Iranian cleric: British Embassy staff to be tried

EDITOR'S NOTE: Iranian authorities have barred journalists for international news organizations from reporting on the streets and ordered them to stay in their offices. This report is based on the accounts of witnesses reached in Iran and official statements carried on Iranian media. ___

US Marines push deeper into southern Afghan towns

NAWA, Afghanistan (AP) _ U.S. Marines moved into villages in Taliban strongholds in southern Afghanistan on Friday, meeting little resistance as they tried to win over local chiefs on the second day of the biggest military operation here since the fall of the Taliban government in 2001. One Marine was killed and several others injured or wounded on Thursday, when some 4,000 Marines launched the operation in Helmand province _ a remote area that is at the center of the country's illegal opium cultivation, which helps finance the insurgency.

Russia to allow US arms shipments to Afghanistan

MOSCOW (AP) _ Russia will allow the U.S. to ship weapons across its territory to Afghanistan, a top Kremlin aide said Friday in a gesture aimed at bolstering U.S. military operations and improving strained ties between Washington and Moscow. The deal is expected to be signed during President Barack Obama's visit to Moscow next week, Kremlin foreign policy adviser Sergei Prikhodko said.

Under Senate health care plan, either way you pay

WASHINGTON (AP) _ First you paid to insure your car. Soon you may have to add health insurance premiums to that stack of monthly bills as well. In a revamped health care system envisioned by senators, people would be required to carry health insurance just like motorists must get auto coverage now. The government would provide subsidies for the poor and many middle-class families, but those who still refuse to sign up would face fines of more than $1,000.

Prosecutors: Demjanjuk fit to stand trial

MUNICH (AP) _ Doctors have determined that John Demjanjuk is fit to stand trial on charges that he was an accessory to murder at a Nazi death camp, prosecutors said Friday. The doctors said the 89-year-old retired auto worker, recently deported from the United States, can stand trial so long as his time in court does not exceed two 90-minute sessions daily, Munich prosecutors said.

LA braces for horde of Michael Jackson mourners

LOS ANGELES (AP) _ City officials are scrambling over the holiday weekend to try to figure out how to accommodate a public memorial service for Michael Jackson at a venue that can hold no more than 20,000 people. The event has been set for 10 a.m. Tuesday at the downtown Staples Center, according to a statement from the Jackson family's publicist. The service is expected to draw tens of thousands of spectators wanting to pay their respects to the King of Pop, who died June 25. How city officials will handle the massive crowd remains to be settled.

GM awaits judge's ruling on sale plan

NEW YORK (AP) _ General Motors Corp. may have to wait out the long holiday weekend to learn if its bankruptcy plan is moving forward, after U.S. Judge Robert Gerber adjourned a three-day hearing without indicating when he will rule on GM's plan to sell its good assets to a new company. Gerber asked GM's attorneys to submit a proposed order that would be entered if the sale were to be approved. They said they would do so by Friday night or Saturday, July 4th. Gerber is expected to rule some time after that.

States set to ring in Independence Day sans budget

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) _ Several states are facing the prospect of government shutdowns and program cuts as they enter the first weekend of the fiscal year and July Fourth holiday without a budget in place. "This downturn, even more so than previous downturns, really is affecting every state right now," said Brian Sigritz, a staff associate with the National Association of State Budget Officers.

New Zealand airline issues nude safety video

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) _ New Zealand's national airline has adopted a cheeky way to encourage passengers to watch its in-flight safety video: The cabin crew's uniforms are nothing but body paint. The "Bare Essentials of Safety," screening in the cabins of planes flying Air New Zealand's main domestic routes, has gone viral online. It had 1.2 million YouTube views by Friday, four days after it was launched.

Federer-Haas and Roddick-Murray at Wimbledon today

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) _ Wimbledon's men's semifinals are today, with five-time champion Roger Federer facing Tommy Haas of Germany and two-time finalist Andy Roddick playing Andy Murray. Federer is closing in on a record 15th Grand Slam championship, while Murray is seeking to become the first British men's winner in 73 years. For the eighth time in 10 years, the Wimbledon women's trophy will be lifted by a Williams. The Williams sisters are back in the final again _ Venus for the eighth time and Serena for the fifth. And it's the fourth Williams-vs.-Williams final at the All England Club and eighth in a Grand Slam title match.