Reuters - North Korean leader Kim Jong-il failed to appear at a triumphal military parade on Tuesday celebrating his state's 60th birthday, and a U.S. intelligence official said he may have suffered a stroke.

Reuters - Hurricane Ike toppled decrepit buildings in Havana and raked over western Cuba still recovering from the more powerful Gustav as it made a second landfall on the island on a path that may steer it away from the heart of Gulf of Mexico oilfields.

AP - Vince Young is awaiting an MRI exam on his sprained left knee Tuesday, hours after the Tennessee Titans sought police help in finding the quarterback the team described as "emotionally down."

AP - The Boston Red Sox can take over first place in the American League East and the Los Angeles Angels can clinch the AL West division title tonight.

AP - The mother of Britney Spears says that the singer has overcome the tabloid nightmares of the past few years and believes that little by little, her daughter is regaining her "glorious voice."

AP - Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs took the wraps off a revamped line of iPods on Tuesday and trumpeted a truce with NBC Universal that means the TV network will begin selling programs again on iTunes.

AP - The federal government will run a near-record deficit of $407 billion this year, according to the latest Capitol Hill estimates.

AP - Repeatedly paying homage to his assassinated wife, new President Asif Ali Zardari declared Tuesday that he has a comprehensive plan to fight terrorism and said Pakistan's people are behind him.

AP - Intelligence officials are watching signs that North Korea's unpredictable dictator Kim Jong Il may be gravely ill.

AP - Hurricane Ike roared across Cuba west of the densely populated capital's aging buildings Tuesday after tearing down the length of the island nation, ravaging homes, killing at least four people and forcing 1.2 million to evacuate.

AP - The Gulf Coast watched anxiously as Hurricane Ike trudged toward areas still cleaning up after Gustav, with disasters pre-declared in much of eastern Texas and Louisianans urged to stock up — again — on supplies.

AP - President Bush announced Tuesday that he will keep the U.S. force strength in Iraq largely intact until the next president takes over, drawing rebukes from Democrats who want the war ended and a bigger boost of troops in troubled Afghanistan.

AFP - Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili on Tuesday said further European engagement was needed to resolve his country's dispute with Russia after a pledge by Moscow to pull out troops.

AFP - Asif Ali Zardari was sworn in Tuesday as the 14th president of Pakistan, succeeding the former army general Pervez Musharraf who resigned under threat of impeachment last month.

Reuters - North Korea infiltrated an international taekwondo group, using it as a front to send out spies and plot the killing of a South Korean president who ruled for much of the 1980s, newspapers said on Tuesday.