AP - Doris Smith went downtown early Monday to see about getting tickets to Barack Obama's rally. Advance seats were sold out, she said, and the only option was to stand in line for up two hours or more and hope for the best.

AP - Tiger Woods is chipping and putting again, and he hopes to play in the Memorial in two weeks. But even if he can't compete until the U.S. Open, he doesn't expect the same result as his last layoff during a season.

AP - Jimmy Fallon's eighth-grade yearbook at St. Mary of the Snow in Saugerties, N.Y., listed him as "most likely to take over for David Letterman." Letterman's not going anywhere, but close enough: Fallon is succeeding Conan O'Brien as the host of NBC's "Late Night" sometime in the middle of next year.

Reuters - An earthquake devastated southwestern China, killing close to 10,000 people and trapping hundreds of others under schools, factories and houses while the worst-hit area was still cut off from rescuers on Tuesday.

Reuters - Iran's judiciary said on Monday it would file international lawsuits against the United States and Britain, accusing them of providing financial support to those behind a blast in a mosque that killed 14 people.

Reuters - Cablevision Systems Corp has sealed a $650 million deal to buy the Long Island daily newspaper Newsday from Tribune Co, but analysts doubt the cable company can achieve cost savings to justify its investment.

AFP - Fierce fighting erupted in northern Lebanon on Monday, further exacerbating tensions after days of deadly sectarian battles that have driven the nation to the brink of full-blown civil war.

Reuters - Lebanon's army said it will use force from Tuesday to stop fighting in the country between pro- and anti-government forces that has recalled the 1975-90 civil war.

Reuters - Iraq's prime minister said on Monday a crackdown on Shi'ite militias proved his government was not sectarian, in the face of persistent accusations by Sunni Arabs that he has favored Shi'ites since taking office.

AP - Andrei Kirilenko blocked Kobe Bryant twice in overtime and converted a three-point play with 35 seconds remaining as the Utah Jazz beat the Los Angeles Lakers 123-115 on Sunday, tying the Western Conference semifinals at 2-2.

AP - Search crews combed debris-strewn fields for possible tornado victims Sunday as residents picked through the remains of homes demolished by storms that smashed through the Plains and South, killing at least 21 people in three states.

AP - Serbia's pro-Western president declared victory in Sunday's parliamentary elections — a stunning upset over ultranationalists who tried to exploit anger over Kosovo's independence. But his rivals vowed to fight on, and it was unclear if he could stave off their challenge.

AP - A person with knowledge of the situation says cable TV provider Cablevision Systems Corp. is close to buying the Long Island newspaper Newsday from Tribune Co. for $650 million.

Reuters - Serbia's pro-European Union president, Boris Tadic, claimed victory over his nationalist rivals in a parliamentary election on Sunday but fell short of a majority and faced an immediate challenge.

Reuters - Hezbollah gunmen battled supporters of the government on Sunday on the fifth day of a campaign by the Iranian-backed group that has dealt a severe blow to Washington's allies in Lebanon.

AP - President Bush spent months joking about being a father of the bride, but on Sunday he was downright wistful about giving his daughter Jenna away to her longtime beau.

AP - Jimmy Fallon will officially be given the keys to NBC's "Late Night" franchise following Conan O'Brien's exit.

Reuters - Democrat Barack Obama's campaign chief predicted on Sunday his long battle against Hillary Clinton for the party's presidential nomination would soon be over, saying "we're coming to the end of the process."

AFP - Aid groups said Sunday that supplies trickling into cyclone-hit Myanmar were far less than was needed, as the faltering relief effort suffered a new blow with the sinking of a Red Cross boat.

AP - Documents that Colombia says it recovered from a slain guerrilla leader give the clearest indication yet that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez sought to arm and finance insurgents across the border.

AP - Hillary Rodham Clinton began her presidential quest armed with talent, tenacity, fame, money, connections and a team that knew how to win.

AP - Myanmar's monumental task of feeding and sheltering 1.5 million cyclone survivors suffered yet another blow Sunday when a boat laden with relief supplies — one of the first international shipments — sank on its way to the disaster zone.

Reuters - Sudan cut diplomatic relations with Chad on Sunday after an attack on the capital Khartoum by Darfur rebels which it said was supported by Chadian President Idriss Deby.

AP - Increasing numbers of U.S. troops have left the military with damaged bodies and minds, an ever-larger pool of disabled veterans that will cost the nation billions for decades to come — even as the total population of America's vets shrinks.

AFP - The army deployed across much of Lebanon on Sunday after Hezbollah ceded control of west Beirut but clashes raged on in the north and in the Druze mountains as Arab foreign ministers held crisis talks.

Reuters - Iran and the U.N. nuclear agency watchdog will resume talks on Tehran's disputed nuclear program in the Iranian capital on Monday, an Iranian official was quoted as saying on Sunday.

Reuters - Desperate survivors of Cyclone Nargis headed out of Myanmar's Irrawaddy delta in search of food, water and medicine, but aid workers said on Sunday that thousands will die if emergency supplies don't get through soon.

Reuters - President George W. Bush's daughter Jenna was married on Saturday evening to Henry Hager, the son of the Virginia Republican Party chairman, in front of more than 200 family members and close friends.

AP - Mike D'Antoni has agreed to coach the New York Knicks, bringing his entertaining offensive style from the Phoenix Suns to a team coming off one of the worst seasons in franchise history.

AP - Jenna Bush couldn't see herself getting married at the White House surrounded by antique furniture and oil portraits of presidents. She and Henry Hager opted to say "I do" Saturday at President Bush's ranch in Crawford where the corn is thigh-high, roads are named Cattle Drive and the Texas flag is painted on the rooftops of barns.

AP - Hundreds of rebels from war-ravaged Darfur clashed with Sudanese security forces on the doorstep of the capital Saturday in a dramatic widening of the five-year-old conflict.

Reuters - Zimbabwe's opposition leader said on Saturday he would return home within two days to contest a run-off election against President Robert Mugabe and deal him a "final knock-out" after almost three decades in power.

AP - Barack Obama erased Hillary Rodham Clinton's once-imposing lead among superdelegates Saturday when he added more endorsements from the group of Democrats who will decide the party's nomination for president.

AP - Myanmar's military rulers held a referendum Saturday aimed at solidifying their hold on power while brazenly turning cyclone relief efforts into a propaganda campaign. In some cases, generals' names were scribbled onto boxes of foreign aid before being distributed.

AP - Hezbollah gunmen melted off the streets of Beirut Saturday, heeding an army call to pull the fighters out after the Shiite militants demonstrated their military might in a power struggle with the U.S.-backed government.

Reuters - Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Saturday vowed to stay in office and lead peacemaking efforts with Israel's "enemies and adversaries" despite speculation he could be forced to quit in a bribery scandal.

Reuters - Acting even more like he has clinched the Democratic presidential nomination, Barack Obama said on Saturday he would be willing to campaign jointly with Republican John McCain and acknowledged he needed to better introduce himself to Americans.

AP - News Corp., the media conglomerate controlled by Rupert Murdoch, has withdrawn its bid to purchase the Long Island daily paper Newsday, a News Corp. spokeswoman said Saturday.

AFP - Myanmar's junta held a referendum on a new constitution Saturday, despite warnings more people would die unless it focused on delivering emergency aid for survivors of last week's cyclone.

Reuters - Darfur rebels fought Sudanese troops in a suburb of Khartoum on Saturday in a bid to seize power, but the government said the attack on the capital had been defeated.

AFP - Lebanon's Hezbollah-led opposition on Saturday said it was ending its takeover of west Beirut after the army revoked government moves against the Shiite group that sparked days of deadly fighting.

AP - On this 100th anniversary of Mother's Day, the woman credited with creating one of the world's most celebrated holidays probably wouldn't be pleased with all the flowers, candy or gifts.

AP - Shiite groups brokered a reported cease-fire Saturday with militants fighting U.S. and Iraqi forces in Baghdad's Sadr City as the country's army launched an offensive in Mosul against al-Qaida's main bastion in Iraq.

AP - The amazement was on their faces. Hundreds waited for Barack Obama on that evening in South Carolina, 15 weeks ago, to claim victory — a surprising victory, surprisingly large.

Reuters - Hezbollah on Saturday began withdrawing gunmen from Beirut and handed control of the streets to the Lebanese army, after seizing much of the city in gunbattles with supporters of the U.S.-backed government.

Reuters - Iraqi Shi'ite factions on Saturday reached a deal to end fighting between militia and security forces in the Baghdad bastion of Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr that has killed hundreds of people, officials said.