News

AP - The United States said Wednesday it would join in face-to-face talks with Iran over its disputed nuclear program once Tehran puts its atomic activities on hold, a shift in tactics meant to offer the Iranians a last chance to avoid punishing sanctions.

ALLENTOWN | A minority of Lehigh County commissioners is counting on a wave of gambling foes to bolster their opposition to building a casino in the Lehigh Valley.

AP - A 1-year-old girl spent up to three days alone with the bloody bodies of her murdered family, her face kicked or beaten and lips cracked from dehydration, police said.

AFP - The number of casualties from the Indonesian quake has soared as the United Nations said hospitals remain overcrowded and lack basic supplies to treat the mass of injured.

AP - President Bush promised on Wednesday that any Marines involved in the alleged murders of Iraqi civilians will be punished. A senior officer said the case could undermine Iraqis' support for the presence of American troops.

AP - Detroit's defense would not let the Pistons' season end. The Pistons got back to their swarming ways when the Miami Heat had the ball, and Tayshaun Prince scored a career playoff-high 29 points to lift Detroit to a 91-78 win Wednesday night in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals.

AFP - East Timorese President Xanana Gusmao has made an emotional appeal for rivals from the country's east and west to forgive each other, pleading for unity to end weeks of violence.

AP - Reversing course, Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid's office acknowledged Wednesday night he misstated the ethics rules governing his acceptance of free boxing tickets and has decided to avoid taking such gifts in the future.

AP - U.S. forces killed two Iraqi women — one of them about to give birth — when the troops shot at a car that failed to stop at an observation post in a city north of Baghdad, Iraqi officials and relatives said Wednesday. Nabiha Nisaif Jassim, 35, was being raced to the maternity hospital in Samarra by her brother when the shooting occurred Tuesday.

AP - Women who put on extra pounds raise their risk of getting frequent heartburn or making symptoms worse — even if they aren't overweight, a new study found.

AP - Taylor Hicks has taken step two on his "American Idol"-fueled career, signing the record contract that comes with winning the hit show.

AP - Computer server maker Sun Microsystems Inc., whose revenue has declined four years in a row, said Wednesday it planned to cut 4,000 to 5,000 jobs in an effort to return to consistent profitability.