DETROIT (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp said it had found no flaw with its throttle controls as it seeks to dismiss an external study critical of its electronic safety systems.

AP - Shawn Marion had a season-high 29 points and 14 rebounds and the Dallas Mavericks stretched the league's longest active winning streak to 12 straight games with a 125-112 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night.

Reuters - Toyota Motor Corp said it had found no flaw with its throttle controls as it seeks to dismiss an external study critical of its electronic safety systems.

AP - President Barack Obama's health care bill would change federal policy on abortion, but not open the spigot of taxpayer dollars that some abortion opponents fear.

AP - Legislation extending unemployment insurance for the long-term jobless faces a key test vote in the Senate, its momentum helped by about 60 popular tax breaks for individuals and businesses that expired at the end of last year.

AP - A U.S. missionary held for more than a month in Haiti on kidnapping charges flew back to the United States after being released from prison, while the leader of her Baptist group remained in custody.

AP - A government-mandated panel has confirmed the existence of once-secret Cold War-era pacts between Japan and U.S. on nuclear arms and other issues, ending decades of official denial by Tokyo.

AP - U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates told a hard-hit battle unit Tuesday that its heavy losses have helped the U.S. begin to push back against the Taliban in southern Afghanistan.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Vice President Joe Biden assured Israel on Tuesday of Washington's commitment to its security and said the agreed resumption of Israeli-Palestinian talks provided a 'moment of real opportunity' for peace.

JOS, Nigeria (Reuters) - U.S.-based Human Rights Watch on Tuesday urged Nigeria to prosecute those behind what it called a massacre of at least 200 Christian villagers and end a cycle of impunity which has allowed instability to persist.

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain is heading for a hung parliament after an election expected on May 6, opinion polls indicated on Tuesday.

AP - Israelis and Palestinians face a 'moment of real opportunity' to make peace after agreeing to resume American-brokered talks, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said Tuesday as he launched the highest-level visit by an Obama administration official to Israel.

AP - It's a day of wedding bells for some gay couples in Washington.

Reuters - Vice President Joe Biden assured Israel on Tuesday of Washington's commitment to its security and said the agreed resumption of Israeli-Palestinian talks provided a 'moment of real opportunity' for peace.

Reuters - Britain is heading for a hung parliament after an election expected on May 6, opinion polls indicated on Tuesday.

AFP - US Vice President Joe Biden was meeting top Israeli officials on Tuesday, throwing his weight behind a renewal of Middle East peace talks more than a year after negotiations shuddered to a halt.

FORWARD OPERATING BASE FRONTENAC, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Secretary of Defense Robert Gates told troops in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday they would soon be part of a 'decisive phase' in the war -- an operation to impose control over the Taliban heartland of Kandahar province.

GENEVA (Reuters) - U.S. and Russian arms control officials begin on Tuesday what both sides hope will be a final push to clinch a treaty cutting their strategic nuclear arsenals, officials said.

AP - Mideast rivals Israel and Syria on Tuesday each announced ambitions to develop nuclear energy, with Israel facing the prospect that its plan could bring new attention to its secretive nuclear activities.

AP - President Obama's spokesman is brushing aside allegations by a resigned New York congressman who says he was forced out by the administration and Democratic leaders because of his opposition to health care reform.

AP - Stock futures are falling ahead of Tuesday's opening, a year after the stock market hit bottom.

AP - Sony Corp. said Tuesday it will start selling 3-D televisions in June, joining a competitive industrywide push to convince consumers to embrace the technology for their living rooms.

Reuters - Secretary of Defense Robert Gates told troops in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday they would soon be part of a 'decisive phase' in the war -- an operation to impose control over the Taliban heartland of Kandahar province.

Reuters - U.S. and Russian arms control officials begin on Tuesday what both sides hope will be a final push to clinch a treaty cutting their strategic nuclear arsenals, officials said.

AFP - US Vice President Joe Biden was meeting top Israeli officials on Tuesday, throwing his weight behind a renewal of Middle East peace talks more than a year after negotiations shuddered to a halt.

AFP - Nigerian troops were on Tuesday patrolling tense villages near the troubled city of Jos after the massacre of more than 500 Christians as survivors fled the threat of further violence.

LONDON (Reuters) - No political party has enough support to win outright control of parliament in Britain's forthcoming election, raising the prospect of a period of unstable minority government, opinion polls showed on Tuesday.

AP - Ransom was the motive behind the bizarre bodysnatching of Cyprus' former President Tassos Papadopoulos, the justice minister said Tuesday, hours after the body was found dumped in a Nicosia cemetery — but Papadopoulos' family denied receiving any such demand.

Reuters - No political party has enough support to win outright control of parliament in Britain's forthcoming election, raising the prospect of a period of unstable minority government, opinion polls showed on Tuesday.

AFP - US Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday pledged Washington's full commitment to Israel's security while throwing his weight behind a renewal of Middle East peace talks after a 14-month hiatus.

AP - Ohio State University says a 51-year-old employee suspected of shooting two co-workers, one of them fatally, has died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

AP - Continental Airlines plans to cancel flights rather than risk stiff fines under new federal rules designed to punish carriers for delaying passengers.

AP - Samsung and Panasonic will start selling 3-D TVs in U.S. stores this week, inaugurating what TV makers hope is the era of 3-D viewing in the living room.

AP - British dog owners may be forced to microchip their pets and take out insurance, part of a proposed crackdown on the country's dangerous canines.

Reuters - Vice President Joe Biden assured Israel on Tuesday of Washington's commitment to its security and preventing Iran from producing nuclear weapons.

AFP - Christian villagers in Nigeria fled their homes following threats of new attacks in the aftermath of a massacre, despite the presence Tuesday of troops designed to restore calm to the region.

FORWARD OPERATING BASE FRONTENAC, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Secretary of Defense Robert Gates told troops in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday they would soon be part of a 'decisive phase' in the war -- an operation to impose control over the Taliban heartland of Kandahar province.

GENEVA (Reuters) - United Nations human rights investigators called on the Obama administration on Tuesday to prosecute the accused September 11 masterminds in a civilian court, declaring that U.S. military tribunals would not be fair.

LUXEMBOURG/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - European policy makers played down on Tuesday the idea of creating a European Monetary Fund, saying it was at most a long-term project that did not offer a solution to Greece's immediate debt problems.

AP - The Earth really did move during the massive Chile quake: Researchers say cities and islands physically shifted west a bit.

AP - A dozen centuries-old shipwrecks — some of them unusually well-preserved — have been found in the Baltic Sea by a gas company building an underwater pipeline between Russia and Germany.

AP - A person familiar with the case says a TV producer is expected to admit trying to shake down David Letterman over the comic's sexual affairs.

AP - Carl Edwards has been placed on three weeks' probation by NASCAR for intentionally wrecking Brad Keselowski's car during last weekend's race at Atlanta.

Reuters - Secretary of Defense Robert Gates told troops in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday they would soon be part of a 'decisive phase' in the war -- an operation to impose control over the Taliban heartland of Kandahar province.

Reuters - United Nations human rights investigators called on the Obama administration on Tuesday to prosecute the accused September 11 masterminds in a civilian court, declaring that U.S. military tribunals would not be fair.

AFP - Israel said on Tuesday it approved the construction of 1,600 homes for settlers in east Jerusalem, a move certain to infuriate Palestinians who see settlements as a major hurdle in peace efforts.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A TV producer accused of a $2 million extortion attempt against talk show host David Letterman pleaded guilty to attempted grand larceny on Tuesday in exchange for agreeing to a six-month sentence.

AP - An Ohio State University janitor who received a bad job evaluation shot two supervisors in a campus maintenance building, killing one of them, then fatally shot himself, officials said Tuesday.

AP - Legislation to give additional months of unemployment benefits to people who have been out of a job for more than half a year has won key GOP support that means it will soon pass the Senate.

AP - Continental Airlines plans to cancel flights rather than risk stiff fines under new federal rules designed to punish carriers for delaying passengers.

AP - A television producer admitted Tuesday to trying to shake down David Letterman in a case that bared the late-night icon's affairs with staffers, avoiding a long prison sentence by pleading guilty in exchange for six months in jail and community service.

Reuters - A television producer pleaded guilty on Tuesday to trying to extort $2 million from U.S. talk show host David Letterman by threatening to reveals his affairs with women who worked on his late-night program on CBS.

AFP - US Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Tuesday said a new strategy in the Afghan war showed promise after he visited a former ghost town where American forces recently cleared out Taliban militants.

AFP - Israel approved on Tuesday building 1,600 new settler homes in east Jerusalem, announcing the move as US Vice President Joe Biden met top Israeli officials to boost renewed peace efforts.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday condemned Israeli plans to build 1,600 more homes on occupied land, announced in the middle of his visit to help revive peace talks with the Palestinians.

AP - A Toyota Prius that sped out of control on a California freeway was towed to a dealership Tuesday while federal and company inspectors converged on the car to determine whether a stuck gas pedal was to blame.

AP - A moderate Democrat insisted Tuesday she remained opposed to pushing a health care bill through the Senate with a simple majority vote, despite saying she wanted to see what was in the legislation.

AP - A Pennsylvania woman has been charged with using the Internet to recruit jihadist fighters and help terrorists overseas.

AP - A dozen centuries-old shipwrecks — some of them unusually well-preserved — have been found in the Baltic Sea by a gas company building an underwater pipeline between Russia and Germany.

AP - A 32-year-old Kentucky woman who said she didn't know that she was pregnant delivered her newborn son on the floor of her laundry room by herself and even cut the umbilical cord. Kelly Bottom told The Advocate-Messenger that she also picked up her other son from school and stopped in at the baby's grandmother's house to show her the infant before going to the hospital Thursday.

Reuters - Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday condemned Israeli plans to build 1,600 more homes on occupied land where Palestinians seek statehood, announced in the middle of his visit to help revive peace negotiations.

AFP - Israel approved on Tuesday building 1,600 new settler homes in east Jerusalem, announcing the move as US Vice President Joe Biden met top Israeli officials to boost renewed peace efforts.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday condemned Israeli plans to build 1,600 more homes on occupied land where Palestinians seek statehood, announced in the middle of his visit to help revive peace negotiations.

AP - The driver of a Toyota Prius that sped out of control on a San Diego County freeway sounded panicked at times as he told a dispatcher about a stuck accelerator.

AP - Former Rep. Eric Massa, who resigned from Congress amid sexual harassment allegations, acknowledged Tuesday groping a staffer but denied it was sexual.

AP - Vice President Joe Biden condemned an Israeli plan to build hundreds of homes in disputed east Jerusalem on Tuesday — a disagreement that tarnished a high-profile visit that had been aimed at repairing ties with the Jewish state and kickstarting Mideast peace talks.

AP - A former aide to John Edwards narrowly escaped jail time Tuesday over his handling of a videotape purportedly showing the two-time presidential candidate in a sexual encounter.

AP - A former television producer pressured by debt and riven by jealousy admitted Tuesday he tried to extract vengeance and money by shaking down David Letterman in a case that bared the late-night icon's affairs with staffers.

Reuters - Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday condemned Israeli plans to build 1,600 more homes on occupied land where Palestinians seek statehood, announced in the middle of his visit to help revive peace negotiations.

Reuters - Congressional Democrats on Tuesday cast doubt on their chances of meeting the White House's March 18 deadline for voting on a stalled healthcare overhaul, but said they are moving as fast as they can.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday condemned Israeli plans to build 1,600 more homes on occupied land where Palestinians seek statehood, announced in the middle of his visit to help revive peace negotiations.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Congressional Democrats on Tuesday cast doubt on their chances of meeting the White House's March 18 deadline for voting on a stalled healthcare overhaul, but said they are moving as fast as they can.

AP - President Barack Obama said Tuesday he'll bring in high-tech bounty hunters to help root out health care fraud, grabbing a populist idea with bipartisan backing in his final push to overhaul the system.

AP - A suburban woman 'desperate to do something' to help suffering Muslims has been accused of using the Internet to recruit jihadist fighters and help terrorists overseas, even agreeing to move to Europe to try to kill a Swedish artist, prosecutors said Tuesday.

AP - Hundreds of construction workers raised a rallying cry of 'Build it now!' on Tuesday, gathering with elected officials at the World Trade Center site to urge a quick rebuilding of the complex.

Reuters - President Barack Obama, making a final push for healthcare reform, will back bipartisan plans to stamp out waste in government-run medical programs for the old and needy, the White House said on Tuesday.

LOS ANGELES/DETROIT (Reuters) - U.S. safety regulators and Toyota dispatched teams on Tuesday to inspect a Prius that sped out of control on a California freeway a day earlier, as the automaker struggled to reassure consumers shaken by its recall crisis.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama, making a final push for healthcare reform, will back bipartisan plans to stamp out waste in government-run medical programs for the old and needy, the White House said on Tuesday.

MIAMI (Reuters) - Media reports that Tiger Woods is working with his swing coach Hank Haney have leading golfers talking of a possible return to action for the world number one.

AP - President Barack Obama said Tuesday he'll bring in high-tech bounty hunters to help root out health care fraud, grabbing a populist idea with bipartisan backing in his final push to overhaul the system.

AFP - Indonesia's president confirmed Wednesday that a suspected Bali bombing mastermind with a 10-million-dollar bounty on his head had been killed, as Australia lauded Jakarta's drive to fight extremists.