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AP Top News at 12:20 p.m. EDT(Associated Press Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Palestinians submit UN statehood bidUNITED NATIONS (AP) _ Defying U.S. and Israeli opposition, Palestinians asked the United Nations on Friday to accept them as a member state, sidestepping nearly two decades of troubled negotiations in the hope this dramatic move on the world stage would reenergize their quest for an independent homeland. In the West Bank, the core of that hoped-for state, a Palestinian man was shot dead in a clash with Israeli soldiers and settlers as antagonisms flared over the statehood bid. Global leaders struggle to calm recession fearsWASHINGTON (AP) _ The world's major economic powers are pledging to launch a bold effort to deal with a chronic slowdown in growth and a European debt crisis threatening to push the global economy into another recession. But so far, markets are not buying the new commitments. U.S. stocks were falling in early trading Friday and those losses followed big declines in Asia and Europe. All of the market turmoil was occurring as finance officials from around the world were in Washington for the annual meetings of the 187-nation International Monetary Fund and its sister lending institution, the World Bank. Yemen president returns, adds confusion to crisisSANAA, Yemen (AP) _ President Ali Abdullah Saleh made a surprise return to Yemen on Friday after more than three months of medical treatment in Saudi Arabia in a move certain to further enflame battles between forces loyal to him and his opponents that have turned the capital into a war zone. Saleh, who did not immediately appear in public after his return, called for a cease-fire and said negotiations were the only way out of the crisis. The statement, however, suggested he does not intend to step down immediately and was likely to only anger protesters who have been demanding his ouster for months and the military units and armed tribal fighters that back the opposition. AP IMPACT: Hospital drug shortages deadly, costlyTRENTON, N.J. (AP) _ A severe shortage of drugs for chemotherapy, infections and other serious ailments is endangering patients and forcing hospitals to buy life-saving medications from secondary suppliers at huge markups because they can't get them any other way. An Associated Press review of industry reports and interviews with nearly two dozen experts found at least 15 deaths in the past 15 months blamed on the shortages, either because the right drug wasn't available or because of dosing errors or other problems in administering or preparing alternative medications. Lawyer: Phone hacking legal action to begin in USLONDON (AP) _ A group of British phone-hacking victims plan to ask U.S. courts to look into possible "corrupt practices" at Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., a lawyer said Friday. The move could broaden the scope of a scandal that has shaken the mogul's international media empire. British attorney Mark Lewis told The Associated Press that he had retained American lawyer Norman Siegel, who represents the families of many of those killed on Sept. 11, 2001, to take on News Corp. in the United States. Obama: Changes will help school law, not weaken itWASHINGTON (AP) _ Decrying the state of American education, President Barack Obama on Friday said states will get unprecedented freedom to waive basic elements of the sweeping Bush-era No Child Left Behind law, calling it an admirable but flawed effort that has hurt students instead of helping them. Obama's announcement could fundamentally affect the education of tens of millions of children. It will allow states to scrap the requirement that all children must show they are proficient in reading and math by 2014 _ a cornerstone of the law _ if states meet conditions designed to better prepare and test students. Pakistan blasts US comments about spy agencyISLAMABAD (AP) _ Pakistan's army chief dismissed U.S. allegations that his spy agency had helped Afghan militants attack the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, saying Friday the charges were baseless and part of a public "blame game" detrimental to peace in Afghanistan. Army Chief Gen. Ashfaq Pervez Kayani's terse statement suggested Islamabad had no immediate intention of acting on renewed American demands that it attack the Haqqani militant faction in their main base in northwest Pakistan. It also ramped up a dispute between the two nominally allied nations that has exposed their increasingly deteriorating relationship. Old NASA satellite tumbling to Earth Fri. or Sat.CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) _ A dead 6-ton satellite isn't falling as fast as NASA expected. NASA's experts are now predicting the satellite will crash down to Earth late Friday or early Saturday, Eastern Time. Solar activity is no longer the major factor in the satellite's descent. Rather, its orientation apparently has changed, and that's slowing its fatal plunge. House, Senate clash anew over disaster aid billWASHINGTON (AP) _ Congress' latest must-pass bill is prompting a new House-Senate showdown, highlighting a partisan rift so raw that an effort to help disaster victims has become mired in disputes over jobs, the national debt and the discredited Solyndra solar energy company. The Republican-led House approved revamped legislation early Friday providing $3.7 billion to help people battered by Hurricane Irene, Texas wildfires, tornadoes and other natural disasters. The money would replenish an emergency fund that Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano warned could be depleted early next week. NBA postpones camps, cancels 43 preseason gamesNEW YORK (AP) _ The NBA postponed training camps indefinitely and canceled 43 preseason games Friday because it has not reached a new labor deal with players. All games from Oct. 9-15 are off, the league said. Camps were expected to open Oct. 3. (c) 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |