Health Care bill faces key Senate test vote
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Democrats confidently advanced heath care legislation Sunday toward a make-or-break test vote in a push for Christmas-week passage. Republicans vowed to resist what they appeared unable to stop. In the run-up to the vote, the escalation in rhetoric was remarkable on both sides of an issue that has divided the two political parties for months.
Storm crawls into New England, leaving mess behind
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — A fierce weekend storm that dropped record snowfall and stranded travelers up the coast from Virginia to New England turned out not to be as naughty as many had feared by Sunday — and its nicest accomplishment may simply be leaving many with the prospect of a very white Christmas. Residents throughout the mid-Atlantic and Northeast mostly holed up for the weekend, then dug out from as much as 2 feet of snow to find sunny, mostly calm skies under a blanket of white unspoiled by car exhaust and passers-by.
China: Climate talks yielded 'positive' results
BEIJING (AP) — China, the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases, lauded Sunday the outcome of a historic U.N. climate conference that ended with a nonbinding agreement that urges major polluters to make deeper emissions cuts — but does not require it. Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said the international climate talks that brought more than 110 leaders together in Copenhagen produced "significant and positive" results.
Spiritual father of Iran's reform movement dies
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — The spiritual father of Iran's reform movement died Sunday at the age of 87, prompting thousands of his followers to immediately head to the holy city where the dissident cleric is to be buried. A huge display of mourning for Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri could transform his funeral Monday into another display of power by the opposition, whose activists have for months defied a brutal crackdown, a mass trial and abuses in detention to denounce the country's hard-line clerical rulers. Opposition leaders called for people to turn out for a day of mourning.
Eurostar train services canceled indefinitely
LONDON (AP) — The only passenger rail link between Britain and the rest of Europe has been shut down indefinitely, Eurostar said Sunday, promising more travel misery for thousands of stranded passengers just before Christmas. Services have been suspended since late Friday, when a series of glitches stranded five trains inside the Channel Tunnel and trapped more than 2,000 passengers for hours in stuffy and claustrophobic conditions. More than 55,000 passengers overall have been affected.
AP IMPACT: Tijuana's drug war focuses on police
EDITOR'S NOTE: AP reporter Elliot Spagat follows Tijuana's new public safety chief, Julian Leyzaola, for eight months as he launches the city's most aggressive police reform to date, in the middle of a raging drug war. —
Maine to consider cell phone cancer warning
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — A Maine legislator wants to make the state the first to require cell phones to carry warnings that they can cause brain cancer, although there is no consensus among scientists that they do and industry leaders dispute the claim. The now-ubiquitous devices carry such warnings in some countries, though no U.S. states require them, according to the National Conference of State Legislators. A similar effort is afoot in San Francisco, where Mayor Gavin Newsom wants his city to be the nation's first to require the warnings.
Snowstorm cuts into sales, but means stronger week
The snowstorm that blanketed the East Coast, closing malls and snowing in shoppers, spelled trouble for retailers, but elsewhere in the country stores saw a strong turnout on the last weekend before Christmas. Eager to win business from snowed-in easterners, retail Web sites including Macy's and J.C. Penney were offering free express shipping Sunday. Traffic to retail Web sites spiked all weekend. Elsewhere in the country, crowds looking for discounts found some, but far less than the 60 to 70 percent off sales they wanted.
Hospital: Actress Brittany Murphy dies at age 32
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Brittany Murphy, the actress who got her start in the sleeper hit "Clueless" and rose to stardom in "8 Mile," has died in Los Angeles. She was 32. Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Spokeswoman Sally Stewart said Murphy died at 10:04 a.m. Sunday. She would not provide a cause of death, or any other information.
Bironas' OT FG helps Titans edge Dolphins 27-24
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Tennessee Titans might fall short of making NFL history by rebounding from an 0-6 start to make the playoffs. It won't be for lack of trying. Rob Bironas kicked a 46-yard field goal in overtime, and the Titans beat the Miami Dolphins 27-24 Sunday after blowing an 18-point lead.
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