WASHINGTON (AP) - Moderate Senate Democrats threatened Sunday to scuttle health-care legislation if their demands aren't met, while more liberal members warned their party leaders not to bend. The dispute among Democrats foretells of a rowdy floor debate next month on legislation that would extend health care coverage to roughly 31 million Americans. Republicans have already made clear they aren't supporting the bill.
HEGANG, China (AP) - When gas levels suddenly spiked deep in the Xinxing coal mine, Wang Jiguo grabbed two co-workers and they ran for their lives. Minutes later, there was a huge bang, a torrent of hot air and the earth shuddered. The death toll two days later was up to 104, with four still missing, the official Xinhua news agency said Monday. The accident Saturday was the deadliest in China's mining industry for two years, and has highlighted how heavy demand for power-generating coal comes at a high human cost.
NEW YORK (AP) - The five men facing trial in the Sept. 11 attacks will plead not guilty so that they can air their criticisms of U.S. foreign policy, the lawyer for one of the defendants said Sunday. Scott Fenstermaker, the lawyer for accused terrorist Ali Abd al-Aziz Ali, said the men would not deny their role in the 2001 attacks but "would explain what happened and why they did it."
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NRC: Three Mile Island radiation not significant MIDDLETOWN, Pa. (AP) - The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission says the small amount of radiation detected at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant is not significant. Specialist John White has told ABC News that there is no indication that radiation at the plant exceeded or even approached regulatory limits.
Iran begins war games to protect nuclear sites TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran on Sunday began large-scale air defense war games aimed at protecting its nuclear facilities from attack, state TV reported, as an air force commander boasted the country could deter any military strike by Israel. It said the five-day drill will cover an area a third of the size of Iran and spread across the central, western and southern parts of the country.
EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - A month of harsh words between Rep. Patrick Kennedy and a strident critic, Roman Catholic Bishop Thomas Tobin, escalated Sunday when the bishop acknowledged asking Kennedy not to receive Holy Communion because of the Democratic lawmaker's support for abortion rights. The bishop's attempt to publicly shame Kennedy comes just a few months after the death of his father, Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts. Tobin told The Associated Press in an interview Sunday that he's praying for the younger Kennedy, who has been in and out of treatment for substance abuse, and said Kennedy has been acting "erratically."
MADRID (AP) - Seven bulls being used on the set of a film starring Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz have broken free in Spain and slightly injured two people. Cruise and Diaz were not at Sunday's rehearsal. The actors are scheduled to arrive in the city of Cadiz in southwest Spain for the filming of the "Knight & Day" movie next weekend.
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Michael Jackson was made history by winning four American Music Awards on Sunday night, but he couldn't beat Taylor Swift as the year's favorite artist and the evening's top winner. The 19-year-old took the evening's top award, giving Jackson his only loss of the night, and five trophies in all.
CHICAGO (AP) - Jay Cutler lofted a 15-yard scoring pass to Kellen Davis, ending a six-quarter touchdown drought for Chicago, as the Bears took a 20-17 lead over the Philadelphia Eagles after three quarters Sunday night. Cutler, who entered the game with a league-high 17 interceptions, led the Bears on a 55-yard drive capped by his TD pass to Davis. Cutler then threw a 2-point conversion pass to Matt Forte to put the Bears up by three.
