KHOST, Afghanistan (Reuters) - A NATO air strike has killed 13 Taliban guerrillas in Afghanistan's southeastern province of Khost after the insurgents tried to attack a district government headquarters, provincial officials said on Saturday.

AP - A congressional committee on Friday requested documents from the White House and Pentagon describing how and when the Bush administration learned the circumstances of Pat Tillman's death.

AP - Police arrested a man Friday in the the mugging last month of a 101-year-old woman with a walker.

AP - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Friday he intends to use Al Gore's 'very powerful political message' on climate change to mobilize international awareness and political support for international action on global warming.

AP - A hometown celebration of Kurt Vonnegut's life and literary prowess was highlighted Friday night with the last thing the author wrote — a speech he had planned to deliver himself at Butler University.

AP - The Golden State Warriors put on a show that was well worth their fans' 13-year wait. Jason Richardson had 30 points and eight rebounds, Baron Davis added 24 points and the Warriors steamrolled the NBA-leading Dallas Mavericks for the second time in three games, winning 109-91 Friday night to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series.

Reuters - A NATO air strike has killed 13 Taliban guerrillas in Afghanistan's southeastern province of Khost after the insurgents tried to attack a district government headquarters, provincial officials said on Saturday.

GAZA (Reuters) - Israeli soldiers shot dead three Hamas militants and critically wounded one other near the border between the Gaza Strip and southern Israel on Saturday, the Hamas armed wing said.

KABUL (Reuters) - The Taliban said on Saturday it had released a French woman aid worker abducted earlier this month, but there was no immediate confirmation from Kabul or Paris.

AP - A purported al-Qaida commander has accused Shiite Muslims of fighting alongside American forces in Iraq and claimed that mujahedeen would crush foreign troops in Afghanistan.

AP - Since Seung-Hui Cho killed himself after slaughtering 32 classmates and professors, busy investigators are not preparing a prosecution but simply seeking answers. And yet, nearly two weeks after his rampage at Virginia Tech, the student who signed himself with a question mark remains one.

Reuters - The Taliban said on Saturday it had released a French woman aid worker abducted earlier this month, but there was no immediate confirmation from Kabul or Paris.

Reuters - Israeli soldiers shot dead three members of Hamas's armed wing and critically wounded one other near the border between the Gaza Strip and southern Israel on Saturday, Palestinian rescue workers and militant sources said.

KABUL (Reuters) - The Taliban on Saturday said they had freed a French woman aid worker as President Hamid Karzai marked the anniversary of the end of communist rule with a fresh offer of olive branch to the resurgent Islamic guerrillas.

QUETTA, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistani security forces have arrested an al Qaeda suspect in the southwest province of Baluchistan, an intelligence official said on Saturday.

AP - President Bush warned Congress Friday that he will continue vetoing war spending bills as long as they contain a timetable for the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq.

AP - Afghan and coalition forces clashed with Taliban militants Saturday in separate incidents in the east and south, killing 21 insurgents, officials said.

AP - U.S. forces used fighter jets to destroy a truck bomb discovered in Anbar province, and conducted a raid south of Baghdad that netted weapons that insurgents apparently had imported from neighboring Iran, the military said Saturday.

AP - Randall Tobias, head of the Bush administration's foreign aid programs, abruptly resigned Friday after his name surfaced in an investigation into a high-priced call-girl ring, said two people in a position to know the circumstances of his departure.

AP - When it was over, the Chicago Bulls said all the right things. 'We are not as superior as it appears,' forward Andres Nocioni said. 'It's only one win,' added coach Scott Skiles. They were just being polite.

Reuters - The Taliban on Saturday said they had freed a French woman aid worker as President Hamid Karzai marked the anniversary of the end of communist rule with a fresh offer of olive branch to the resurgent Islamic guerrillas.

Reuters - Pakistani security forces have arrested an al Qaeda suspect in the southwest province of Baluchistan, an intelligence official said on Saturday.

AFP - The European Union warned the Turkish army on Saturday not to interfere in the country's democratic process amid a dispute over the ruling party's Islamist-rooted candidate to be Turkey's next president.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. fighter jets destroyed a truck rigged with explosives near the volatile city of Falluja in western Iraq, a U.S. military statement said on Saturday.

KATHMANDU (Reuters) - Five Americans detained and deported by China for demonstrating for a free Tibet and protesting against the 2008 Beijing Olympics at the base of Mount Everest said on Saturday they feared for their safety while in custody.

AP - U.S. forces detained 17 suspected insurgents in raids targeting al-Qaida in Iraq on Saturday, the military said, a day after the Pentagon announced the capture of one of the terror network's most senior and experienced operatives.

AP - Some of the militants arrested in a terror sweep in Saudi Arabia trained to use civilian aircraft in suicide missions, a Saudi interior ministry spokesman said Saturday.

AP - Workers digging at the future site of a Wal-Mart store in suburban Mesa have unearthed the bones of a prehistoric camel that's estimated to be about 10,000 years old.

AP - If all goes as planned Saturday, the cremated remains of the actor who portrayed 'Scotty' aboard Star Trek's starship Enterprise will sail into suborbital space aboard a rocket launched from the southern New Mexico desert.

Reuters - U.S. fighter jets destroyed a truck rigged with explosives near the volatile city of Falluja in western Iraq, a U.S. military statement said on Saturday.

Reuters - Five Americans detained and deported by China for demonstrating for a free Tibet and protesting against the 2008 Beijing Olympics at the base of Mount Everest said on Saturday they feared for their safety while in custody.

AFP - Nearly 100 people were injured and more than 600 detained in a second night of rioting in the Estonian capital Tallinn after the removal of a Soviet war memorial, officials said Saturday.

AFP - The Turkish army, responsible for three past coups, warned that it is determined to defend the country's secular system, weighing in on a controversial presidential vote that has sharply divided secularists and the Islamist-rooted government.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican Sen. John McCain has tied his presidential campaign to a successful outcome for President George W. Bush's latest strategy in Iraq, making his candidacy dependent on events in a violent land.

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey's Islamist-rooted government sharply criticized an army threat to intervene in domestic politics and said on Saturday the military must remain under civilian control.

FOLKESTONE (Reuters) - Southeast England was hit by a small earthquake on Saturday that brought down power lines and caused some structural damage.

AP - Some of the militants arrested in a terror sweep in Saudi Arabia trained to use civilian aircraft in suicide missions, an official said Saturday, detailing a plot that reflected the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States.

Reuters - Republican Sen. John McCain has tied his presidential campaign to a successful outcome for President George W. Bush's latest strategy in Iraq, making his candidacy dependent on events in a violent land.

Reuters - Turkey's Islamist-rooted government sharply criticized an army threat to intervene in domestic politics and said on Saturday the military must remain under civilian control.

Reuters - Southeast England was hit by a small earthquake on Saturday that brought down power lines and caused some structural damage.

AFP - Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan stood firm Saturday after the army warned it would act to defend Turkey's secular system amid fears that the country's next president would favour Islam.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A fierce political battle over a Democratic plan to pull U.S. troops from Iraq triggered a veto promise from President George W. Bush, but negotiations on a new bill have quietly begun.

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - An explosion in northwest Pakistan killed at least 10 people and wounded 16 including Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao on Saturday, according to a provincial official.

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey's Islamist-rooted government condemned on Saturday an army threat to intervene in the nation's presidential contest while the EU and the United States urged a peaceful resolution of the crisis.

AP - A car bomb exploded about 500 yards from the main Shiite shrine in Karbala, resulting in casualties, a security official said Saturday.

AP - President Bush urged lawmakers on Saturday to come together on the complex and emotional issue of immigration, calling it 'a critical challenge' now before the nation.

AP - Flames and smoke poured into the sky Saturday over an oil refinery where lightning set off a fire and an explosion that was felt miles away, authorities said.

AP - A suicide attacker detonated a bomb as Pakistan's interior minister finished speaking at a meeting in the country's northwest on Saturday, killing at least 12 people and wounding the official.

Reuters - A fierce political battle over a Democratic plan to pull U.S. troops from Iraq triggered a veto promise from President George W. Bush, but negotiations on a new bill have quietly begun.

Reuters - An explosion in northwest Pakistan killed at least 10 people and wounded 16 including Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao on Saturday, according to a provincial official.

Reuters - Turkey's Islamist-rooted government condemned on Saturday an army threat to intervene in the nation's presidential contest while the EU and the United States urged a peaceful resolution of the crisis.

AFP - At least 15 people were killed and a federal minister was among several wounded in a powerful suicide blast at a political rally in northwest Pakistan, police said Saturday.

AFP - President Vladimir Putin led Russia's anger on Saturday after a Russian national was killed in the Estonian capital during unrest sparked by the removal of a Soviet-era war memorial.

KERBALA, Iraq (Reuters) - A suicide car bomber killed 55 people and wounded 158 near a holy Shi'ite shrine in the Iraqi city of Kerbala on Saturday, an attack likely to inflame sectarian tensions.

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - A suicide bomber killed 22 people in Pakistan on Saturday and wounded dozens more, including Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao, a senior government official said.

AP - A parked car exploded Saturday near one of Shiite Islam's holiest shrines in the city of Karbala as people were headed to the area for evening prayers, killing 55 people and wounding dozens, officials said.

AP - The United States has lost its global standing during George W. Bush's presidency and needs a Democratic commander in chief to restore America's place in the world, Democrats running for the White House said Saturday.

AP - President Bush urged lawmakers on Saturday to come together on the complex and emotional issue of immigration, calling it 'a critical challenge' now before the nation.

AP - JaMarcus Russell, the big-play quarterback from LSU, was the first pick in Saturday's NFL draft as the Oakland Raiders pulled no surprises.

AP - A suicide bomber blocked from approaching Pakistan's interior minister detonated his explosives at a political gathering in northwestern town Saturday, killing at least 22 people and wounding 35, officials said.

AP - Many states are making more children eligible for government-funded health insurance even as President Bush's health chief says families are relying too much on public money for the coverage.

AP - Growing concern surrounds a new national security threat, an insidious trend that could foster terrorism worldwide and draw our armed forces into messy regional conflicts in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

AP - The cremated remains of actor James Doohan, who portrayed engineer 'Scotty' on 'Star Trek,' and of Apollo 7 astronaut Gordon Cooper soared into suborbital space Saturday aboard a rocket.

Reuters - A suicide car bomber killed 55 people and wounded 158 near a holy Shi'ite shrine in the Iraqi city of Kerbala on Saturday, an attack likely to inflame sectarian tensions.

Reuters - A suicide bomber killed 22 people in Pakistan on Saturday and wounded dozens more, including Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao, a senior government official said.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - San Francisco Federal Reserve President Janet Yellen said on Saturday one of the risks to the global economy is a downturn in the U.S. economy.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A fierce political battle over a Democratic plan to pull U.S. troops from Iraq is moving toward a critical stage as President George W. Bush prepares to veto it, but talks on a new bill have quietly begun.

KERBALA, Iraq (Reuters) - A suicide car bomber killed 57 people and wounded nearly 160 near one of Iraq's most revered Shi'ite Muslim shrines in the city of Kerbala on Saturday, in an attack likely to inflame sectarian tensions.

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - A suicide bomber on Saturday killed at least 26 people and wounded scores of others, including Pakistan Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao who said he had been the target of the attack.

AP - Senior Kevin Sterne will see the scar on his thigh every time he pulls on his pants. Freshman Hilary Strollo will have to decide whether to bare her stomach in a swimsuit. And on the day someone slips a wedding band on her finger, junior Katelyn Carney will see the healed-up hole that a Virginia Tech gunman put in her left hand.

AP - JaMarcus Russell, the big-play quarterback from LSU, was the first pick in Saturday's NFL draft as the Oakland Raiders pulled no surprises.

AP - The cremated remains of actor James Doohan, who portrayed engineer 'Scotty' on 'Star Trek,' and of Mercury astronaut Gordon Cooper soared into suborbital space Saturday aboard a rocket.

AP - Paul Wolfowitz encountered stiffening opposition Saturday to staying on as World Bank president amid allegations he showed favoritism in arranging a promotion and pay package for his girlfriend.

AP - Hogzilla, a near-mythical monster hog that roamed south Georgia, is about to get a little bigger.

Reuters - San Francisco Federal Reserve President Janet Yellen said on Saturday one of the risks to the global economy is a downturn in the U.S. economy.

Reuters - A fierce political battle over a Democratic plan to pull U.S. troops from Iraq is moving toward a critical stage as President George W. Bush prepares to veto it, but talks on a new bill have quietly begun.

Reuters - A suicide car bomber killed 57 people and wounded nearly 160 near one of Iraq's most revered Shi'ite Muslim shrines in the city of Kerbala on Saturday, in an attack likely to inflame sectarian tensions.

Reuters - A suicide bomber on Saturday killed at least 26 people and wounded scores of others, including Pakistan Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao who said he had been the target of the attack.

AFP - At least 24 people were killed and 45 wounded, including a federal minister, in a powerful suicide blast at a political rally in northwest Pakistan, officials said Saturday.

AFP - Estonia accused Russia on Saturday of stoking tensions in its Baltic neighbour as a row surrounding riots at a Soviet-era war memorial that left one Russian dead intensified.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The U.S. military said nine soldiers had been killed in Iraq on Friday and Saturday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - There is the potential for a downturn in the U.S. economy that could have ripple effects around the world, San Francisco Federal Reserve President Janet Yellen said on Saturday.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union warned Turkey's military on Saturday to stay out of politics after the General Staff said it was watching the parliamentary election of a new president with concern.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will not resign despite expectations that an imminent report on the Lebanon war will censure his role, Israeli television quoted Olmert aides as saying on Saturday.

AP - A car bomb exploded Saturday in the Shiite holy city of Karbala as the streets were packed with people heading for evening prayers, killing at least 58 and wounding scores near some of the country's most sacred shrines. Separately, the U.S. military announced the deaths of nine American troops, including three killed Saturday in a single roadside bombing outside Baghdad.

AP - President Bush, pushing for a breakthrough on immigration legislation, appealed to college graduates Saturday in this diverse city for help in persuading Congress to find a bipartisan compromise.

AP - Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton denounced President Bush on Saturday for his 'Mission Accomplished' speech and said his conduct of the Iraq war was 'one of the darkest blots on leadership we've ever had.'

AP - JaMarcus Russell barely had to wait before taking the stage as an Oakland Raider at Saturday's NFL draft. Brady Quinn was the forgotten quarterback, plummeting all the way to Cleveland at 22nd.

AP - The armored carrier has a grim black slash across its side, burn marks on the door and a web of cracks along the window.

AP - Paul Wolfowitz encountered stiffening opposition Saturday to staying on as World Bank president amid allegations he showed favoritism in arranging a promotion and pay package for his girlfriend.

Reuters - A suicide car bomber killed 60 people and wounded 170 near one of Iraq's most revered Shi'ite Muslim shrines on Saturday, in an attack likely to inflame sectarian tensions.

Reuters - The U.S. military said nine soldiers had been killed in Iraq on Friday and Saturday.

Reuters - There is the potential for a downturn in the U.S. economy that could have ripple effects around the world, San Francisco Federal Reserve President Janet Yellen said on Saturday.

Reuters - The European Union warned Turkey's military on Saturday to stay out of politics after the General Staff said it was watching the parliamentary election of a new president with concern.

AFP - Estonia and Russia exchanged angry accusations Saturday after riots sparked by the removal of a Soviet-era war memorial in Tallinn left one Russian dead and hundreds injured.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Oakland Raiders made quarterback JaMarcus Russell the top pick in Saturday's draft, launching a two-day marathon in which 255 players will be chosen by the 32 league teams.

AP - Wooing influential California Democrats, presidential contender Barack Obama vowed to 'turn the page on this Iraq disaster' while Hillary Rodham Clinton denounced President Bush's conduct of the war as 'one of the darkest blots on leadership we've ever had.'

AP - JaMarcus Russell barely had to wait before taking the stage as an Oakland Raider at Saturday's NFL draft. Brady Quinn turned out to be the forgotten quarterback, lingering long after Russell was picked, until Cleveland took him 22nd.

AP - With a lineup of performers as hot as the triple-digit weather, tens of thousands of music fans descended on the California desert Saturday for the second of three days of performances by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Arcade Fire, Bjork, Peaches and scores of others.

AP - The Orlando Magic had the lead, the momentum and the crowd support. The Detroit Pistons used their postseason experience to overcome all of it. Chauncey Billups scored 25 points, Richard Hamilton added 19 and the Pistons avoided a fourth-quarter meltdown to beat the Magic 97-93 Saturday and sweep the first-round series.

SAN DIEGO, California (Reuters) - Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois wowed California Democrats at their annual convention on Saturday, drawing a more passionate welcome than Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton received hours earlier in this state that carries new clout in the presidential primaries.

AP - A car bomb exploded Saturday in the Shiite holy city of Karbala as the streets were packed with people heading for evening prayers, killing at least 58 and wounding scores near some of the country's most sacred shrines. Separately, the U.S. military announced the deaths of nine American troops, including three killed Saturday in a single roadside bombing outside Baghdad.

AP - President Bush, pushing for a hard-to-find breakthrough on a broad immigration overhaul, appealed to graduating college students in this diverse city Saturday for help in persuading Congress to produce a bill.

AP - As Vladimir Putin enters what could be the last year of his presidency, he has become more defiant of international pressure and more willing to challenge the United States and Europe.

AP - JaMarcus Russell barely had to wait before taking the stage as an Oakland Raider at Saturday's NFL draft. Brady Quinn turned out to be the forgotten quarterback, lingering long after Russell was picked, until Cleveland took him 22nd.

AP - Paul Wolfowitz encountered stiffening opposition Saturday to staying on as World Bank president amid allegations he showed favoritism in arranging a promotion and pay package for his girlfriend.

AP - Billionaire Donald Trump gave $10,000 to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to help pay off his campaign debts, a little more than a month after the governor guest-starred on Trump's TV show 'The Apprentice: Los Angeles,' according to a campaign filing.

AP - Banished to the bullpen, Kei Igawa saved the struggling New York Yankees when they desperately needed him.

Reuters - The Oakland Raiders made quarterback JaMarcus Russell the top pick in Saturday's draft, launching a two-day marathon in which 255 players will be chosen by the 32 league teams.

Reuters - Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois wowed California Democrats at their annual convention on Saturday, drawing a more passionate welcome than Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton received hours earlier in this state that carries new clout in the presidential primaries.

Reuters - President Bush took fresh aim on Saturday at Cuba's communist government, calling it a "cruel dictatorship" and predicting that democratic change was near.

AP - Wooing influential California Democrats, presidential contender Barack Obama vowed to 'turn the page on this Iraq disaster' while Hillary Rodham Clinton denounced President Bush's conduct of the war as 'one of the darkest blots on leadership we've ever had.'

AP - A car bomb exploded Saturday in the Shiite holy city of Karbala as the streets were packed with people heading for evening prayers, killing at least 58 and wounding scores near some of the country's most sacred shrines. Separately, the U.S. military announced the deaths of nine American troops, including three killed Saturday in a single roadside bombing outside Baghdad.

AP - Al-Qaida-linked plotters hoped to reproduce the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, planning to send suicide pilots to military bases and attack the oil refineries that drive the economy of Osama bin Laden's homeland, the government said Saturday.

AP - JaMarcus Russell barely had to wait before taking the stage as an Oakland Raider at Saturday's NFL draft. Brady Quinn turned out to be the forgotten quarterback, lingering long after Russell was picked, until Cleveland took him 22nd.

AP - With a lineup of performers as hot as the triple-digit weather, tens of thousands of music fans descended on the California desert Saturday for the second of three days of performances by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Arcade Fire, Bjork, Peaches and scores of others.

AP - The San Antonio Spurs have their swagger back.