AP - President Barack Obama and Democratic leaders lobbied intensively for historic health care legislation Friday, striving to resolve a last-minute dispute over Medicare while gaining another precious "yes" 48 hours ahead of a climactic vote.

AP - President Barack Obama described the stakes of this weekend's health care vote in stark terms Friday, using words uttered so rarely out of the White House that they seem all but banned: "If this vote fails."

AP - Seven years after the first bombs in the war to oust Saddam Hussein, Iraqis went about their business Friday with little observance of the anniversary, looking to the future with a mixture of trepidation and hope.

AP - International diplomats on Friday called on Israel and the Palestinians to return to peace negotiations with the goal of creating an independent Palestinian state within two years. They reiterated their condemnation of Israel's latest move to add Jewish housing in disputed east Jerusalem but did not escalate criticism of the Jewish state.

AP - The Dutch prime minister Friday denounced as "irresponsible" a claim by a retired U.S. general that gay Dutch soldiers were partly to blame for allowing Europe's worst massacre since World War II.

AP - One of the heaviest rainfalls since Haiti's Jan. 12 earthquake swamped homeless camps Friday, sweeping screaming residents into eddies of water, overflowing latrines and panicking thousands.

AP - A three-day strike by British Airways cabin crew affecting thousands of travelers is going ahead Saturday after last-ditch talks between the airline's management and union leaders collapsed.

AP - The arrests of top Taliban figures in Pakistan abruptly halted secret U.N. contacts with the insurgency at a time when the efforts were gathering momentum, the U.N.'s former envoy to Afghanistan said Friday.

AP - Actresses Demi Moore and Nia Vardalos were linked to an online chain of Twitter posts that ultimately led to Florida authorities intervening Friday when an 18-year-old man threatened to commit suicide.

AP - Xavier hasn't missed a step since former coach Sean Miller left for Arizona. The Musketeers have made it out of the first round of the NCAA tournament for the fourth straight year, beating No. 11 seed Minnesota 65-54.