AP - The estate of "Lord of the Rings" creator J.R.R. Tolkien is suing the film studio that released the trilogy based on his books, claiming the company hasn't paid it a penny from the estimated $6 billion the films have grossed worldwide.

Reuters - Barack Obama on Monday rode a weekend hot streak into the next round of presidential contests, but rival Hillary Clinton shrugged off the setbacks and expressed confidence about her prospects.

Reuters - A major outage hit BlackBerry users in North America on Monday afternoon, cutting off wireless e-mail for everyone from busy executives to political campaign staff on the eve of three U.S. presidential primaries.

AP - John Rocker claims he flunked a drug test ordered by Major League Baseball in 2000 and that he, Alex Rodriguez and other Texas Rangers were advised by management and union doctors following a spring training lecture on how to effectively use steroids.

Reuters - Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Monday he backed a brief pause in U.S. troop cuts in Iraq once an initial pullout of five combat brigades has been completed in July.

AFP - East Timor President Jose Ramos-Horta was Tuesday in a serious but stable condition after surgery overnight for gunshot wounds from an assassination attempt that plunged the nation into a fresh crisis.

Reuters - Russian bomber aircraft approached a U.S. aircraft carrier in the Pacific on Saturday and were intercepted by American fighter jets, a U.S. defense official said on Monday.

Reuters - Non-Hispanic whites will become a minority in the United States by 2050, with immigrants and their children driving 82 percent of U.S. population growth in coming years, a new study said on Monday.

Reuters - The Pentagon on Monday charged the alleged planner of the September 11 attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, and five others with murder and conspiracy and asked that they be executed if convicted.

Reuters - A former Boeing engineer was arrested on Monday on charges of stealing trade secrets for China about several aerospace programs, including the Space Shuttle, the U.S. Justice Department said.

AP - Barack Obama defeated Hillary Rodham Clinton in Maine presidential caucuses Sunday, grabbing a majority of delegates as the state's Democrats overlooked the snowy weather and turned out in heavy numbers for municipal gatherings.

AP - Amy Winehouse may have been physically absent from the Grammy awards on Sunday, but her presence was strong as the famously troubled singer won four awards, including song of the year for her autobiographical hit "Rehab."

AP - Search crews recovered another body Sunday from a sugar refinery devastated by a massive explosion, raising the number of confirmed deaths to six, the state's top elected fire official said.

Reuters - East Timor President Jose Ramos-Horta was stable after he was shot in the stomach during an attack on his Dili home by rebel soldiers, Foreign Minister Zacarias da Costa said on Monday.

AP - An overnight fire destroyed a 610-year-old landmark that was considered the top national treasure, officials said Monday. Police said the cause of the blaze was unclear but one official said arson was suspected.

AP - The Writers Guild of America moved swiftly Sunday toward a resolution of its three-month-old strike, with guild leaders deciding to recommend a tentative contract to members and ask them to vote on a quick end to the walkout.

AP - One of Brian McNamee's lawyers said Sunday he believed the Justice Department will open a criminal investigation into Roger Clemens' denials of doping.

AFP - East Timor's President Jose Ramos-Horta was shot and wounded in an attack by a rebel group at his residence early Monday while the fugitive leader of the group was killed, UN officials said.

Reuters - British singer-songwriter Amy Winehouse won the Grammy for best new artist on Sunday, bringing her tally for the ceremony to three statuettes.

AP - Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee is crying foul after John McCain's apparent victory in the Washington caucuses on Saturday.

AP - Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton replaced campaign manager Patti Solis Doyle with longtime aide Maggie Williams on Sunday, engineering a shake-up in a presidential campaign struggling to overcome rival Sen. Barack Obama's financial and political strengths.

Reuters - As she struggles to blunt Barack Obama's growing momentum, Democrat Hillary Clinton shuffled the top of her campaign staff on Sunday ahead of this week's U.S. presidential nominating contests, while Republican John McCain's march hit a few bumps in the road.

AP - Car bombs and gunmen struck new U.S. allies, police and civilians Sunday in northern Iraq, killing as many as 53 people. The spate of attacks came even as the American military released a captured diary and another document they say show al-Qaida in Iraq cracking under a Sunni revolt against its brutal tactics.

AFP - Democrat Hillary Clinton shook up her campaign Sunday after a string of staggering losses in a bid to stem a groundswell of support for rival Barack Obama in their bitter White House race.

Reuters - Officials in the famously liberal California town of Berkeley have stirred a national fuss by telling U.S. Marine Corps recruiters they aren't welcome anymore and by aiding those protesting against them.

Reuters - Union leaders for striking Hollywood writers voted on Sunday to formally endorse a deal with studios to end their bruising three-month-old labor clash, calling an immediate halt to picketing and paving the way for writers to return to work by mid-week.

Reuters - Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Sunday the NATO alliance was at risk if it became split between members willing and unwilling to fight as he appealed to Europeans to support the war in Afghanistan.