Obama would OK health bill minus items he pursued
WASHINGTON (AP) - Signaling he'd meet critics part way on health care, President Barack Obama said Tuesday he's willing to sign a bill even if it doesn't deliver everything he pursued through a year of grinding effort at risk of going down as a dismal failure. The Democrats' massive health overhaul legislation is stalled in Congress by disagreements within the party and the loss last month of their 60th Senate vote, and with it, control of the agenda. Republicans suspect that Obama's invitation to a televised health care summit Feb. 25 is a thinly disguised political trap. On Tuesday, the president tried to change the dour dynamic, indicating he could settle for less in order to move ahead.

Snow shuts down federal government, life goes on
WASHINGTON (AP) - If snow keeps 230,000 government employees home for the better part of a week, will anyone notice? With at least another foot of snow headed for Washington, Philadelphia and New York, we're about to find out. The federal government in the nation's capital has largely been shut down since Friday afternoon, when a storm began dumping up to 3 feet of snow in some parts of the region. Offices were remaining closed at least through Wednesday. So far, the effects have been negligible. Many essential government services are performed at offices around the country, and about 85 percent of federal employees work outside the Washington region anyway. Others were working from home despite the snow. An IRS spokeswoman said tax returns should not be affected.

Haiti parents testify they gave kids to Americans
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) - Parents of some of the children who 10 U.S. missionaries tried to take out of Haiti after its catastrophic earthquake told a judge Tuesday that they freely handed over their kids, the Americans' lawyer said. The parents' testimony means no law was broken and "we can't talk any more about trafficking of human beings," attorney Aviol Fleurant told reporters.

NY governor says he'll step aside only 'in a box'
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - New York Gov. David Paterson, defying calls from even fellow Democrats to drop out of the race for a full term, said Tuesday that he would leave only if the voters turned him out through the ballot box, or he's carried out "in a box." Paterson spoke to reporters after several days of rumors sweeping the state Capitol about carousing in the governor's mansion, all of which Paterson strongly denied.

Space shuttle Endeavour pulls in at space station
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) - Shuttle Endeavour arrived at the International Space Station early Wednesday, delivering a new room and observation deck that will come close to completing construction 200 miles above Earth. The midnight rendezvous occurred as the two spacecraft sailed over the Atlantic, just west of Portugal.

Iran boosts nuclear enrichment, drawing warnings
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iranian nuclear technicians set dozens of centrifuges spinning Tuesday to begin enriching uranium stocks to a significantly higher level, prompting President Barack Obama to warn of a "significant regime of sanctions." Iran's acceleration in its enrichment program was a defiant step that puts weapons-grade uranium in closer reach, should Tehran choose to go after the bomb. It was also another in a series of mixed messages that appeared calculated to boost Iran's leverage in negotiations with world powers on limiting its nuclear program.

LA-area foothills under mudslide threat
LA CANADA FLINTRIDGE, Calif. (AP) - A new winter storm washed over the wildfire-scarred foothills north of Los Angeles Tuesday, leaving some residents to flee their homes in baggage-laden cars while others used shovels and buckets to try to hold back the muddy deluge. Officials issued evacuation orders for 541 homes on the hillsides of La Canada Flintridge, La Crescenta, Acton and two canyons. Several streets in the city of Sierra Madre spent several hours under evacuation orders that were lifted in the evening.

Fans delighted by DeGeneres' 'American Idol' debut
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Ellen DeGeneres (dih-JEN'-ur-us) hit the right notes with "American Idol" viewers. Fans took to the Internet to express their pleasant surprise over the funnylady's debut as the singing competition's fourth judge. DeGeneres assumed her new post for Tuesday's episode chronicling the first round of "Hollywood Week," the cutthroat post-audition phase in which 181 contestants will be narrowed down to 24 semifinalists.

Relatives in eastern Cuba say woman has turned 125
HAVANA (AP) - Relatives in eastern Cuba claim to have held a 125th birthday party for a woman named Juana Bautista de la Candelaria Rodriguez, but it is not clear if she is really that old. The state-run news agency Prensa Latina reported on the party last weekend in the city of Bayamo in Granma province, attended by Rodriguez's family, including 15 great-grand children and four great-great-grandchildren.

Good times roll at Saints victory parade
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Only a Super Bowl victory parade could upstage Mardi Gras in New Orleans. Carnival floats carrying Saints players, coaches and team owner Tom Benson rolled past tens of thousands of jubilant fans in downtown New Orleans on Tuesday, two days after the 43-year-old franchise won its first NFL championship. Players, wearing team jerseys instead of traditional Carnival masks and costumes, tossed beads into the crowd and signed autographs for throngs of screaming fans. Benson shouted "Who Dat!" into a microphone from his perch atop a float. Head coach Sean Payton blew kisses and held the Lombardi Trophy over his head.