WEST VIRGINIA PRIMARY
Clinton to meet with superdelegates today

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) - Hillary Clinton routed Barack Obama in West Virginia's primary, but she's barely dented Obama's delegate lead. Clinton won 67 percent of the vote to 26 percent for Obama. And she told cheering supporters in Charleston that the race "isn't over yet." She ran strongest with older, less educated voters who earn $50,000 a year or less. In the delegate race, Clinton picked up 20 in West Virginia and Obama gained eight. He still has a solid lead in the overall delegate count. Only five more primaries remain on the calendar, beginning next week in Kentucky and Oregon. There's another important date looming. The convention committee that will hear Clinton's appeal to seat the delegations from disputed primaries in Florida and Michigan meets on May 31st. Today, Clinton will court superdelegates and meet with her finance committee. Her campaign faces more than 20 million dollars in debt.

BUSH-MIDEAST
Bush in Israel

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) - President Bush has opened a celebratory visit to Israel where he'll make a new push for peace in the long-troubled Middle East. The president arrived in Tel Aviv and is flying by helicopter to Jerusalem for events marking the 60th anniversary of Israel's birth in the wake of the Nazi genocide of 6 million Jews. Bush also will visit Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Bush says America and Israel both faced great challenges when they were founded. He also says they have "built an enduring alliance to confront terrorists and tyrants."

CHINA-EARTHQUAKE
China reports thousands more deaths

AN XIAN, China (AP) - The death toll in China's powerful earthquake has pushed to almost 20,000. The toll is rising as rescue workers climb their way over landslide-blocked roads to reach mountain villages that were cut off. They're finding towns where 80 percent of the people have been wiped out. Helicopters today, helped by a break in the weather, are airlifting food, water and medicine to survivors. China's official Xinhua (shin-wah) news agency says rescuers who hiked into one town today found the devastation "much worse than expected." One farmer says he's hungry, but "happy to be alive." China's prime minister today visited a city where thousands died. State television shows him visiting survivors in tents and telling them, "Your pain is our pain."

CHINA-EARTHQUAKE-SURVIVOR
Pregnant woman rescued

DUJIANGYAN, China (AP) - Chinese rescue workers have pulled a woman who is eight months pregnant to safety after she spent 50 hours under earthquake rubble. The 34-year-old woman was trapped following the massive earthquake that hit Sichuan province Monday. The official death toll in the quake is about 12,000, but is expected to rise sharply as more bodies are pulled from the rubble.

MYANMAR-SECOND CYCLONE
UN says another cyclone forming near Myanmar

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) - The U.N. says another cyclone may be forming near Myanmar. The World Meteorological Center says on its Web site that "the potential for the development of a significant tropical cyclone within the next 24 hours is good." A spokeswoman for the U.N.'s humanitarian relief program says it's "terrible" news for the survivors of the storm that killed tens of thousands of people less than two weeks ago. Some two million people in the region are living in miserable conditions. The U.N. is leading the international relief effort, which is trying to supplement the Myanmar junta's aid delivery that has been criticized by aid groups and survivors as woefully inadequate.

MYANMAR-CYCLONE
Aid worker enters 'unrecognizable' Myanmar delta

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) - U.N. officials are warning of an escalating threat for two million people at risk of disease and starvation in Myanmar unless relief efforts are dramatically stepped up. Nearly two weeks after a devastating cyclone, military leaders of the Southeast Asian nation are still barring foreigners from access to the hardest hit region, insisting "skillful humanitarian workers are not necessary." Soldiers at checkpoints are keeping aid workers and reporters out. An International Red Cross representative who was allowed in reports whole towns have been obliterated to the point of being unrecognizable. Thousands of survivors have no shelter against new rainfall. But she says local volunteers are saving lives, calling them "humanitarian heroes." Two U.S. relief flights have made it to Myanmar this week carrying blankets, water and mosquito netting and a third shipment is being sent.

WILDFIRES
Hunt for arsonists in Florida

PALM BAY, Fla. (AP) - Schools are going to be closed again today in Palm Bay, Florida, because of all the smoke from wildfires. Major highways, including a 34-mile stretch of I-95, have been shut down periodically because of fires that have gutted more than 15 square miles and destroyed at least 40 homes. Authorities suspect arson in many of them and have set up a special task force to catch culprits described as "a trophy person," somebody likely to brag about setting a fire. The damage is being made even worse because the flames are being fueled by waxy vegetation, including palm trees that burn while they're still green. On top of that, development has prevented the usual controlled burns that are used to cut back vegetation. Florida's emergency management director says the fire problem really won't be over until the state gets some badly needed rain.

CRASH TESTS-SMART CAR
Tiny car gets highest rating in crash tests

WASHINGTON (AP) - The smallest car for sale in the U.S. market has been declared safe by the insurance industry. The 8-foot, 8-inch Smart fortwo micro car has earned the highest rating in front-end and side-impact testing by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The tests show how well vehicles stack up against other cars of similar size and weight. The institute's president, Adrian Lund, says all things being equal, "bigger and heavier is always better." But he adds, among the smallest vehicles, Smart car engineers designed a high level of safety into a very small package. Lund says a small car may be more practical in congested urban areas where serious, high-speed crashes are less likely. The micro car is more than 3 feet shorter and nearly 700 pounds lighter than a Mini Cooper. It gets 33 miles per gallon in the city -- 41 on the highway.

MEDICATION NATION
Study: More than 50 percent of Americans on prescription meds

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - For the first time, it seems that more than half of all insured Americans are taking prescription medicines regularly for chronic health problems. That's according to a new study by Medco Health Solutions. The most widely used drugs are those to lower high blood pressure and cholesterol. Experts say the data reflect not just worsening public health but better medicines for chronic conditions and more aggressive treatment by doctors. It also shows the effect of the pharmaceutical industry's relentless advertising. Doctors predict that unless something changes with the way health is managed in the country, the proportion of Americans on chronic medications can only grow. The company examined prescription records from 2001 to 2007 of a representative sample of 2.5 million customers, from newborns to the elderly.

CELL PHONES ONLY
Survey: Cells are becoming the phones of choice

WASHINGTON (AP) - Predictions about cell phone domination are apparently coming true. According to federal figures out today, the reliance on cells is growing. Nearly three in ten households get all or most of their calls on cell phones. Some don't even have hard-wired phones. The trends are important to pollsters, which rely chiefly on calls to random landline phone numbers, because federal law forbids unsolicited calls to cell phones made by computerized dialing systems. Other survey highlights: Low-income people are more likely to have only cell phones; about a third of those under age 30 have cell phones exclusively; and, households with both types of service who rarely or never get calls on hard-wired phones tend to be better educated with higher incomes.