WASHINGTON (AP) - House Democrats triggered the countdown Monday for the climactic vote on President Barack Obama's fiercely contested remake of the health care system, even though the legislation remained incomplete and lacked the votes needed to pass. Obama expressed optimism Congress would approve his call for affordable and nearly universal coverage as he pitched his plan on a trip to Ohio, and congressional leaders showed signs of progress in winning anti-abortion Democrats whose votes are pivotal.
KABUL (AP) - The Afghan government was holding secret talks with the Taliban's No. 2 when he was captured in Pakistan, and the arrest infuriated President Hamid Karzai, according to one of Karzai's advisers. The detention of Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar - second in the Taliban only to one-eyed Mullah Mohammed Omar - has raised new questions about whether the U.S. is willing to back peace discussions with leaders who harbored the terrorists behind the Sept. 11 attacks.
SAN DIEGO (AP) - Toyota Motor Corp. dismissed the story of a man who claimed his Prius sped out of control on the California freeway, saying Monday that its own tests found the car's gas pedal and backup safety system were working just fine. The automaker stopped short of saying James Sikes had staged a hoax last week but said his account did not square with a series of tests it conducted on the gas-electric hybrid.
CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico (AP) - The two families climbed into white SUVs and almost simultaneously left the children's birthday party put on by the U.S. consulate. One headed deeper into one of the world's most dangerous cities, the other toward a bridge to El Paso, one of America's safest. Neither made it.
JERUSALEM (AP) - The Obama administration is demanding that Israel call off a contentious building project in east Jerusalem and make a public gesture toward the Palestinians to help defuse one of the worst U.S.-Israeli feuds in memory, officials on both sides said Monday. But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu showed little sign of yielding, saying Jewish construction in east Jerusalem "in no way" hurts Palestinians. A Jerusalem city spokesman suggested Jewish building there would continue.
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - The mistress of former presidential candidate John Edwards says she is helping him live "a life of truth" and the two remain in love even after their affair helped trigger his downfall from the pinnacle of U.S. politics. "Everyone talks about how Johnny has fallen from grace," Rielle Hunter told GQ magazine in an interview released Monday. "In reality, he's fallen to grace."
Woman, son missing after van found on Wash. beach OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) - A woman heading to her stepfather's house was "beyond lost" when she and her 8-year-old son took one wrong turn after another through the backroads of Thurston County and onto a private Puget Sound beach, authorities said Monday. The minivan driven by Shantina Smiley, 29, was found partially submerged Sunday with its doors open. A wallet containing Smiley driver's license, some cash and credit cards were found in the van, but neither she nor her son was anywhere in sight.
LOS ANGELES (AP) - An Illinois insurance executive who secretly shot nude videos of ESPN reporter Erin Andrews was sentenced Monday to 2 1/2 years in prison after giving a tearful apology that was harshly rebuked by his victim. Michael David Barrett pleaded guilty in December to interstate stalking after prosecutors accused him of following the reporter to at least three cities and shooting the videos through hotel peepholes.
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) - Iowa City police arrested a woman who allegedly attacked her sister with the lid of a toilet tank. Nitasha Johnson, of Iowa City, was arrested early Sunday and was charged with domestic abuse assault causing injury and interference with official acts. According to police, Johnson removed the lid and hit her sister during a fight. Authorities said the sister suffered an injured foot and finger. Johnson was taken to the Johnson County jail. She remained in jail on Monday on a $1,500 bond. Jail officials did not know if she had hired an attorney.
LONDON (AP) - Unless David Beckham can mend it as well as he can bend it, soccer's now-limping glamour boy will miss this summer's World Cup - a blow to tournament organizers, sponsors, TV viewers and average fans. Beckham underwent surgery Monday for a "totally torn" left Achilles' tendon and is expected to be out of action for about six months, said Dr. Sakari Orava, who performed the operation. The 34-year-old midfielder was injured Sunday while playing for Italian club AC Milan.
