Reuters - The Vatican rallied around Pope Benedict on Saturday, dismissing suggestions he had tried to cover up priestly child abuse in Germany.

AP - President Barack Obama says he wants projects helping specific states yanked from the health care bill Congress is writing. Democratic senators, being senators, beg to differ.

Reuters - Irish police have released three of the seven people arrested on Tuesday in connection with an alleged plot to murder a Swedish cartoonist over a drawing depicting the Prophet Mohammad with the body of a dog.

AP - Afghanistan's president has agreed to reverse an earlier decision and allow two foreigners on a commission monitoring upcoming parliamentary elections, his spokesman said Saturday.

AP - A coalition led by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki was winning in the all-important capital and a Shiite province in the south, according to a partial tally of election results released Saturday.

AFP - Iraqi premier Nuri al-Maliki's bid to retain his job gained steam on Saturday, as early results crucially put him ahead in Baghdad, while rival blocs began jostling over the formation of a government.

Reuters - Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki held a wide lead on Saturday in early results from Baghdad, the major prize in parliamentary elections Iraqis hope will stabilize a nation riven by years of sectarian warfare.