cheney and his wife made twice as much and paid the tax man about $50,000 more than they owed.

AP - The woman at the heart of the controversy that has embroiled World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz says she is a victim and was forced into a job transfer because of their relationship.

AP - A man jumped to his death Friday out the window of a 69th-floor law office in the Empire State Building.

AP - Think global warming will raise the oceans enough to submerge Cape Hatteras? Want to bet on it?

AP - As the losses and sacks kept piling up, football stopped being fun for David Carr. In five seasons in Houston, the No. 1 pick in the 2002 draft went 24-56 with no playoff appearances, and a body bruised and battered from an NFL-high 249 sacks. Now with Carolina, Carr is smiling again — even though he will be a backup for the first time.

Reuters - The Bush administration asked Congress on Friday to expand the number of people it can subject to electronic surveillance in the United States.

Reuters - Republican presidential hopeful Rudolph Giuliani ended the first quarter with about $10.8 million in the bank for his primary bid and spent $5.7 million, his campaign said on Friday.

Reuters - Better relations between Washington and Tehran would help Iraq and lessen the tendency of Iran to meddle in the affairs of its neighbor, the Iraqi government spokesman said on Friday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Friday that radio host Don Imus' comments about the Rutgers University women's basketball team were 'disgusting' and she was pleased he was fired.

AP - The Justice Department weighed political activism and membership in a conservative law group in evaluating the nation's federal prosecutors, documents released in the probe of fired U.S. attorney show.

AP - Iraqi civilian deaths have fallen in Baghdad in the two months since the Feb. 14 start of the U.S.-led offensive, according to an Associated Press tally.

AP - Six years after declaring the U.S. killing of Korean War refugees at No Gun Ri was 'not deliberate,' the Army has acknowledged it found but did not divulge that a high-level document said the U.S. military had a policy of shooting approaching civilians in South Korea.

AP - The Big Easy is making it look, well, easy again. Ernie Els showed the form that won him three major titles — and had gone missing for most of the past two seasons — on Friday in the Verizon Heritage, shooting his second straight 6-under 65 to take a three-stroke lead over Jerry Kelly.

Reuters - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Friday that radio host Don Imus' comments about the Rutgers University women's basketball team were "disgusting" and she was pleased he was fired.

AFP - NATO and Afghan troops backed by warplanes killed up to 60 Taliban militants, officials said Friday, as the US-led coalition battled to gain control of the restive south.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson renewed the U.S. administration's support on Friday for embattled World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz, who is under inquiry over his handling of the promotion of a close friend.

AP - Presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton on Friday assailed a 'culture of cronyism' in government as she vowed to streamline the federal bureaucracy and improve accountability.

Reuters - Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson renewed the U.S. administration's support on Friday for embattled World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz, who is under inquiry over his handling of the promotion of a close friend.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A top White House aide convicted on perjury and obstruction of justice charges has decided not to seek a new trial but will move directly to challenge his conviction in the appeals court.

AP - Rutgers women's basketball coach C. Vivian Stringer said Friday the team had accepted radio host Don Imus' apology. She said he deserves a chance to move on but hopes the furor his racist and sexist insult caused will be a catalyst for change.

AP - The Nashville Predators spent the offseason adding size after being embarrassed by the San Jose Sharks in the playoffs last year. They showed Friday night they're big enough now not to back down from anyone.

Reuters - A top White House aide convicted on perjury and obstruction of justice charges has decided not to seek a new trial but will move directly to challenge his conviction in the appeals court.

AFP - US envoy Christopher Hill will meet with his Chinese counterpart Saturday as a deadline for North Korea to shut down its Yongbyon nuclear power plant passes, officials said.