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AP Top News at 7:30 p.m. EDT(AP Online Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Fargo divides day between church, city's salvationFARGO, N.D. (AP) _ Weary residents of this sandbagged city came together in churches Sunday, counting their blessings that the Red River finally stopped rising and praying the levees would hold back its wrath. A brief levee break that swamped a school provided a warning of the kind of threat that still hangs over them in the days ahead. Church services that are a staple of life on Sunday mornings in Fargo took on greater significance as people gathered after a week of round-the clock sandbagging. They sang hymns and held hands, asking together for divine help in avoiding disaster. GM CEO Wagoner to step down at White House requestDETROIT (AP) _ General Motors Corp. Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner will step down immediately at the request of the White House, administration officials said Sunday. The news comes as President Obama prepares to unveil additional restructuring efforts designed to save the domestic auto industry. The officials asked not to be identified because details of the restructuring plan have not yet been made public. On Monday, Obama is to announce plans to restructure GM and Chrysler LLC in exchange for additional government loans. The companies have been living on $17.4 billion in government aid and have requested $21.6 billion more. 7 residents, 1 nurse die in nursing home shootingCARTHAGE, N.C. (AP) _ A lone gunman burst into a North Carolina nursing home Sunday morning and started "shooting everything," barging into the rooms of terrified patients, sparing some from his rampage without explanation while killing seven residents and a nurse caring for them. Authorities said Robert Stewart also wounded three others, including the Carthage police officer who confronted him in a hallway of Pinelake Health and Rehab and stopped the brutal attack. US-backed Iraqi troops quell Baghdad uprisingBAGHDAD (AP) _ U.S.-backed Iraqi forces swept through a central Baghdad slum Sunday, disarming Sunnis from a government-allied paramilitary group to quell a two-day uprising launched to protest the arrest of their leader. At least four people were killed and 21 wounded in the two days of fighting between government troops and the Awakening Council in Fadhil, a ramshackle warren of narrow, fetid streets on the east side of the Tigris River where al-Qaida once held sway. AP IMPACT: With Mexico's army in the war on drugsREYNOSA, Mexico (AP) _ Acting on a tip, 30 masked soldiers in combat gear bust down the door of a boarded-up house to find 55 terrified migrants, hostages of the Gulf drug cartel. Amid screams and the smell of urine and sweat, they find a blood-spattered room and a nail-encrusted log used to beat the captives and extort money from their families: $3,000 each. Treasury secretary says market won't solve problemWASHINGTON (AP) _ Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner defended his approach to fixing the country's economic mess Sunday, saying "the market will not solve this" while disclosing a bailout fund for battered banks has $135 billion left and might need more. Geithner used his first Sunday talk show appearances to promote President Barack Obama's massive government spending plan to ease credit, help borrowers and inject billions of dollars into the financial sector. Long kept behind the scenes, the treasury secretary has emerged as the administration's champion of a plan that fueled an uptick in Wall Street markets. Urban coyote attacks on rise, alarming residentsDENVER (AP) _ A coyote ambling into a Chicago sandwich shop or taking up residence in New York's Central Park understandably creates a stir. But even here on the high plains of Colorado, where the animals are part of the landscape and figure prominently in Western lore, people are being taken aback by rising coyote encounters. Thanks to suburban sprawl and a growth in numbers of both people and animals, a rash of coyote encounters has alarmed residents. 'Monsters vs. Aliens' battles to $58.2M debutLOS ANGELES (AP) _ Movie beasts from old-time Hollywood got a makeover as heroes and conquered the weekend box office. DreamWorks Animation's action comedy "Monsters vs. Aliens," which features creatures from 1950s flicks in a showdown with invading extraterrestrials, launched itself into the No. 1 spot with a $58.2 million debut, according to studio estimates Sunday. North Carolina leaves Oklahoma behind 72-60MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) _ Blake Griffin might be the nation's best player. North Carolina brushed him aside with a total team effort. Ty Lawson scored 19 points and Danny Green added 18 to lead the top-seeded Tar Heels to a 72-60 win over Griffin and Oklahoma on Sunday in the South Regional final. Michigan State upends No. 1 seed Louisville 64-52INDIANAPOLIS (AP) _ Michigan State is marching on to Motown. The Spartans gave the Final Four a hometown feel, stopping overall No. 1 seed Louisville 64-52 Sunday to win the Midwest Regional. Goran Suton had 19 points and 10 rebounds as the second-seeded Spartans (30-6) reached their fifth Final Four in 11 years _ the most trips of any team in the nation during that span. Copyright ? 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |