AP News in Brief at 5:58 p.m. EDT
The Associated PressRepublican Norm Coleman concedes Minnesota Senate race after court rules for comedian Franken
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Republican Norm Coleman conceded to Democrat Al Franken in Minnesota's contested Senate race on Tuesday, hours after a unanimous state Supreme Court ruled the former "Saturday Night Live" comedian should be certified the winner.
Coleman announced his decision at a news conference in St. Paul, bringing an end to a nearly eight-month recount and court fight over an election decided by only a few hundred votes.
"The Supreme Court has made its decision and I will abide by the results," Coleman told reporters outside his St. Paul home.
Coleman, appearing relaxed and upbeat, said he had congratulated Franken, was at peace with the decision and had no regrets about the fight, which started almost immediately after the Nov. 4 election.
"Sure I wanted to win," said Coleman, who called the ruling a surprise. "I thought we had a better case. But the court has spoken."
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Iraqis celebrate US pullback with patriotic songs and party streamers, but bombing kills 27
BAGHDAD (AP) — Not a single American soldier was in sight. Gone, too, were the American helicopters whose buzz has for years defined Baghdad's background track.
Left alone to protect the capital Tuesday were thousands of Iraqi troops and police manning checkpoints, with army tanks deployed at potential trouble spots and convoys of pickup trucks with machine guns roaming the streets.
But it was elsewhere, 180 miles to the north, that militants delivered their first deadly challenge to Iraq's security forces on a highly symbolic day after the formal withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from cities at midnight.
A car bombing devastated a food market in the city of Kirkuk, killing at least 33 people and wounding 90. The early evening attack, which bore the hallmarks of Sunni extremist groups like al-Qaida in Iraq, was the second in the Kirkuk area since a truck bombing killed 82 people on June 20.
The latest blast was a deadly example of the violence many Iraqis fear will increase with the departure of U.S. troops from urban areas, despite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's confidence in Iraq's nascent security forces.
The bombing came hours after the U.S. military announced that four American soldiers were killed in combat Monday. It was the deadliest attack on U.S. forces since May 21, when three soldiers were killed and nine wounded in a roadside bombing in Baghdad.
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Lawyer for the family of Michael Jackson says will by the late pop star has been presented
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A lawyer for Michael Jackson's family said Tuesday a will by the late pop star has been presented.
The word came just a day after the family said in court documents it believed the entertainer had died without a valid will. "My clients are now aware after filings that a will has been presented ," said L. Londell McMillan. "His various advisers are looking for additional documents."
No further details were disclosed, and a copy of the document was not immediately available.
The existence of a will, and the likely appointment of an executor, could complicate a petition by Jackson's mother Katherine to become the administrator of his lucrative but debt-encumbered estate.
In documents filed in Superior Court, Jackson's parents say they believe their 50-year-old son died "intestate," or without a valid will.
A will almost always names an executor, and if validated, it would negate the petition of Jackson's mother to administer the estate, said John Novogrod, an estate lawyer and partner at Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP in New York.
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Police say 7 teenagers shot about a block from Detroit school; 3 in critical condition
DETROIT (AP) — Gunmen in a green minivan opened fire on a group of teenagers waiting at a bus stop near a Detroit school on Tuesday, wounding seven including three who were in critical condition, authorities said.
Five of the teens had just left Cody Ninth Grade Academy, where they were taking summer classes, when they were shot at the nearby bus stoptype:bold,italic;.
The gunmen exited a vehicle and "asked for a person by name" before they "opened fire at the crowd," said Detroit Public Schools Police Chief Roderick Grimes. Detroit Police were looking for two suspects in a green minivan, said spokesman Rod Liggons.
The teenagers, four boys and three girls, range in age from 14 to 17 years old, Liggons said. Three of the teens were in critical condition, he said.
Another summer school student, 15-year-old Bria Wilson, said she was standing at the bus stop when she heard the gunfire. She said she was facing away from the shooters and ran away after the shots were fired. But she saw a 16-year-old male friend lying on the ground, bleeding.
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AP Exclusive: Michael Jackson claimed net worth of $236 million in 2007
NEW YORK (AP) — Michael Jackson claimed to have a net worth of $236 million as of March 31, 2007, according to financial documents obtained by The Associated Press that shed light on the late pop star's murky finances and prodigious borrowing.
The documents also show he had little cash on hand to finance his lavish lifestyle. They offer the clearest account yet on the state of Jackson's financial empire, which is expected to become the focus of a legal battle between the singer's family and creditors.
Jackson had $567.6 million in assets, including his Neverland Ranch, his share of the Sony/ATV Music Publishing catalog that includes the rights to songs by the Beatles, and an assortment of cars, antiques and collectibles, according to a statement of financial condition prepared by Washington, D.C.-based accounting firm Thompson, Cobb, Bazilio & Associates.
The report was prepared at a time when Jackson had large sums of debt coming due that had to be refinanced. The financial statement was based in large part on estimates provided by Jackson's advisers that the accounting firm said it could not verify.
The documents obtained by the AP don't show how much money he had coming in that year or how much he was spending, which makes it hard to estimate just how cash-poor he was. Still, the statement paints a pictures of Jackson's tangled finances and the mountain of debt he left behind.
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Airbus 310 crashes off Comoros Islands with 142 passengers, 11 crew
MORONI, Comoros (AP) — A Yemeni jetliner carrying 153 people crashed in the Indian Ocean as it came in for a landing during howling winds on the island nation of Comoros. Yemeni officials said a teenage girl survived.
The crash came two years after aviation officials reported faults with the plane, an Airbus 310 flying the last leg of a journey from Paris and Marseille to Comoros, with a stop in Yemen to change planes.
Most of the passengers were from Comoros, a former French colony. Sixty-six on board were French nationals.
Khaled el-Kaei, the head of Yemenia airline's public relations office, said a 14-year-old girl survived the crash. And Yemen's embassy in Washington issued a statement saying a young girl survived and was taken to a hospital. It also said five bodies were recovered.
There were earlier reports that a 5-year-old boy survived. El-Kaei said that was not known and the airline had lost contact with its office in Comoros because of bad weather.
Yemeni civil aviation deputy chief Mohammed Abdul Qader said the flight data recorder had not been found and it was too early to speculate on the cause of the crash. But he said the wind was 40 miles per hour (61 kph) as the plane was landing in the middle of the night.
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AP Newsbreak: SC governor says he 'crossed lines' with women other than mistress
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford said Tuesday that he "crossed lines" with a handful of women other than his mistress — but never had sex with them.
The governor said he "never crossed the ultimate line" with anyone but Maria Belen Chapur, the Argentine at the center of a scandal that has derailed his once-promising political career.
"This was a whole lot more than a simple affair, this was a love story," Sanford said. "A forbidden one, a tragic one, but a love story at the end of the day."
During an emotional interview at his Statehouse office with The Associated Press on Tuesday, Sanford said Chapur is his soul mate but he's trying to fall back in love with his wife.
He said that during the encounters with other women he "let his guard down" with some physical contact but "didn't cross the sex line." He wouldn't go into detail.
Sanford, 49, said the casual encounters happened outside the U.S. while he was married but before he met Chapur, on trips to "blow off steam" with male friends.
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Months after 'Bachelor' heartbreak, Melissa Rycroft gets engaged
NEW YORK (AP) — When "The Bachelor" winner Melissa Rycroft got jilted for the runner-up, she returned the engagement ring — and walked off the set. That was so five months ago.
Now, Rycroft has another sparkler — and a new fiance, Tye Strickland, to go with it.
Her spokeswoman, Susan Madore, says Strickland is a 28-year-old insurance agent and has been dating Rycroft on and off for 2 1/2 years.
According to Madore, he proposed privately Friday night and then the couple celebrated with both sets of parents over dinner.
After Rycroft's run on ABC's "The Bachelor," the 26-year-old former Dallas Cowboys cheerleader appeared on "Dancing With the Stars."
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Wash. woman accused of identity theft says dog ate her checks
ARLINGTON, Wash. (AP) — A woman accused of dipping into her ex-husband's bank account without permission blames her dog.
Arlington, Wash., police spokeswoman Kristin Banfield says detectives filed court orders to follow the money trail. They learned the money disappearing from the 42-year-old Arlington man's account was being used to pay for utility bills and other items at his ex-wife's home.
Banfield tells The Herald that the woman's first response was, "Her dog got into her purse and ate all her personal checks." The 50-year-old woman reportedly told police she had no choice but to take money from her former husband's account.
The women is under investigation for identity theft and forgery.
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Pirates send speedy OF Njyer Morgan to Nationals in 4-player swap involving Lastings Milledge
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Pirates, swapping outfielders at a rapid rate for the second successive season, sent starting left fielder Njyer Morgan to the Washington Nationals in a four-player deal involving outfielder Lastings Milledge and also shipped backup Eric Hinske to the Yankees on Tuesday.
The Pirates, who have pushed to restock a thin farm system by making numerous trades over the last year, get Milledge and reliever Joel Hanrahan from the Nationals for the fleet Morgan and left-hander Sean Burnett, a former first-round draft pick.
Earlier, they sent 2002 AL Rookie of the Year Hinske to the Yankees for minor-league right-hander Casey Erickson and outfielder Eric Fryer. The Yankees also get some cash to help pay Hinske's $1.5 million salary.
Just as they did last season by dealing Jason Bay and Xavier Nady, the Pirates have traded two of their three starting outfielders before Aug. 1. They sent former NL All-Star center fielder Nate McLouth to the Braves on June 4 for pitcher Charlie Morton and two other prospects.
Though rumored for several days, the Nationals trade is somewhat surprising because the Pirates dealt Morgan — who turns 28 on Thursday — less than halfway through a promising first season as a starter. He is hitting .277 with 2 homers and 27 RBIs, only four fewer than No. 3 hitter Freddy Sanchez, and has 18 steals, although he has been thrown out 10 times.