Clinton outwardly confident, even as hopes dim

By Shealah Craighead (AP)

President Bush spent months joking about being a father of the bride, but on Sunday he was downright wistful about giving his daughter Jenna away to her longtime bow.

\"Our little girl, Jenna, married a really good guy, Henry Hager,\" Bush said, standing next Mrs. Bush at an airport in Waco where he boarded Air Force One for his flight back to Washington. \"The wedding was spectacular. It\'s just _ it\'s all we could have hoped for.\"

Unlike other first family weddings that have been broadcast live, the Bushes didn\'t share their daughter\'s nuptials with the nation. The day...

By Shealah Craighead (AP)

President Bush spent months joking about being a father of the bride, but on Sunday he was downright wistful about giving his daughter Jenna away to her longtime bow.

\"Our little girl, Jenna, married a really good guy, Henry Hager,\" Bush said, standing next Mrs. Bush at an airport in Waco where he boarded Air Force One for his flight back to Washington. \"The wedding was spectacular. It\'s just _ it\'s all we could have hoped for.\"

Unlike other first family weddings that have been broadcast live, the Bushes didn\'t share their daughter\'s nuptials with the nation. The day...

By Elise Amendola (AP)

Her presidential bid needs a miracle, so Hillary Rodham Clinton prayed for one Sunday in church.

Arriving amid thunderstorms, Clinton and her daughter, Chelsea, took seats in the second row of First United Methodist Church and listened to a sermon about Mother\'s Day.

\"Give us eyes to see the miracles around us,\" Dr. Paul Russell said, leading the worshippers in prayer. Hillary Clinton read along with the congregation.

Mother\'s Day was Clinton\'s theme Sunday as she sought to remind Democrats of her strong support among women while campaigning for the big win in West...

By Matt Slocum (AP)

Jenna Bush picked \"You Are So Beautiful,\" the ballad made famous by Joe Cocker, for the father-daughter dance with President Bush at her wedding reception Saturday night in Texas, the band leader said.

Tyrone Smith of Nashville and his 10-piece party band, The Tyrone Smith Revue, were hired to play at the reception in Crawford.

The band was asked to do \"Lovin\' in My Baby\'s Eyes\" by Taj Mahal for the newlyweds\' first dance. Smith spoke to The Associated Press on Tuesday about the music plans, on the condition that the reporter honor a request by the Bush family not to...

By Kimberlee Hewitt (AP)

Jenna Bush couldn\'t see herself getting married at the White House surrounded by antique furniture and oil portraits of presidents. She and Henry Hager said \"I do\" Saturday at President Bush\'s ranch in Crawford where the corn is thigh-high, roads are named Cattle Drive and the Texas flag is painted on the rooftops of barns.

The president and the bride picked \"You Are So Beautiful\" for their father-daughter dance, according to band leader Tyrone Smith of Nashville, Tenn. Smith and his 10-piece party band, The Tyrone Smith Revue, was asked to do \"Lovin\' in My Baby\'s Eyes\"...

By Michael Conroy (AP)

The Dallas Mavericks made it official Saturday, announcing they had hired Rick Carlisle to replace Avery Johnson as their coach.

Donnie Nelson, the Mavericks\' president of basketball operations, said in a statement that Carlisle was \"our top choice from the onset.\"

\"His integrity, exceptional basketball IQ and balanced approach are exactly what we were looking for,\" Nelson said. \"Rick\'s playoff experience and success make him a great fit for our team and its future.\"

A news conference is expected Wednesday, when owner Mark Cuban returns to Dallas.

Carlisle...

By Michael Conroy (AP)

The Dallas Mavericks made it official Saturday, announcing they had hired Rick Carlisle to replace Avery Johnson as their coach.

Donnie Nelson, the Mavericks\' president of basketball operations, said in a statement that Carlisle was \"our top choice from the onset.\"

\"His integrity, exceptional basketball IQ and balanced approach are exactly what we were looking for,\" Nelson said. \"Rick\'s playoff experience and success make him a great fit for our team and its future.\"

A news conference is expected Wednesday, when owner Mark Cuban returns to Dallas.

Carlisle...

By Jae C. Hong (AP)

Barack Obama began sketching the outlines of his expected presidential contest against Republican John McCain on Saturday, saying the fall election will be more about specific plans and priorities than about questions of political ideology or who is more patriotic.

Barely mentioning Democratic rival Hillary Rodham Clinton, Obama said he was open to campaigning with McCain in \"town hall\" events. But he also warned that controversial issues such as McCain\'s ties to the Keating Five savings and loan scandal are fair game, and he called McCain\'s proposal for a temporary halt in the...

By Jae C. Hong (AP)

Barack Obama began sketching the outlines of his expected presidential contest against Republican John McCain on Saturday, saying the fall election will be more about specific plans and priorities than about questions of political ideology or who is more patriotic.

Barely mentioning Democratic rival Hillary Rodham Clinton, Obama said he was open to campaigning with McCain in \"town hall\" events. But he also warned that controversial issues such as McCain\'s ties to the Keating Five savings and loan scandal are fair game, and he called McCain\'s proposal for a temporary halt in the...

By James J. Lee (AP)

On this 100th anniversary of Mother\'s Day, the woman credited with creating one of the world\'s most celebrated holidays probably wouldn\'t be pleased with all the flowers, candy or gifts.

Anna Jarvis would want us to give mothers a white carnation _ she felt it signified the purity of a mother\'s love.

Jarvis, who never married and never had children, got the Mother\'s Day idea after her mother said it would be nice if someone created a memorial to mothers.

Three years after her mother died in 1905, she organized the first official mother\'s day service at a church...

By Michael Conroy (AP)

Three-week-old Kevin fussed in mother Melissa Lankey\'s arms until she started singing softly to him, \"Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.\" The newborn began dozing within seconds.

\"That\'s kind of our little song. It usually calms him right down,\" Lankey said.

Lankey did not sing the tune in the baby\'s bedroom. She was behind bars at the Indiana Women\'s Prison, where a new program allows some inmates to keep their newborns in their cells for up to 18 months.

The program debuted last month, becoming the sixth in the nation in a growing trend...

By Kimberlee Hewitt (AP)

Jenna Bush couldn\'t see herself getting married at the White House surrounded by antique furniture and oil portraits of presidents. She and Henry Hager opted to say \"I do\" Saturday at President Bush\'s ranch in Crawford where the corn is thigh-high, roads are named Cattle Drive and the Texas flag is painted on the rooftops of barns.

Away from the glare of television cameras that have beamed other first family weddings into American living rooms, Jenna\'s outdoor wedding at the ranch reflects her family\'s penchant for privacy and her preference for the casual over...

By (AP)

Embattled and embarrassed by the confession he fathered a child from an extramarital affair, New York Rep. Vito Fossella is facing public calls for his resignation. Secluded with his family, he must decide if he wants to keep his job badly enough to grapple with the lingering questions and fallout from the scandal.

In admitting the affair and a secret child Thursday, the Republican lawmaker indicated he planned to stay in Congress for months to come, but there are signs he could be out much sooner: House Minority Leader John Boehner pointedly said he expected Fossella to make a...

By (AP)

Embattled and embarrassed by the confession he fathered a child from an extramarital affair, New York Rep. Vito Fossella is facing public calls for his resignation. Secluded with his family, he must decide if he wants to keep his job badly enough to grapple with the lingering questions and fallout from the scandal.

In admitting the affair and a secret child Thursday, the Republican lawmaker indicated he planned to stay in Congress for months to come, but there are signs he could be out much sooner: House Minority Leader John Boehner pointedly said he expected Fossella to make a...

By CHRIS GARDNER (AP)

Convicted sniper John Allen Muhammad has changed his mind again and now wants to go forward with a federal appeal of his conviction and death sentence, according to his lawyers.

In a handwritten letter from death row made public this week, Muhammad told the Virginia attorney general that he wanted to suspend all appeals on his 2003 death sentence and that appeals filed on his behalf were not authorized.

But Muhammad\'s lawyer, James Connell, wrote a letter Thursday to a U.S. District judge saying Muhammad now wants to go forward with his appeal.

\"Mr. Muhammad expressly...

By Jae C. Hong (AP)

Campaigning a few miles from each other Friday, Barack Obama trained his eye on November and the GOP, while Hillary Rodham Clinton battled for her political life, trying to hang on a few more weeks or even days in hopes of denying him the Democratic presidential nomination.

Obama, increasingly confident that Clinton cannot overtake his lead, ignored her in his prepared remarks at a Portland-area workplace. Instead he pointedly criticized Republican Sen. John McCain\'s economic, health and Iraq policies, saying the probable GOP nominee would continue failed Bush administration...

By Susan Walsh (AP)

Barack Obama all but erased Hillary Rodham Clinton\'s once-imposing lead among national convention superdelegates on Friday and won fresh labor backing as elements of the Democratic Party began coalescing around the Illinois senator for the fall campaign.

Obama picked up the backing of nine superdelegates, including Rep. Donald Payne of New Jersey, a member of the Congressional Black Caucus who had been a Clinton supporter.

In addition, the American Federation of Government Employees announced its support for Obama. The union claims about 600,000 members who work in the...

By Susan Walsh (AP)

Barack Obama all but erased Hillary Rodham Clinton\'s once-imposing lead among national convention superdelegates on Friday and won fresh labor backing as elements of the Democratic Party began coalescing around the Illinois senator for the fall campaign.

Obama picked up the backing of six superdelegates, including Rep. Donald Payne of New Jersey, a member of the Congressional Black Caucus who had been a Clinton supporter.

In addition, the American Federation of Government Employees announced its support for Obama. The union claims about 600,000 members who work in the...

By RYAN MOORE (AP)

Amber Parker watched on television as the storm near her home grew into a tornado threat. Then, when the roaring wind outside suddenly fell silent, she grabbed her two toddlers and rushed to get under the stairwell.

\"We just got inside the door frame when I was pushed inside ... then everything went,\" said Parker, tears welling in her eyes as she described the chaotic scene during a brief discussion with reporters near her demolished home in central North Carolina.

Neighbors helped the 36-year-old Parker and her two children _ a 2-year-old and a 3-year-old _ out of the...

By Pablo Martinez Monsivais (AP)

Barack Obama\'s sprint to the Democratic nomination received another boost Friday as two more superdelegates pledged their support, including one who dropped his backing for Hillary Rodham Clinton\'s faltering White House bid.

The two Democrats have been lobbying superdelegates _ who are not bound by state results _ to line up behind them in the final push for the nomination. While Obama has presented himself, albeit subtly, as the inevitable candidate, Clinton\'s efforts have been to ward off further defections and convince the crucial voting block that her candidacy still...

By Pablo Martinez Monsivais (AP)

Hillary Rodham Clinton, defying electoral math stacked against her, is urging supporters to ignore predictions that her White House bid was over. Barack Obama, meanwhile, was reaching out to top Democrats who could help seal a historic nomination well within his grasp.

Clinton spent some of Thursday in West Virginia _ the next battleground and where she is favored to win _ telling supporters that she had faced similar pressure to withdraw before she went on to win New Hampshire, Ohio, Texas and Pennsylvania\'s primaries.

\"I\'m running to be president of all 50 states,\" said...

By Charles Dharapak (AP)

Perhaps Barack Obama\'s competitive juices need new outlets now that he has expanded his lead over Democratic presidential rival Hillary Rodham Clinton.

On a five-hour flight from Washington to Oregon late Thursday, the Illinois senator came to the back of his charter plane for a spirited word game against reporters, and it was clear he did not intend to lose.

In \"Taboo,\" a player under time constraints must prompt teammates to guess words or names without using obvious hints. For instance, in giving clues for \"equator,\" the player is penalized if he says \"Earth,\"...

By Alexandre Meneghini (AP)

Mexico\'s acting federal police chief was shot dead early Thursday outside his home _ a brazen attack as drug traffickers increasingly lash back at a nationwide crackdown on organized crime.

Edgar Millan Gomez was shot 10 times after opening the door to his Mexico City apartment complex, where at least one gunman was waiting for him before dawn, the Public Safety Department said. Two bodyguards were also wounded. Millan died hours later at a hospital.

President Felipe Calderon\'s government said Millan had played a vital role in the country\'s fight against organized crime...