Space shuttle astronaut becomes new dad

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• At least nine dead after ferry sinks in Indonesia
• JAKARTA, Indonesia - Rescuers saved more than 230 people aboard an Indonesian passenger ferry that sank Sunday in rough waters off Sumatra island, but at least nine people have died, an official said. An unknown number of passengers were still missing
• China coal mine blast death toll jumps to 87
• HEGANG, China - Rescuers worked in frigid cold to reach 21 miners trapped underground Sunday as the death toll from a huge gas explosion in a northern Chinese mine jumped to 87 -- the deadliest blast to hit the beleaguered industry in nearly two years
• Four injured in cable car accident
• SAN FRANCISCO, CA - Authorities say four people were hurt when one of San Francisco's historic cable cars jarred to a sudden stop while traveling through downtown
• Fire rips through Atlantic City Boardwalk
• ATLANTIC CITY, NJ - Officials say a three-alarm fire has broken out on the boardwalk in Atlantic City
• Space shuttle astronaut becomes new dad
• CAPE CANAVERAL, FL - Astronaut Randolph Bresnik is a new dad again, after launching into space and taking a spacewalk, all for the first time
• Klansmen rally before Mississippi-LSU game
• OXFORD, MS - About a dozen hooded Ku Klux Klan members rallied briefly at the University of Mississippi before Saturday's football game with No. 10 LSU
• NC man sentenced for scaring woman to death
• CHARLOTE, NC - A man will spend the rest of his life in prison after he was found guilty in what prosecutors said was a case of scaring a 79-year-old North Carolina grandmother to death
• Iran to hold war games to protect nuclear sites
• TEHRAN, Iran - Gen. Ahmad Mighani, who heads an air force unit dealing with threats to Iran's air space, says the war games will cover regions where Iran's nuclear facilities are located, according to the report. The official IRNA news agency says the drill will cover 230,000 square miles (600,000 square kilometers) in central, western and southern Iran. The U.S. accuses Iran of embarking on a nuclear weapons program. Iran denies that and insists the program is only for peaceful purposes. Israel has warned it may take military action to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons
• Death of QB Brees' mother ruled suicide
• GRANBY, CO - The death of the mother of New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees has been ruled a suicide
• Car slams into crowd outside Alabama school
• FAIRFIELD, AL - A woman lost control of her car and struck nine children and an adult who were standing outside a middle school Friday afternoon, police said.
• Postal Service to resume North Pole Santa letters
• ANCHORAGE, AK - Wide-eyed children around the world will be hearing from Santa's "elves" at the North Pole after all
• Obama trumpets Asia trip as boost to US economy
• WASHINGTON - Citing progress on a trip that took him from Tokyo to Seoul, Obama noted that "Asia is a region where we now buy more goods and do more trade with than any other place in the world -- commerce that supports millions of jobs back home." "I spoke with leaders in every nation I visited about what we can do to sustain this economic recovery and bring back jobs and prosperity for our people -- a task I will continue to focus on relentlessly in the weeks and months ahead," Obama said in his weekly radio and Internet address taped while he was in Seoul, the South Korean capital, and released Saturday. The president pitched his trip as a way to reintroduce the U.S. to those trading partners, including China. The Chinese government is the United States' biggest foreign creditor with $800 billion of federal U.S. debt, which gives it extraordinary power in the relationship. And Beijing feels the global recession, sparked by U.S. financial industry excesses, vindicates its authoritarian leadership. Obama told Americans that there can be no solutions to climate change or energy without the cooperation of Asian and Pacific nations. Repeating a theme he used abroad, Obama told the U.S. audience that the discussions directly affect U.S. national security. "We made progress with China and Russia in sending a unified message to Iran and North Korea that they must live up to their international obligations and either forsake nuclear weapons or face the consequences," he said. Obama's trip included a town hall-style event with students in Shanghai and discussion about a coming climate summit in Copenhagen. He also prodded China to loosen restrictions on Internet access and increase freedoms of speech and religion. Obama repeatedly has said the United States does not wish to contain China's rise. Instead, on Saturday, he said that if the United States can increase exports to the Asia-Pacific region by 5 percent, then the markets would create "hundreds of thousands" of jobs as a trading partner. "Even though it will take time, I can promise you this," Obama said. "We are moving in the right direction ... the steps we are taking are helping and I will not let up until businesses start hiring again, unemployed Americans start working again, and we rebuild this economy stronger and more prosperous than it was before."

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• Wyoming challenges Yellowstone snowmobile rules
• Astronauts await word of baby girl on Earth
• Couple pleads guilty in Cuban spying case
• Man convicted in hot-car death of father, 85
• Museum: Galileo's fingers, tooth are found
• abcnews: Beware faulty airport luggage scales
• Ethics committee: No punishment for Burris
• Shooting in central Paris kills 1, wounds 2
• Florida man accused of setting wife on fire
• Pakistan: 8 militants killed in reported US strike
• Ex Marine sentenced to death in hammer murders
• Vicks nasal spray recalled after bacteria found
• Top SKorean model found hanged in Paris
• University of Calif. approves big fee hikes
• Police arrest 3 suspected of killing Vegas cop
• Humbug! North Pole irked at end to Santa replies
• Man faces murder charge in NC girl's disappearance
• FAA computer glitch caused widespread delays
• Rain may put pumpkin pie in peril, Nestle says
• Four men in Fla. terrorist plot sent to prison
• Shell denies asking for delay in drilling plan
• NYC 'Junior' Gotti jury signals possible deadlock
• Obese man dies after 8 months in home recliner
• Sen. Kerry's daughter arrested in LA on DUI
• AOL to cut a third of staff
• Driver in deadly bus wreck suffered ruptured aneurysm
• Lions kill white tiger in Czech zoo
• NY pastor gets probation in plastic surgery case
• Nineteen killed in courthouse bombing in Pakistan