End to
spy plane standoff
'critical'
WASHINGTON - As the standoff over the detained crew of a downed U.S. spy plane entered its second week, top Bush administration officials said Sunday a quick resolution was crucial to avoid further straining U.S.-China relations.
Continued delay in sending the 24 Americans home could have repercussions on Capitol Hill, said members of Congress, citing a possible trade fight later this year and an upcoming decision on U.S. weapons sales to Taiwan.
Woods makes golf history with 4th straight major win
AUGUSTA, Ga. - It's a done deal. The Grand Slam, mini-slam, Tiger Slam - whatever you call it - it's unbelievable, and it's reality. Tiger Woods on Sunday became the first player ever to hold simultaneously all four of the world's major golf championships.
To run the table, Woods fought off a king-sized challenge, beating back David Duval and Phil Mickelson - arguably the two best players in the world besides himself - to shoot 68, win the Masters crown and complete this unprecedented feat.
Cheney: Bush
will use veto
to cut spending
WASHINGTON - With President Bush preparing to release the point-by-point details of how his $1.96 trillion budget would rein in government spending, Vice President Dick Cheney said Sunday that Bush will not hesitate to veto spending bills he considers excessive.
Democrats, still celebrating an initial victory in trimming Bush's tax cut, awaited today's release of the full budget so they could see which government programs were targeted for deep reductions.
Pope celebrates
start of Holy Week
VATICAN CITY - Pope John Paul II celebrated Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter's Square before tens of thousands of faithful, urging young people to renew their commitment to Christ.
Many waved palm fronds, olive branches and pussy willows as John Paul was driven to the canopied altar atop the steps of St. Peter's Basilica.
The Mass, attended by a crowd that swelled to at least 50,000 people, marked the start of a week of commemorations leading up to Easter, when Christians celebrate the resurrection of Christ.
Toledo leads at Peru's polls
LIMA, Peru - Economist Alejandro Toledo held a solid lead in Peru's presidential election Sunday, according to exit polls, as attention focused on two candidates dueling to face Toledo in a likely runoff vote next month.
Early projections indicated that Toledo, a 55-year-old from an impoverished indigenous background, will be the candidate to beat in the runoff election. He won between 40 percent and 41 percent of the vote, falling short of the 50 percent needed for outright victory, according to exit polls.
Clinton visits India girls' tech school
RAMPUR, India - Former President Clinton, on a weeklong trip to India, dedicated a girls' polytechnic school in his wife's name Sunday at the end of a long, dusty road where screaming villagers lined up by the thousands to see him.
To the beat of drums and the swish of red scarves, girls performed the Bhangra, a peasant dance, to celebrate the dedication of the Hillary Clinton Center for MultiMedia Technology. Clinton told a gathering of students and local dignitaries that children in India deserve the same educational opportunities as Americans.
16 bodies recovered from crash in Vietnam
The Associated Press
THANH TRACH, Vietnam -- Rescuers on Sunday recovered the bodies of seven Americans and nine Vietnamese who died in a helicopter crash while searching for the remains of U.S. soldiers missing in action from the Vietnam War.
Witnesses described the helicopter weaving in the air before it plowed into a mountainside in central Vietnam on Saturday.
Insiders say Mexico's warring drug lords are about to unite
APODACA, Mexico - Wearing business suits and cowboy boots, they flew in on private jets, landed at several airports and took a short drive to this northern town in a fleet of brand-new X-Terras.
They were Mexico's drug lords, who control most of the drugs smuggled to the United States, along with their bodyguards, various associates and their contacts in government. Sixty men in all, they gathered in a restaurant, drawing the notice of local people as well as police in nearby Monterrey.
