AP - Bodies covered with sheets lined the streets Tuesday as rescue workers dug through schools and homes turned into rubble by China's worst earthquake in three decades in a search for more victims. The official death toll rose to nearly 12,000, and thousands remained missing.

AP - The Democratic presidential race runs on two tracks now, one snaking through the West Virginia primary Tuesday and the other mapped out by Barack Obama through battleground states in the fall.

AP - Amid daily bipartisan sniping over high gas prices, Democrats and Republicans appear to agree on at least one thing: With oil over $120 a barrel, President Bush ought to stop buying crude for the government emergency reserve.

AP - A fragile cease-fire failed to stop fighting in Baghdad's Sadr City where the latest clashes between Shiite extremists and U.S.-backed Iraqi forces killed 11 men and wounded 19, Iraqi hospital officials said Tuesday.

AP - The United Nations said Tuesday that only a tiny portion of international aid needed for Myanmar's cyclone victims is making it into the country, amid reports that the military regime is hoarding good-quality foreign aid for itself and doling out rotten food.

AP - The Detroit City Council has spent weeks debating what to do with scandal-plagued Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick: force his ouster or slap him on the wrist.

AP - U.S.-led coalition forces called in airstrikes against the Taliban, killing a dozen militants during fighting in southern Afghanistan that has displaced many families, officials said Tuesday.

AP - When President Bush began his first energized pursuit of an Israeli-Palestinian peace accord just over five months ago, confidence was his constant companion. "I'm optimistic," he said over and over about the prospects for ending one of the world's longest-running disputes within little more than a year.

AP - The "Sex and the City" stars lit up London's Leicester Square for the world premiere of the cinematic sequel to their New York adventures, delighting fans with glamorous — and sometimes quirky — outfits that helped make the show an international hit.

AP - Back to even, and back to Boston — with authority. LeBron James scored 21 points, jamming in a powerhouse dunk over a defenseless Kevin Garnett in the final two minutes, as the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the homesick Celtics 88-77 in Game 4 on Monday night to tie the best-of-seven series at 2-2.

Reuters - Heavy storms and wrecked roads hampered efforts to reach areas hardest-hit by China's worst earthquake in three decades on Tuesday as the death toll rose to around 10,000.

Reuters - Heavy rains pelted homeless cyclone survivors in Myanmar's Irrawaddy delta on Tuesday, complicating already slow delivery of aid to more than 1.5 million people facing hunger and disease.

Reuters - Democratic front-runner Barack Obama made a quick stop in West Virginia on Monday ahead of an expected bad loss there to White House rival Hillary Clinton, but he was already looking past the contest to November's fight with Republican John McCain.

Reuters - An agreement aimed at ending fighting in the Baghdad bastion of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr was on the verge of collapse on Tuesday after gunmen launched a spate of attacks on U.S. troops.

Reuters - President George W. Bush heads back to the Middle East on Tuesday facing broad skepticism over his chances of securing an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal before he leaves office in less than nine months.

Reuters - Lebanon's army stepped up patrols on Tuesday as part of a drive to restore order after a week of fighting between Hezbollah fighters and pro-government gunmen.

Reuters - Presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain remains a strong candidate despite a gloomy national mood and record low ratings for President George W. Bush, according to a Washington Post-ABC New poll released on Monday.

Reuters - Heavy marijuana use can boost blood levels of a particular protein, perhaps raising a person's risk of a heart attack or stroke, U.S. government researchers said on Tuesday.

AFP - China's biggest earthquake for a generation left tens of thousands dead, missing or buried under the rubble of crushed communities Tuesday, plunging the nation into an all-out aid effort.

AFP - Lebanese troops were ready to use force on Tuesday to disarm gunmen and enforce law and order after six days of deadly sectarian gunbattles that have plunged the nation into fear and chaos.