Evening Edition

The White House described as “tough” the latest data tracking the housing sector, which was at the epicenter of the financial crisis, and vowed to do everything possible to keep the recovery on track.

Sales of single-family homes, townhomes and condominiums dropped to a seasonally-adjusted 3.83 million units from a revised 5.26 million units in June, said the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

The brazen attack by two rebels from the Al-Qaeda-inspired Shebab movement a stone’s throw from the presidential palace marked a new escalation on the second day of clashes in the capital that had already left 29 civilians dead.

“Thirty people died in this ambush. Six of them are members of the Somali parliament and four are Somali government civil servants,” Deputy Prime Minister Abdirahman Haji Adan Ibbi told reporters.

Commandos fired dozens of bullets into the bus and smashed its windows with sledgehammers as they tried to storm it, but were then forced to wait outside helplessly for over an hour as the hijacker used his captives as human shields.

The standoff in Manila’s tourist district on Monday finally ended when police fired tear gas into the bus and a sniper shot the gunman in the head, but by then eight of the tourists on board had been killed.

The news comes as a spike in unrest over the past two months has triggered concern that Iraqi forces are not yet ready to handle security on their own, and with no new government formed in Baghdad since a March 7 general election.

A US Army statement said the number of its soldiers was below 50,000 in line with President Barack Obama’s direction as part of a “responsible drawdown” of troops, seven years on from the invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein.

The engineer in charge of the rescue mission at the San Jose gold and copper mine, Andres Sougarret, said he was keeping secret from the miners his estimate they may have to tough it out deep underground until Christmas.

There are fears for the miners’ ability to endure for long in a hot, dank shelter 700 meters (2,300) deep inside the mine in northern Chile.

The engineer in charge of the rescue mission at the San Jose gold and copper mine, Andres Sougarret, said he was plotting where to drill a hole large enough to lift the miners out one by one from a gallery nearly 700 meters (2,300 feet) below ground.

“The umbilical cord is ready,” he said. “Now comes the engineering design, the topography, and then begins the work of drilling.”

Yet several determined gold panners were doing just that, standing in knee-high fishermen’s boots, armed with pails and spades and heads bent in concentration as they swirled gritty water in flat pans.

The site at Disentis has earned a reputation for yielding not only specks of the precious metal but, on rare occasions, whole nuggets.

Cairn revealed the discovery alongside news of a return to profit in the first half of 2010, and uncertainty over its recent deal to sell a majority stake in its Indian unit, Cairn India, to mining group Vedanta.

Profits after tax stood at 27.7 million dollars (21.0 million euros) in the six months to the end of June, which compared with a net loss of 76.1 million dollars in the same part of 2009, Cairn said in a results statement.

In the latest grim news for Obama’s Democrats, 72 percent of people said they were very worried about joblessness and 67 percent were very concerned about government spending.

The unemployment rate of 9.5 percent and the huge budget deficit are dragging down the Democrats and eating away at Obama’s popularity only 20 months after he took office on a wave of hope that he could turnaround the economy.

The withdrawal of 90,000-plus soldiers, 40,000 vehicles and 1.5 million items from radios to generators has progressed steadily over the past months, despite continuing violence and a political impasse five months after an inconclusive election.

Meeting the deadline allows Obama to fulfill a pledge to end combat operations and start extricating the United States from the war, which grew deeply unpopular as casualties mounted and costs soared. Obama’s Democrats are seeking to retain control of Congress in elections in November.

But retiring General James Conway said he believed Marines would not be in a position to withdraw from the fight in southern Afghanistan for years, even though he acknowledged that Americans were growing “tired” of the 9-year-old war.

Conway’s unusually blunt assessment is likely to fan criticism of Obama’s war strategy ahead of U.S. congressional elections in November, as public opinion of the conflict sours further and casualties rise.

Engineers started sending hydration gel and medication through a narrow bore hole on Monday to keep the miners alive during the long rescue effort and have set up an intercom.

To avoid hurting morale, the miners have not yet been told how much longer they may be underground.

The hardline al Shabaab Islamists who have been fighting for three years to oust the fragile Western-backed “transitional government,” and control most of the city, claimed the attack.

Mohamud Huusein, a civil servant who lived in the hotel, told Reuters the gunmen had pretended to be government soldiers and approached the hotel’s entrance, bragging of having beaten some rebel militiamen.

General David Petraeus told the BBC at the weekend that momentum by the Islamists had been checked in their strongholds in Kandahar and Helmand provinces.

He also told NBC television’s “Meet the Press” program the battle against the Taliban-led insurgency was an “up and down process” in which areas of progress had been made.

Welcome to Afghanistan.

“An election without security means nothing,” says Fazlullah Mojadidi, a lawmaker from the capital, Kabul, who is seeking re-election in Afghanistan’s September 18 parliamentary poll.

The country’s roughly 17.5 million registered voters will be eligible to cast their ballots, the second major vote in 11 months after last year’s fraud-marred presidential election.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) said the assault team which tried to rescue 15 tourists from Hong Kong, held on a bus by a gunman, was inadequately trained, armed and led.

There was anger in China and Hong Kong over the chaotic rescue and demands for a thorough investigation. The gunman, a sacked policeman who was angry at being dismissed, was killed by police.

Woods, reputed to be the world’s wealthiest sports star, and Nordegren, a former model and nanny, issued a statement confirming the divorce, which had been widely anticipated for months after his public confession of infidelity in a blaze of publicity.

The couple were at the Bay County Circuit Court in Florida when their marriage was dissolved.

U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth granted the injunction because he found that the doctors who challenged the policy would likely succeed because U.S. law blocked federal funding of embryonic stem cell research if the embryos were destroyed.

“(Embryonic stem cell) research is clearly research in which an embryo is destroyed,” Lamberth wrote in a 15-page ruling. The Obama administration could appeal his decision or try to rewrite the guidelines to comply with U.S. law.

The Police Ombudsman’s report revealed that an Irish cardinal was involved in transferring Father James Chesney out of British-ruled Northern Ireland, highlighting again the role of the Church hierarchy in protecting priests against allegations of criminal activity.

The inquiry showed that Secretary of State for Northern Ireland William Whitelaw had a private “tete-a-tete” with Cardinal William Conway, the head of the Catholic Church in Ireland, in 1972 in which they discussed the possibility of moving Chesney out of Northern Ireland.

She was asked to leave her job as Georgia’s director of rural development in July after comments she made in March were misconstrued as racist. She has since received numerous apologies from the administration, including from Obama himself, and Vilsack asked her to return. But she said at the news conference with a clearly disappointed Vilsack that she did not think she could say yes to a job “at this point, with all that has happened.”

Vilsack said she may work with the department in a consulting capacity in the future to help improve outreach to minorities.

The Dow Jones industrial average lost 134 points Tuesday following news that sales of previously occupied homes fell last month to their lowest level in 15 years. The 27 percent drop from the previous month was the biggest since record-keeping began in 1968.

The Dow dipped briefly below 10,000 for the first time in seven weeks and has now lost 375 points since its four-day slump began last Thursday. The yield on the two-year Treasury note reached another record low as cautious investors piled back into the bond market.

“We’re just a little bit apprehensive that these noble values may be a bit at risk in this way the conversation and debate about the site of the mosque is taking place,” Archbishop Timothy Dolan said after a meeting with Gov. David Paterson about the issue.

Critics say the building is too close to where Islamic extremists destroyed the World Trade Center in 2001 and killed nearly 2,800 people. Supporters say religious freedom should be protected. Dolan said both sides have legitimate stances.

Nominating contests in four states – Vermont also was voting, and Oklahoma held GOP runoffs – highlighted dominant themes of this unpredictable election year, including anti-establishment anger and tea party challenges from the right.

Rich political upstarts in Florida were testing whether money and fresh faces could win the love of voters upset with Washington and with candidates backed by national party leaders.

In a speech to the City Club of Cleveland, Boehner said Obama needs to act immediately on several fronts to break what the Republican describes as “ongoing economic uncertainty.” He said the president should work with the GOP to renew soon-to-expire tax cuts enacted under President George W. Bush. Congress will tackle the issue when it returns next month.

The Ohio lawmaker also called on Obama to propose aggressive spending cuts and seek the resignations of Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner; the head of the National Economic Council, Larry Summers, and other members of his economic team.

“We’re going to be doing this as long as they tell us,” Alexander said in a near-whisper in the steamy pre-dawn air, his machine gun slung over his shoulder. Behind him, Iraqi Lt. Wassan Fadah Hussein had his handgun out and ready for action.

In the near distance came a gunshot. “Sounded like a little boom,” Alexander drawled.

A suicide bomber and one of the gunmen were also killed in the brazen attack just a half-mile (1 kilometer) from the presidential palace. The attack showed the insurgent group al-Shabab, which controls wide areas of Somalia, can penetrate even the few blocks of the capital under the control of the government and African Union troops.

Tuesday’s well-planned assault came one day after al-Shabab warned of a new “massive war.” Sheik Ali Mohamud Rage, an insurgent spokesman, said the attack by members of the group’s “special forces” targeted government leaders, foreign agents and “apostates” at the $10-a-night Muna Hotel.

Sales of previously occupied homes in the United States fell 27 percent in July, the weakest showing in 15 years, the National Association of Realtors said Tuesday. It was the largest monthly drop in the four decades that records have been kept.

Potential buyers are hesitating because they think home prices still have further to fall. Potential sellers – those with the stomach to put their homes on the market at all, anyway – are reluctant to lower their prices.

Raising hopes further, a second bore hole punched into the chamber where the miners are entombed, and a third probe was nearing the spot on Tuesday.

After parceling out tiny bits of food and drinking water carved from the mine floor with a backhoe for 18 days, the miners were getting glucose and rehydration tablets to restore their digestive systems.

A heartbreaking picture emerged of the victims – a mother of three who lost her husband and two daughters, a teenager oblivious of her parents’ death and a tour guide who aspired to become a yoga teacher.

Philippine President Benigno Aquino III, facing his first major crisis since taking office on June 30, declared Wednesday a national day of mourning in solidarity with the people of Hong Kong to “share their sorrow,” his spokesman Edwin Lacierda said.

As a loan officer for a federal agency that was supposed to help homeowners and businesses get back on their feet, he had high expectations he could make a difference. But he recalls how he was forced to turn away many qualified applicants because of what he says was pressure from his supervisors to close files quickly.

Karen Bazile remembers having high hopes, too, when she applied for a loan from the same agency, the Small Business Administration, to rebuild her home in the New Orleans suburb of Chalmette. While she ultimately got the money, she quickly lost faith as she struggled with different loan officers who misplaced her paperwork and told her she had only 48 hours to find and fax critical documents or her application would be canceled.

But the World Trade Center site’s owner says a deal to help rebuild St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church was offered and rejected, after years of negotiations, over money and other issues.

Though the projects are not related, supporters – including George Pataki, New York’s governor at the time of the Sept. 11 attacks – have questioned why public officials have not addressed St. Nicholas’ future while they lead a debate on whether and where the Islamic cultural center should be built.

And so, after nine months of turmoil over his extramarital affairs, now begins the next chapter in the life and times of Tiger Woods.

In a hearing that lasted no more than 10 minutes in a Florida judge’s chambers, Woods and his Swedish-born wife officially divorced Monday.

His Prius, which was converted two years ago to allow him to recharge the battery from an electric outlet, gets more than 80 miles per gallon and lets him drive 30 miles on a single charge. He fills up his car with gasoline about once every month or two, an oddity in a transportation sector long dominated by the internal combustion engine.

“If you’re thirsty, you can get a Diet Coke or orange juice or water. If you’re hungry you can get a hamburger or hot dog or a fruit plate. If you want to drive someplace, you only have one choice. You can use gasoline or petroleum-based products,” says Sandalow, the Energy Department’s assistant secretary for policy and international affairs. “That doesn’t seem strange to us … but it’s odd. It’s strange that we are utterly dependent on this one fuel source for mobility.”

The athletes were taking part in the immersion camp organized last week by new coach Jeff Kearin to get ready for the season. Some were present for an intense drill session on Aug. 15, the night before camp opened.

Authorities say 11 players were treated in the emergency room last week, 13 were admitted and three required surgery to relieve pressure caused by the swelling.

FDA officials said they do not expect the number of eggs recalled – 550 million – to grow.

Dr. Jeff Farrar, FDA’s associate commissioner for food protection, said 20 FDA investigators are at the two farms, Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms, and could be there until next week. He said preliminary findings of the investigation should be available later this week.

Monday’s decision by U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth will “drive the best scientific minds into work less likely to yield treatments,” says Sean Tipton of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine.

“It will be incredibly disruptive,” Tipton added.

The assessment by Lt. Gen. Bill Caldwell, the head of NATO’s training mission in Afghanistan, further dims U.S. hopes that the planned U.S. withdrawal next year will be significant in size.

President Barack Obama has said that troops will begin pulling out in July 2011, the size and pace of withdrawal depending on security conditions. Defense officials, including Defense Secretary Robert Gates, have said they believe next summer’s pullout would be modest.

Snowball was one of thousands of pets split up from their owners after the storm struck Aug. 29, 2005, and the story triggered an outpouring of help to save stranded animals and reunite them with their families.

The heart-wrenching tale also spawned new state and federal laws allowing evacuees to take their pets with them.

Senior Judge Pat Priest has not yet set a trial date and has not ruled on all requests to throw out charges against DeLay and his associates. But he noted at a pre-trial hearing in Austin, Texas, that DeLay has been demanding a trial since his 2005 indictment.

DeLay and his attorney called the decision a victory.

For a few days after the oil spill turned into a crisis this spring, demand stalled as “everybody freaked out,” he said. Since then, he says concern has died down and he’s selling about the same amount of Gulf shrimp as he did pre-spill.

“I get a lot of questions about it, definitely. They want to know if it’s regulated,” says Mattiuz. “The truth of the matter is from everything that I’ve read, it’s more highly regulated now than it ever has been.”

There’s no salary and no ability to vote in Congress, but four residents still want the decades-old gig that has few perks aside from a basement office on Pennsylvania Avenue.

The current office holder proposes bringing attention to Washington’s plight by hoisting a 51-star flag over the city government building. His challenger, a 25-year-old law school student, plans a summer lobbying campaign and says he was put on the planet to win statehood. The two Democrats face each other in a September primary and more candidates will join in the November general election. But many voters are still in the dark about the contest.

Now dogs are being deployed in prisons to help curb one of the most serious problems confronting corrections officials: smuggled cell phones.

It turns out that cell phones smell. And their distinct odor can lead a well-trained canine to a device hidden under a mattress, stashed into a wall or tucked into a fan or radio.

Extradition has long been a sore spot for sheriffs who contend state and federal authorities should pay more of the costs to return fugitives. Now economic troubles and budget deficits are forcing prosecutors and sheriffs to make tough decisions about who will face prosecution and who will remain free.

Returning the stabbing suspect, Elias Abuelazam, to Michigan to face multiple murder charges is expected to cost between $2,000 and $10,000 at a time when Genessee County has an $18 million budget deficit.

Now it’s got some competition – a proposal for a nearby glass office tower that would rise almost as high and alter the iconic skyline.

The tower would spoil the famous view of the 102-story skyscraper for millions of tourists, the Empire State Building’s owner, Anthony Malkin, testified Monday at a City Council hearing. It “defines New York,” he said.

The Drug Enforcement Administration recently sent memos asking companies that provide translation services to help it find nine translators in the Southeast who are fluent in Ebonics, Special Agent Michael Sanders said Monday.

Ebonics, which is also known as African American Vernacular English, has been described by the psychologist who coined the term as the combination of English vocabulary with African language structure.

The 11th-hour deal was signed Monday, the same day Shirley Phelps-Roper’s trial was to begin on charges of disturbing the peace and negligent child abuse. Those charges will be dismissed in exchange for Phelps-Roper, 52, dropping a federal lawsuit against Nebraska authorities accusing them of malicious prosecution.

As part of the deal pending a judge’s expected Aug. 31 approval, Phelps-Roper also agreed to remove Sarpy County Attorney Lee Polikov from a separate lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the state’s funeral protest law. Defendants in that ongoing federal suit include Republican Gov. Dave Heineman and state Attorney General Jon Bruning.