US/World/Business News in Brief 

Abortion dispute with Catholic bishops could hinder Obama's health care bill in Senate

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is on a collision course with Catholic bishops in an intractable dispute over abortion that could blow up the fragile political coalition behind President Barack Obama's health care overhaul.

A top Obama administration official on Thursday praised the new Senate health care bill's attempt to find a compromise on abortion coverage — even as an official of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said Sen. Harry Reid's bill is the worst he's seen so far on the divisive issue.

The bishops were instrumental in getting tough anti-abortion language adopted by the House, forcing Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., to accept restrictions that outraged liberals as the price for passing the Democratic health care bill. Reid, D-Nev., now faces a similar choice: Ultimately, he will need the votes of Democratic senators who oppose abortion to get his bill through the Senate.

So far, Reid has steered the Senate bill in a direction that abortion rights supporters can live with: allowing coverage for abortion in federally subsidized health care plans, provided that private funds are used to pay for the procedure. But abortion opponents say his compromise would gut current federal restrictions on abortion funding.

GOP senators and governors stepped up their opposition to the bill Thursday, assailing the measure as a collection of tax increases, Medicare cuts and heavy new burdens for states.

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Stronger dollar, weak economic data pummels stocks

NEW YORK (AP) — Signs of a subdued economic recovery sent investors out of stocks Thursday and in search of safer assets like the dollar.

Major indexes tumbled about 1 percent, including the Dow Jones industrial average, which lost 94 points but ended well off its low. Energy and material stocks logged some of the biggest losses as a jump in the dollar sent commodity prices tumbling. Meanwhile, an analyst's downgrade of the chip industry pulled technology shares sharply lower.

As stocks fell, investors flocked to the dollar and Treasurys. The yield on the three-month T-bill, considered one of the safest investments, tumbled to its lowest level since December.

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Military experiment seeks clues to predict which troops might suffer post-traumatic stress

TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. (AP) — Two days before shipping off to war, Marine Pfc. Jesse Sheets sat inside a trailer in the Mojave Desert, his gaze fixed on a computer that flashed a rhythmic pulse of contrasting images.

Smiling kids embracing a soldier. A dog sniffing blood oozing from a corpse. Movie star Cameron Diaz posing sideways in a midriff top. Troops cowering for safety during an ambush.

A doctor tracked his stress levels and counted the number of times he blinked. Electrode wires dangled from his left eye and right pinky finger.

Sheets is part of a military experiment to try to predict who's most at risk for post-traumatic stress disorder. Understanding underlying triggers might help reduce the burden of those who return psychologically wounded — if they can get early help.

PTSD is a crippling condition that can emerge after a terrifying event — car accident, sexual assault, terrorist attack or combat. It's thought to affect as many as one in five veterans returning from Afghanistan and Iraq.

Military doctors have been mystified as to why certain combatants exposed to bombings and bloodshed develop paralyzing stress symptoms while others who witness the same trauma shake it off.

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Guidelines say less frequent Pap smears OK to detect cervical cancer — every 2 years for under-30

WASHINGTON (AP) — Most women in their 20s can have a Pap smear every two years instead of annually, say new guidelines that conclude that's enough to catch slow-growing cervical cancer.

The change by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists comes amid a completely separate debate over when regular mammograms to detect breast cancer should begin. The timing of the Pap guidelines is coincidence, said ACOG, which began reviewing its recommendations in late 2007 and published the update Friday in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology.

The guidelines also say:

—Routine Paps should start at age 21. Previously, ACOG had urged a first Pap either within three years of first sexual intercourse or at age 21.

—Women 30 and older should wait three years between Paps once they've had three consecutive clear tests. Other national guidelines have long recommended the three-year interval; ACOG had previously backed a two- to three-year wait.

—Women with HIV, other immune-weakening conditions or previous cervical abnormalities may need more frequent screening.

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Gunman opens fire on Pacific island of Saipan; 5 dead, including 2 young children

SAIPAN, Northern Mariana Islands (AP) — A gunman went on a rampage on the Pacific resort island of Saipan on Friday, killing four people and wounding six others before fatally shooting himself, officials said.

Public Safety spokesman Jason Tarkong said two men, a 4-year-old boy and a 2-year-old girl were killed in a half-hour of violence. The dead were all local residents.

The six wounded included a 4-year-old local girl and five visitors from South Korea.

Authorities said the suspected shooter is a contract worker in his 30s or 40s from Asia, but did not provide his name or home country.

The shootings occurred in two different areas of the island, starting at 11:21 a.m. local time with a popular tourist spot in Marpi where the gunman fired a barrage of bullets from his white van at the Koreans. A 39-year-old man was critically injured with a gunshot wound to his back.

The suspect then drove to the Kannat Tabla Shooting Range where he killed two men in their early 20s and the two children. He also shot a 4-year-old girl, who suffered a gunshot wound to the chest and was in critical condition.

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AP IMPACT: As military academies seek diversity, urban lawmakers often make fewest nominations

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — As the nation's military academies try to recruit more minorities, they aren't getting much help from members of Congress from big-city districts with large numbers of blacks, Hispanics and Asians.

From New York to Chicago to Los Angeles, lawmakers from heavily minority areas rank at or near the bottom in the number of students they have nominated for appointment to West Point, the U.S. Naval Academy or the U.S. Air Force Academy, according to an Associated Press review of records from the past five years.

High school students applying to the academies must be nominated by a member of Congress or another high-ranking federal official. Congressional nominations account for about 75 percent of all students at the academies.

Academy records obtained by the AP through the Freedom of Information Act show that lawmakers in roughly half of the 435 House districts nominated more than 100 students each during the five-year period.

But Rep. Nydia Velazquez of New York City, chairwoman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, nominated only four students, the lowest among House members who served the entire five-year period. Rep. Charles Rangel, whose New York City district includes Harlem, was second-lowest, with eight nominations. And House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, whose San Francisco district is 29 percent Asian, was also near the bottom, with 19.

In fact, the bottom 20 House members were all from districts where whites make up less than a majority.

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At least 16 killed, 23 wounded in suicide bombing in western Afghanistan

KABUL (AP) — A suicide bomber riding a motorcycle killed 16 people, including two children and a policeman, and wounded at least 23 others Friday in a busy city square in western Afghanistan, officials said.

Provincial Gov. Rohul Amin said the blast occurred about 55 yards (50 meters) from his compound in a crowded square in Farah.

Afghan police shouted "Stop! Stop!" at the motorcyclist before he detonated the explosives, provincial police chief Gen. Mohammad Faqir Askar said. It was unclear what the bomber was targeting.

Amin said the 16 killed included two children. Dr. Shir Agh Asas at the hospital in Farah city said several children also were among the wounded. A police officer also died.

"These days Taliban are causing high casualties because the foreign forces and Afghan forces have been conducting operations against the insurgency in the region," Askar said.

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Winfrey set to announce 'The Oprah Winfrey Show' will end in 2011 after 25 seasons on the air

CHICAGO (AP) — Oprah Winfrey was set to announce Friday that her powerhouse daytime television show, the foundation of a multibillion-dollar media empire with legions of fans, will end its run in 2011 after 25 seasons on the air.

Winfrey planned to announce the final date for "The Oprah Winfrey Show" during a live broadcast, according to her production company, Harpo Productions Inc.

Once a local Chicago morning program, the production evolved into television's top-rated talk show for more than two decades, airing in 145 countries worldwide and watched by an estimated 42 million viewers a week in the U.S. alone.

"Oprah Winfrey is in a category of her own," said Robert Thompson, professor of television and popular culture at Syracuse University. "This is a great American story and like any great American story it's supersized."

A Harpo spokeswoman declined to comment Thursday on Winfrey's future plans except to say that "The Oprah Winfrey Show," which has seen ratings slip 7 percent from a year ago, will not move to cable television.

Winfrey, 55, is widely expected to start up a new talk show on OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network, a much-delayed joint venture with Discovery Communications Inc. that is expected to debut in 2011. OWN is to replace the Discovery Health Channel and will debut in some 74 million homes. An OWN spokeswoman declined comment Thursday.

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NY Republican advisers say Giuliani more interested in running for US Senate than governor

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who many Republicans have been pushing to run for governor in 2010, is instead leaning more toward a run for U.S. Senate, according to two party advisers.

"From staff, we have been hearing that he has been indicating quietly and privately recently that governor might not be the best fit for him now," one adviser said Thursday. "But the U.S. Senate could be a perfect fit for him."

The adviser noted that nobody is saying Giuliani has decided, but it "certainly sounds" like he is less interested in running for governor. Another adviser echoed that.

The advisers spoke on the condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak for the state Republican Party or Giuliani.

The New York Times, citing unidentified people told of the decision, reported Thursday that Giuliani, 65, wouldn't run for governor after months of considering it.

Giuliani spokeswoman Maria Comella disputed that report, saying he told her Thursday that he hadn't made a decision.

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New mom Heidi Klum returns to the runway - wearing lingerie - at Victoria's Secret show

NEW YORK (AP) — Heidi Klum and her post-baby body led the parade at the annual Victoria's Secret fashion show, which returned to New York with some fresh faces after four years on the road.

The lingerie retailer inducted five more women into its "Angel" ranks — a designation reserved for top models — in front of a packed house Thursday night at the Lexington Avenue Armory. They are Emanuela de Paula, Chanel Iman, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Lindsay Ellingson and Candice Swanepoel.

But Klum, who gave birth to a daughter five weeks ago, was the audience favorite in her purple corset covered with a half gown with poufs of tulle. She emerged from the huge, castlelike set to applause.

Musical guest The Black Eyed Peas — especially Fergie, its only female member, who wore a black, jeweled bodysuit — was another crowd-pleaser. Fergie came out later in a green corset gown.

Of course, fashion really is secondary here. Victoria's Secret always puts on an elaborate production (this time with a choir, acrobatic dancers and a giant polka-dot dog balloon) and fuels hype about its models. An online model search started earlier this month and is now down to two contestants, one of whom will be chosen by the public to appear in the televised version of the fashion show that CBS will air Dec. 1.

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FIFA rules out possibility of replaying disputed France-Ireland World Cup qualifying match

ZURICH (AP) — FIFA ruled out the possibility of replaying the disputed France-Ireland World Cup qualifier on Friday, rejecting an Irish appeal to stage the playoff again after Thierry Henry handled the ball to set up the deciding goal in extra time.

"In the reply, FIFA states that the result of the match cannot be changed and the match cannot be replayed," FIFA said in a statement. "As is clearly mentioned in the Laws of the Game, during matches, decisions are taken by the referee and these decisions are final."

Henry used his left hand to keep the ball from going out of play, then passed to William Gallas, who headed in the decisive goal. At the time of Henry's unpunished handball, the match was 17 minutes from reaching a penalty shootout.

The match at Stade de France ended in a 1-1 draw, enough to qualify France for next year's World Cup in South Africa 2-1 on aggregate after the 1998 world champions won the first leg of the playoff in Dublin 1-0.

Henry admitted later that he handled the ball, but Swedish referee Martin Hansson did not spot the infraction.