Nation world at 2 p.m.
DEVELOPING
— DEBT SHOWDOWN — Obama expected to sign bill in afternoon.
— MISSING GIRL-NH — Autopsy results expected late afternoon or early evening.
— OBAMA-9/11 — The White House says President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama will attend events in New York City, Pennsylvania and Washington in September to mark the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
TOP STORIES
DEBT SHOWDOWN
WASHINGTON — Congress rushes legislation to President Barack Obama to avoid a government default with mere hours to spare. The bill allows an essential increase in the nation’s debt limit and slices future spending by $2.1 trillion or more, a compromise bearing the heavy imprint of Republicans empowered in last fall’s election. By Special Correspondent David Espo.
AP photos, video, interactive.
DEBT SHOWDOWN-WHAT’S NEXT
WASHINGTON — The budget battle is not over. A new bipartisan “supercommittee” of 12 lawmakers yet to be picked has until Thanksgiving to find at least $1.2 trillion more in deficit cuts over the next decade. To accomplish that goal they may have to leave some ideological baggage behind. By Andrew Taylor.
AP photos, video, interactive.
AP EXCLUSIVE: PAKISTAN-DRONES VS DIPLOMACY
ISLAMABAD — The U.S. ambassador phoned Washington with an urgent plea: Stop an imminent CIA drone strike. He feared an attack would further damage ties with Islamabad, coming only a day after the government grudgingly freed a CIA contractor held for killing two Pakistanis. The CIA director overruled him, and the deadly salvo helped send the U.S.-Pakistan relationship into a tailspin, complicating American efforts to win cooperation on the Afghan war. By Sebastian Abbot, Kathy Gannon and Kimberly Dozier.
AP photos.
ECONOMY
WASHINGTON — The economy, which is barely growing and producing jobs, isn’t getting much help from shoppers. Americans in June saved more and cut their spending for the first time in almost two years, a result of stagnant pay, sliding home values and high gas prices. By Martin Crutsinger.
AP photos, graphic.
EAST AFRICA-FAMINE
DHOBLEY, Somalia — Young Somalis in new uniforms and rifles bought by the Kenyan government are guarding the Kenya-Somalia border from al-Shabab but many don’t get paid, so some sell their guns for $100 and some attack Somali refugees fleeing the famine. One 13-year-old girl tells the AP she was raped for two days. By Katharine Houreld.
AP photos by Farah Abdi Warsameh and Schalk van Zuydam. AP video.
INDONESIA-RAILROAD THERAPY
JAKARTA, Indonesia — Poor, sick Indonesians who can’t afford traditional medical care are turning to another option: Electric therapy in which they lie down on train tracks. Medical experts say there is no evidence it does any good, but that hasn’t stopped those who insist the treatments make them feel better. By Michael Holtz.
AP photos by Achmad Ibrahim. AP video.
MORE ON DEBT SHOWDOWN
OBAMA-CAMPAIGN CHALLENGE
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama dodged a debt-ceiling fiasco but his victory lap will be brief. As Republicans weigh a potential challenger, Obama’s re-election bid faces high unemployment, a limping economy, lackluster approval ratings and a demoralized liberal base. By Charles Babington
— GIFFORDS — A day after her dramatic return to Congress to cast a vote on the debt-ceiling deal, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords meets with staff and returns for treatment in Houston. Aides say she plans to keep her House job if physical and mental recovery allows.
— DEBT SHOWDOWN-HIGHLIGHTS — Highlights of budget and debt-limit agreement showing when cuts would take effect and broad outlines of what they are.
— DEBT SHOWDOWN-Q&A — Explanation of key features in debt-reduction plan and impact on major programs.
— DEBT SHOWDOWN-DAILY SUMMARY — Latest developments.
— DEBT SHOW-MILITARY — Troop retirement and health care may be eyed for cuts, a top military officer tells troops.
— DEBT-SHOWDOWN-HEALTH CARE — Medicare and Medicaid were spared from immediate cuts in the debt deal, but it looks like just a temporary reprieve.
WASHINGTON
AVIATION SHUTDOWN
WASHINGTON — The government is likely to lose more than $1 billion because Democrats and Republicans are in a standoff over a bill to extend operating authority for the Federal Aviation Administration. With airlines unable to collect taxes on ticket sales, the federal government has already lost millions, and Congress is set to recess for the month with the issue unresolved. By Joan Lowy.
AP photos by Henny Ray Abrams.
INTERNATIONAL
EGYPT-MUBARAK TRIAL
CAIRO — Hosni Mubarak, 83 years old and ailing, goes on trial Wednesday on charges of corruption and ordering the killing of protesters during Egypt’s uprising. Many Egyptians celebrate the chance at retribution against a longtime authoritarian ruler, but some question whether the trial will break with the injustices of the past. By Hamza Hendawi.
AP photos by Amr Nabil.
— SYRIA — Syrian troops tighten their siege on the city of Hama, drawing a fresh wave of international condemnation against a regime defying the growing calls to end its crackdown on anti-government protesters. AP photos, video.
— US-SYRIA — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton meets with U.S.-based Syrian democracy activists as the Obama administration weighs new sanctions on Syria.
NORWAY MASSACRE-POLITICAL FALLOUT
OSLO, Norway — The Progress Party rode a wave of anti-immigrant feeling and took a quarter of the seats in parliament in Norway’s last election. Now the right-wing party is on the defensive after a former member massacred 77 people in the name of fighting immigration. In an AP interview, its leader seeks to distance the Progress Party from the killer. By Karl Ritter.
AP photos.
ECUADOR-CORREA’S BROTHER
GUAYAQUIL, Ecuador — The most outspoken critic of Ecuador’s president is a tall, folksy businessman who publicly ridicules Rafael Correa and his inner circle with jokes, songs and satiric mimickry. If it were anyone else, Correa might be suing for slander. But sue your older brother? By Gonzalo Solano.
AP photos by Patricio Realpe.
HEALTH
TAINTED GROUND TURKEY
WASHINGTON — Officials are scrambling to find the source of a salmonella outbreak likely linked to ground turkey that has killed one and sickened dozens. The CDC did not say where the person who died became sick and released no details about the death. By Mary Clare Jalonick.
NATIONAL
LAST OF THE LAMPREY
OREGON CITY, Ore. — As long as American Indians have lived in the Pacific Northwest, they have looked to the jawless, eel-like lamprey for food. Three days a week in July, Indians drive hundreds of miles from their reservations, wade through waterfalls and pull the writhing gray fish from rocks. Tribes grill the oily, pungent fish, or cut them into links and roast them like hot dogs. But the tradition is diminishing as lamprey numbers dwindle. By Jeff Barnard.
AP photos, video by Rick Bowmer.
ALSO GETTING ATTENTION
— MISSING GIRL-NH — As a stunned New Hampshire town awaits autopsy results on body of 11-year-old girl found in a nearby river, it dedicates an annual summer festival to her memory. AP photos.
— DETROIT EX-MAYOR — Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick is freed from state prison on parole after serving more than a year on charges related to lying to cover up an extramarital affair. AP photos.
— KATRINA BRIDGE SHOOTINGS — Hurricane Katrina is no excuse for New Orleans police shooting “carnage,” a prosecutor says in closing arguments of a trial for officers charged with killing two people and wounding four others.
— BODY IN WELL — A Georgia man is charged with killing his third wife and dumping her body in a well Authorities are now looking into his first wife’s death. AP photo.
— POLYGAMIST LEADER — Texas prosecutors are close to resting their case against polygamist church leader Warren Jeffs, who is accused of sexually assaulting two underage girls. AP photo.
— NIXON’S JOKE WRITER — An auction house offers the personal papers of a comedy writer who wrote jokes for Richard Nixon and encouraged him to exclaim “Sock it to me!” on “Laugh-In.” AP photos.