• Tropical Storm Marco closing in on Mexico's coast 10/7/2008, 3:41 a.m. EDT
VERACRUZ, Mexico (AP) — Tropical Storm Marco was closing in on Mexico's coast early Tuesday and threatened to hit with near-hurricane strength winds later in the day.

• Bus driver in fatal California crash investigated 10/7/2008, 3:40 a.m. EDT
WILLIAMS, Calif. (AP) — Quintin Watts had a lengthy criminal record, a history of substance abuse and a string of motor vehicle offenses. Even his mother says he wasn't a good driver.

• 6 die in family murder-suicide in upscale LA home 10/7/2008, 3:34 a.m. EDT
LOS ANGELES (AP) — An unemployed man with an advanced finance degree who was despondent over his own financial problems shot and killed his wife, three children, mother-in-law and then himself in an upscale home in a gated community, police said.

• Dark matter, new planets could bring physics Nobel 10/7/2008, 3:33 a.m. EDT
STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP) — Scientists who have pursued dark matter, hunted for undiscovered planets and advanced nanotechnology were being touted Monday as candidates for the 2008 Nobel Prize in physics.

• AF APNewsAlert 10/7/2008, 3:32 a.m. EDT
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — A senior Kenyan immigration official says the American author of a book slamming Barack Obama is being detained in Kenya

• US, NKorea seek compromise in nuclear deadlock 10/7/2008, 3:30 a.m. EDT
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The United States and North Korea are being flexible in their effort to reach a compromise to resolve the dispute in the North's nuclear disarmament process, South Korea's foreign minister said Tuesday.

• Thai police fire tear gas against crowd 10/7/2008, 3:24 a.m. EDT
BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) — Riot police using tear gas clashed Tuesday with several thousand protesters who barricaded Parliament while trying to block Thailand's new prime minister from delivering his first policy speech to lawmakers. Scores of protesters were injured.

• McCain linked to private group in Iran-Contra case 10/7/2008, 3:22 a.m. EDT
WASHINGTON (AP) — GOP presidential nominee John McCain has past connections to a private group that supplied aid to guerrillas seeking to overthrow the leftist government of Nicaragua in the Iran-Contra affair.

• Tax-cutting questions appear on ballots next month 10/7/2008, 3:21 a.m. EDT
BOSTON (AP) — For years, Massachusetts was known derisively as "Taxachusetts." But voters could help shed that label in November by completely eliminating the state's income tax in a single stroke.

• Palin pledges of Alaska sunshine marred by secrets 10/7/2008, 3:20 a.m. EDT
(AP) — Sarah Palin's promise for a new era of government openness as the reform governor of Alaska started to crack even before Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign built a wall of protectiveness around her.

• Fed eyes plan to fund short-term business loans 10/7/2008, 3:19 a.m. EDT
WASHINGTON (AP) — The government is weighing a bold plan to buy massive amounts of unsecured short-term debts in a dramatic effort to break through a credit clog that is imperiling the economy.

• McCain still haunted by role in banking scandal 10/7/2008, 3:18 a.m. EDT
WASHINGTON (AP) — Nearly two decades later, John McCain is still haunted by his role in the Keating Five scandal.

• Recent winners of the Nobel Prize in physics 10/7/2008, 3:16 a.m. EDT
(AP) — Recent winners of the Nobel Prize in physics, and their research, according to the Nobel Foundation:

• Fatal Texas motorcoach crash focus of NTSB hearing 10/7/2008, 3:15 a.m. EDT
WASHINGTON (AP) — A National Transportation Safety Board investigative hearing on a fatal January bus crash in Texas will focus on commercial passenger vehicles that do not comply with federal safety standards.

• Second debate is in McCain's favorite style 10/7/2008, 3:14 a.m. EDT
WASHINGTON (AP) — Tuesday night's presidential debate offers Republican John McCain one of his last best chances to stop Democrat Barack Obama's recent surge in the race and turn it in his favor.

• Pakistan investigates blast that wounded lawmaker 10/7/2008, 3:13 a.m. EDT
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) — Police are pursuing DNA tests to identify the suicide bomber who wounded a lawmaker and killed 16 people in eastern Pakistan, an official said Tuesday.

• McCain's stance against pork a balancing act 10/7/2008, 3:13 a.m. EDT
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — It's one of Republican presidential candidate John McCain's most surefire applause lines, a vow to veto pork barrel spending like the road and bridge projects that lawmakers hold dear.

• Ex-DNC chief stumps for Obama but eyes Va. race 10/7/2008, 3:12 a.m. EDT
ASHLAND, Va. (AP) — Barnstorming Virginia to fire up Democrats for Barack Obama's presidential bid is something Terry McAuliffe says comes naturally for him.

• Armed man releases his hostages in Guatemala City 10/7/2008, 2:39 a.m. EDT
GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — An armed man in a jealous rage took 42 hostages in a Guatemala City call center on Monday and released them unharmed and turned himself to police after a five-hour standoff, police said.

• Today on the presidential campaign trail 10/7/2008, 2:36 a.m. EDT
(AP) — IN THE HEADLINES

• Malaysia bids to try Anwar case in higher court 10/7/2008, 1:59 a.m. EDT
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim slammed a government bid to move his sodomy trial from a lower court to the High Court, saying Tuesday that he fears he will end up facing a biased judge.

• Free breakfast on menu for Cambodia school kids 10/7/2008, 1:56 a.m. EDT
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — The U.N. food agency is resuming free breakfasts for hundreds of thousands of poor Cambodian schoolchildren after securing new funds for a program suspended due to high food prices, the agency said Tuesday.

• Police say Louisville woman kills self, daughters 10/7/2008, 1:24 a.m. EDT
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A woman was shot to death and her two school-age daughters fatally stabbed Monday in an apparent murder-suicide, officials said.

• Prosecutors move to delay Rezko sentencing 10/7/2008, 1:01 a.m. EDT
CHICAGO (AP) — Federal prosecutors moved Monday to delay indefinitely the sentencing of convicted fundraiser Antoin "Tony" Rezko, sending their strongest hint yet that he is ready to spill his political secrets.

• Character attacks emerge in McCain-Obama race 10/7/2008, 12:59 a.m. EDT
ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — The two men who supposedly exemplified a different kind of politics are engaged in an increasingly bitter campaign as character attacks are emerging to compete with issues like the troubled economy.