AP - Oil prices plunged Tuesday as worries about the nation's economic health shot to the fore and OPEC warned that high pump prices are likely to erode global demand for crude.

AP - President Bush said Tuesday the nation's troubled financial system is "basically sound" and urged lawmakers to quickly enact legislation to prop up mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

AP - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress Tuesday the fragile economy is facing "numerous difficulties" despite the Fed's aggressive interest rate reductions and other fortifying steps.

AFP - The world's biggest Christian festival opened Tuesday with a spectacular harbourside mass for thousands of pilgrims taking part in World Youth Day celebrations in Sydney headed by Pope Benedict XVI.

AFP - The United Nations prepared on Tuesday to fly non-essential staff from Darfur as supporters of Sudan President Omar al-Beshir planned protests in Khartoum to denounce the world court prosecutor's call for him to be arrested for alleged war crimes.

Reuters - A newly-released document suggests Osama bin Laden's former driver may have been subjected to 50 days of sleep deprivation at the Guantanamo prison camp in Cuba, the prisoner's defense lawyers said on Monday.

Reuters - About 150,000 young pilgrims attended mass on the shores of Sydney Harbor on Tuesday for the Catholic church's biggest youth festival, but protesters plan to rally against Pope Benedict ahead of his outdoor mass on Sunday.

Reuters - Middle East envoy Tony Blair's decision to cancel a visit to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip on Tuesday stemmed from a security threat, a spokesman for the former British prime minister said.

Reuters - Two suicide bombers killed 23 people and wounded 68 at a recruitment centre for the Iraqi army north of Baghdad on Tuesday, an Iraqi security source said, just days after the government promised a crackdown in the area.

Reuters - President George W. Bush on Monday lifted a White House ban on offshore drilling to try to drive down soaring energy prices, a largely symbolic bid unlikely to have any short-term impact on high gasoline costs.

Reuters - Presidential foes John McCain and Barack Obama clashed on Monday over the U.S. role in Iraq, with McCain questioning his rival's judgment as Obama pushed for a new strategy to boost troop levels in Afghanistan.

Reuters - Buyers showed no hesitation in bidding on Freddie Mac's $3 billion debt sale on Monday, just hours after the U.S. government pledged support for the nation's top mortgage finance agencies, but the steps failed to stem growing alarm on Wall Street.

Reuters - Discussion of persistent financial market turmoil is seen as likely to overshadow the Federal Reserve's semi-annual monetary policy outlook when Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke testifies before Congress on Tuesday.

AP - Fans at Yankee Stadium were chanting Josh Hamilton's name and the theme music from "Rocky" was blaring over the loudspeakers.

AP - A "Family Guy" spinoff show featuring the character of Cleveland Brown is mixing up its voice cast, ethnically speaking.