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U.S. April death toll in Iraq passes 100

BAGHDAD (AP) - Five U.S. troops were killed in separate attacks in the capital this weekend, including three in a single roadside bombing, the military said Monday, pushing the death toll past 100 in the deadliest month so far this year. Both attacks occurred in eastern Baghdad, a predominantly Shiite area where American and Iraqi forces have stepped up their activities as part of a security crackdown that began on Feb. 14 to quell the sectarian violence.

5 men convicted in London bomb plot
LONDON (AP) - A jury convicted five men Monday of plotting to use a 1,300 pound fertilizer bomb to attack a London nightclub, power plants or a shopping mall following a yearlong trial, the country's longest-ever terror case. Details that previously were kept secret to ensure a fair trial showed ties between the five and a group who bombed the London transit system in 2005, as well as with other al-Qaida linked cells.

NATO launches offensive against Taliban

SANGIN VALLEY, Afghanistan (AP) - Hundreds of British troops swept into the lush poppy fields of southern Afghanistan Monday, drawing hostile fire at the start of a NATO operation to expel the Taliban from a valley stronghold. More than 3,000 NATO and Afghan troops are participating in the operation, the latest effort to bring Helmand province under the control of President Hamid Karzai.

Bay Area residents face tough commutes

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - San Francisco Bay area residents faced nightmarish commutes Monday after one of the region's most traveled sections of freeway melted and collapsed following a fiery crash. An elevated section of highway that carries motorists from the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge to a number of freeways was destroyed early Sunday after heat from an overturned gasoline truck caused part of one overpass to crumple onto another.

EU, U.S. agree on Iran, Russia disputes

WASHINGTON (AP) - As U.S. and European Union officials showcase closer ties at a summit Monday, they may have found common ground over Iran's nuclear program and Russia's objections to a missile defense plan. The day before the summit, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso responded to recent comments by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Russian President Vladimir Putin by expressing unity with the United States.

U.S., China criticize climate report

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) - The United States and China want to water down a key climate change report being discussed this week by experts, arguing that action to reduce greenhouse gases will be more costly and time consuming than scientists claim, according to documents reviewed by The Associated Press. The comments, submitted by the two governments ahead of this week's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change meeting, also downplay the potential benefits of reducing emissions and take aim at suggestions, mostly by European governments, that greenhouse gases should be capped at around 445 parts per million in the air. The current level of greenhouse gases is about 430 ppm.

Special bank panel to grill Wolfowitz

WASHINGTON (AP) - World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz, fighting to keep his job, is arguing that the poverty-fighting institution's ethics officials were aware of his role in helping secure a promotion and pay raise for his girlfriend, who was on the bank's staff. A special bank panel investigating his handling of the 2005 promotion of bank employee Shaha Riza was scheduled to hear from Wolfowitz on Monday. The controversy has prompted calls for Wolfowitz's resignation. The bank's 24-member board is expected to make a decision in the case this week.

New toys read brain waves

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - A convincing twin of Darth Vader stalks the beige cubicles of a Silicon Valley office, complete with ominous black mask, cape and light saber. But this is no chintzy Halloween costume. It's a prototype, years in the making, of a toy that incorporates brain wave-reading technology. Behind the mask is a sensor that touches the user's forehead and reads the brain's electrical signals, then sends them to a wireless receiver inside the saber, which lights up when the user is concentrating. The player maintains focus by channeling thoughts on any fixed mental image, or thinking specifically about keeping the light sword on. When the mind wanders, the wand goes dark.

'Disturbia' earns $9.1M as Spidey looms

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Movie-goers continued to keep their eyes on the Peeping Tom thriller "Disturbia," which fended off a weak batch of newcomers to remain No. 1 for the third straight weekend with $9.1 million. The movie business seemed to be on hold in anticipation of a huge summer that begins this week with Sony's "Spider-Man 3." The top-12 movies took in an anemic $62.9 million, down 30 percent from the same weekend last year, when "RV" was the No. 1 movie with $16.4 million.

Bulls eliminate defending champion Heat

MIAMI (AP) - The Chicago Bulls have won a postseason series for the first time since the Michael Jordan era. They swept the defending NBA champion Miami Heat out of the playoffs in the first round, 92-79. Ben Gordon scored 24 points and Luol Deng contributed 22 points and eleven rebounds. Chicago gets the Detroit Pistons in round two. The Golden State Warriors are one victory away from becoming the first eighth-seed to beat a No. 1 seed in a seven-game NBA playoff series.

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