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AP Top News at 2:31 p.m. EDT
(AP Online Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) China opens Olympics with pageantry, pyrotechnicsBEIJING (AP) _ Once-reclusive China commandeered the world stage Friday, celebrating its first-time role as Olympic host with a stunning display of pyrotechnics and pageantry _ topped by the unworldly sight of a flying gymnast, traversing the heights of the stadium to light the flame and begin the Summer Games. Now ascendant as a global power, China welcomed scores of world leaders to an opening ceremony watched by 91,000 people at the eye-catching National Stadium and a potential audience of 4 billion worldwide. It was depicted as the largest, costliest extravaganza in Olympic history, bookended by barrages of some 30,000 fireworks.
Georgia says Russian aircraft bombed its air basesDZHAVA, Georgia (AP) _ Russia sent columns of tanks and reportedly bombed Georgian air bases Friday after Georgia launched a major military offensive Friday to retake the breakaway province of South Ossetia, threatening to ignite a broader conflict. Hundreds of civilians were reported dead in the worst outbreak of hostilities since the province won defacto independence in a war against Georgia that ended in 1992. Witnesses said the South Ossetian capital of Tskhinvali was devastated.
Detroit mayor charged with 2 felony assault countsDETROIT (AP) _ Moments after a judge ruled that Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick could be released from jail if he pays a $50,000 bond, Michigan's attorney general announced he was charging the mayor with two felony assault charges stemming from a confrontation between Kilpatrick and a sheriff's detective. The detective accused the mayor of pushing another investigator while recently trying to serve a subpoena on Kilpatrick. The two counts of assaulting or obstructing a police officer are each punishable by up to two years in prison.
Charter bus crash north of Dallas kills 14SHERMAN, Texas (AP) _ A charter bus carrying Vietnamese worshippers on a pilgrimage slammed onto its side and off a highway north of Dallas early Friday, killing at least 14 people and injuring more than 40, authorities said. The bus skidded across a guard rail before sliding off U.S. 75 on the other side of a bridge over a creek. The right front tire of the bus carrying 55 people from Houston to Missouri blew out, but officials were still investigating the cause of the wreck.
Politics, pageantry blend for Bush at OlympicsBEIJING (AP) _ President Bush, the first U.S. president to attend an Olympics abroad, blended political messages for China and Russia with high fives and hugs for American athletes Friday. Before settling in for the opening festivities, Bush jabbed at China's human rights record and spoke with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin about fighting in the breakaway Georgian province of South Ossetia.
Marine ordered to stand trial in Fallujah killingSAN DIEGO (AP) _ A Camp Pendleton Marine sergeant was ordered Friday to stand trial on charges of unpremeditated murder and dereliction of duty in the killing of an unarmed detainee in Fallujah, Iraq. Lt. Gen. Samuel Helland ordered the court-martial of Sgt. Ryan Weemer after finding there was sufficient evidence to send him to trial.
Fannie Mae loses $2.3B in quarter as defaults riseWASHINGTON (AP) _ Fannie Mae swung to a second-quarter loss that was more than triple what Wall Street expected as conditions in the housing market continued to deteriorate, forcing the mortgage finance giant to make bold cutbacks that will send shock waves through the mortgage market. Fannie Mae is raising fees, which will be passed onto borrowers as higher interest rates, and abandoning "Alt-A" borrowers because those loans are defaulting at an alarming rate. These high-risk loans _ made to borrowers with solid credit but little proof of their income, or small or no down payments _ made up about 11 percent of Fannie's portfolio but accounted for more than half of its credit losses in the quarter.
FDA: Some cholesterol and heart drugs don't mixWASHINGTON (AP) _ Patients taking some common medications for high cholesterol and irregular heart beats can suffer severe muscle damage because of a problem in the way the drugs interact, the government warned on Friday. The Food and Drug Administration said doctors should use extra care when prescribing Zocor, generic Zocor, or Vytorin to patients who are also taking amiodarone, a heart rhythm drug marketed as Cordarone or Pacerone. The danger is higher for patients taking more than 20 milligrams a day of the cholesterol drugs, the agency said.
Sugarland founder files $1.5M lawsuit against bandATLANTA (AP) _ A founder of the country band Sugarland is suing the two current members of the popular group for $1.5 million. According to a lawsuit filed late last month in U.S. District Court in Atlanta, Kristen Hall was to get a cut of the group's profits even after she left in 2005 for a solo career. The lawsuit says Hall, who founded the band in 2002, has an agreement with Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush to equally share profits and losses.
Baghdad zoo welcomes pair of US-donated tiger cubsBAGHDAD (AP) _ The Baghdad Zoo on Friday welcomed a pair of rare Bengal tiger cubs that were donated by a North Carolina animal sanctuary despite protests by animal rights activists. The tigers _ a male and a female named Riley and Hope _ frolicked with red and blue balls in a wading pool and playfully wrestled with each other in their cage, while U.S. soldiers and journalists snapped pictures as delighted Iraqis strolled by.
Copyright ? 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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