2009-04-09 07:09:03 -

TOP STORIES
US-PIRACY
WASHINGTON _ The U.S. sent warships speeding to the scene. But they were hours away when the brazen pirates attacked, and the world's greatest sea power had to face the fact that it had only limited options to respond to the startling seizure of American merchant seamen. By Anne Gearan and Pauline Jelinek. AP Photos. AP Graphic PIRACY US SHIP.
US-PIRACY-ANALYSIS
WASHINGTON _ President Barack Obama's international tests are coming early: first from the borderline rogue government in North Korea, then from stateless bandits preying on shipping lanes off the East African coast. By Steven R. Hurst. AP Photos.
US-PIRACY-CREW
BOURNE, Massachusetts _ The captain of a cargo ship seized by pirates had just e-mailed his wife that pirate traffic was picking up. The second-in-command had extensive training on how to fight pirates _ and had predicted it was just a «matter of time» until he had to confront them. By Ray Henry. AP Photos.
US-GAY MARRIAGE-CONGRESS
WASHINGTON _ The next battleground in the United States over gay marriage could be in the U.S. Capitol. By Brian Westley. AP Photos.
US-IRAN-NUCLEAR
WASHINGTON _ The Obama administration says it will participate directly in group talks with Iran over its suspect nuclear program, marking another significant shift from former President George W. Bush's policy toward a nation he labeled a member of the «Axis of Evil.» By Matthew Lee.
US-RETREAT SHOOTING
TEMECULA, California _ Investigators are trying to determine why a resident of a Korean religious retreat that helps the homeless allegedly went on a deadly rampage targeting his fellow volunteers. By Gillian Flaccus. AP Photos. AP Graphic CA RETREAT SHOOTING.
US-DEMJANJUK-GERMANY
CLEVELAND _ The family of John Demjanjuk says they still haven't heard from an immigration appeals panel on a request to block his deportation to Germany, where an arrest warrant alleges the frail 89-year-old was a Nazi death camp guard. By M.R. Kropko. AP Photos.
US-STOLEN PLANE
ST. LOUIS _ The agency charged with defending North American air space never seriously considered shooting down a rogue pilot who flew into U.S. airspace because it quickly determined that he had no hostile intent. By Jim Salter.
US-CUBAN MILITANT
EL PASO, Texas _ An anti-Castro Cuban militant is accused in a federal indictment of lying about his involvement in a series of 1997 bombings that targeted tourist spots in Cuba. By Alicia A. Caldwell.
US-PYRAMID SCHEME SEIZURE
AURORA, Colorado _ A former bishop in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints allegedly operated a pyramid scheme from his suburban Denver home for about 15 years, bilking investors out of millions of dollars to collect religious art and classic cars. By P. Solomon Banda. AP Photos COEA102, COEA103, COEA104.
US-SOCAL QUAKE
BOMBAY BEACH, California _ A small earthquake has struck near the southern San Andreas Fault, the latest in a swarm that began two weeks ago.
US-PRISON COMPANY-MURDER
RAYMONDVILLE, Texas _ A Texas appeals court has upheld a multimillion dollar civil verdict against a Florida private prison company in the beating death of an inmate.
US-GOOD FAT
TRENTON, New Jersey _ Fight fat with fat? The newest obesity theory suggests we may one day be able to do just that. By Linda A. Johnson.
US-SCIENCE ADVISER
WASHINGTON _ The president's new science adviser says that global warming is so dire, the Obama administration is discussing radical technologies to cool Earth's air. By Seth Borenstein.
BUSINESS & FINANCE
US-TEC--ELECTRIC GRID HACKING
SAN JOSE, California _ Spies hacked into the U.S. electric grid and left behind computer programs that would let them disrupt service, exposing potentially catastrophic vulnerabilities in key pieces of national infrastructure, a former U.S. government official says. By Jordan Robertson and Eileen Sullivan.
US-APARTHEID LAWSUITS
NEW YORK _ Apartheid victims who accused automakers and IBM of helping the government of South Africa engage in violent repression to enforce racial segregation in the 1970s and '80s can go to trial with their claims, a judge ruled Wednesday. By Larry Neumeister.

US-AUTO SHOW
NEW YORK _ Battered automakers are unveiling greener, hipper cars at the New York International Auto Show that they hope will satisfy scared buyers, while the company with the most to prove went the farthest to show it still has a future. By Dan Strumpf. AP Photos.
US-FOREIGN BRIBES
RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA, California _ Six former executives of a valve company were charged Wednesday with bribing officials in China, Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates with millions of dollars to obtain contracts.
US-FED-MINUTES
WASHINGTON _ The Federal Reserve's decision last month to plow $1.2 trillion into the economy reflected growing concerns about a vicious economic cycle in which rising unemployment will curtail consumer spending, potentially into 2010. By Jeannine Aversa.
US-LOBBYING-RETURN ON INVESTMENT
WASHINGTON _ Big companies that spent hundreds of millions lobbying successfully for a U.S. tax break enacted in 2004 got a 22,000-percent return on that investment _ proof that for those who can afford it, hiring a lobbyist can pay handsome dividends. By Julie Hirschfeld Davis. AP Graphic ACCOUNTABILITY LOGO.
UN-BUSINESS COMPACT
UNITED NATIONS _ Despite the global economic meltdown, a record number of businesses around the world have become part of a voluntary U.N. agreement to promote human rights, good labor practices, environmental protection and anti-corruption standards. By Edith M. Lederer.
FEATURES
US-SOCIABILITY FATIGUE
CHICAGO _ Eily Toyama gave in after friends pestered her to join Facebook. But she used her cat's name instead of her own so she could avoid networking requests from people she didn't really want to connect to. And don't even ask her about Twitter unless you want to get an eye roll. By Martha Irvine. AP Photos. AP Graphic SOCIAL NETWORKS.
US-HENRY HUDSON'S WORLDS
NEW YORK _ Four hundred years after Henry Hudson sailed his ship Half Moon up a river that would one day bear his name, historians are marking his role in the evolution of a tiny Dutch trading post into a world capital called New York. By Richard Pyle. AP Photos.
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