Reuters - U.S. military prosecutors have requested the death penalty for the alleged mastermind behind the bombing of the USS Cole warship that killed 17 U.S. sailors in 2000, the Pentagon said on Monday.

Reuters - Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama rejected questions about his patriotism on Monday even as he drew fire for a supporter's attack on Republican rival John McCain's military record.

Reuters - South Africa is close to brokering a deal that would see Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai negotiate a unity government, a South African newspaper said on Tuesday.

AP - The Tampa Bay Rays don't need to brawl to prove they are no longer pushovers. Avoiding a repeat of their benches-clearing skirmish June 5, the Rays and Red Sox squared off Monday night as the top two teams in the AL East. The surprising Rays held on to beat Boston 5-4 to increase their division lead to 1 1/2 games.

AP - A 42-year-old chimpanzee who is toilet-trained and can eat with a knife and fork is believed to be at large in a Southern California forest after escaping his cage.

AP - The dwindling march of the penguins is signaling that the world's oceans are in trouble, scientists now say. Penguins may be the tuxedo-clad version of a canary in the coal mine, with generally ailing populations from a combination of global warming, ocean oil pollution, depleted fisheries, and tourism and development, according to a new scientific review paper.

AP - The contract between movie and TV actors and major Hollywood studios expired early Tuesday after the studios made a final offer and the Screen Actors Guild said it would take more than a day to study it.

AP - The death of a 19-year-old found slumped in his cell a day after he was jailed on charges of running over and killing a police officer has been ruled a homicide, authorities said.

AP - Oil prices edged higher Tuesday in Asia, staying above $140 a barrel, amid concerns about tensions between Iran and Israel and a weakening dollar.

AP - Reaching out to evangelical voters, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is announcing plans that would expand President Bush's program steering federal social service dollars to religious groups and — in a move sure to cause controversy — support their ability to hire and fire based on faith.

AP - The Pentagon said Monday it is charging a Saudi Arabian with "organizing and directing" the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole — and will seek the death penalty.

AP - Democrat Barack Obama rejected a retired general's suggestion that Republican John McCain's military experience didn't necessarily qualify him to be president, as GOP surrogates lined up to label the remarks indecent and disrespectful.

AP - Helicopters and a bomber attacked insurgents massing in eastern Afghanistan under cover of darkness, killing an estimated 33 people, the U.S.-led coalition said Tuesday.

AFP - French diplomat Alain Le Roy was named Monday to succeed Jean-Marie Guehenno as head of the UN department of peacekeeping operations (DPKO), spokeswoman Michele Montas said.

AFP - African Union observers condemned Zimbabwe's one-man election as undemocratic on Monday, intensifying pressure on Robert Mugabe as he faced his peers after a vote much of the world has dismissed as a farce.