Iraq's Leader Expects Favorable Report

BAGHDAD - Iraq's prime minister said Monday he expects the U.S. ambassador and military commander to give his government favorable marks when they report to Congress next week and predicted passage of a law soon that could return more Sunnis to government jobs.

To the south, Basra was reported calm Monday after British soldiers abandoned their last outpost there, leaving the country's second largest city largely in the hands of Iranian-backed Shiite militias.

Also Monday, the U.S. command said an American soldier was killed and three others injured when a roadside bomb blew up next to their patrol on Sunday outside of Baghdad. No further details were released.

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Chinese pottery may be earliest discovered

Bits of pottery discovered in a cave in southern China may be evidence of the earliest development of ceramics by ancient people.

The find in Yuchanyan Cave dates to as much as 18,000 years ago, researchers report in Tuesday's edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The find "supports the proposal made in the past that pottery making by foragers began in south China," according to the researchers, led by Elisabetta Boaretto of Bar Ilan University in Israel.

The pottery found at Yuchanyan "is the earliest so far," Boaretto said.

Pottery was one of the first human-made materials and tracing its …

A Royal Bore // Movie turns Rich, Titilating Tale Into Common Trash

CHARLES AND DIANA: UNHAPPILY EVER AFTER (STAR) 8 to 10 p.m. Sunday, WLS-Channel 7

Get out your monogramed hankies and weep. Not for the sad stateof Charles and Diana's sham marriage, but for the tragic fact thatABC has turned a delicious scandal into a royal bore.

What with allegations of bulimia, suicide attempts, familybattles and adultery, the raw material for ABC's "Charles and Diana:Unhappily Ever After" couldn't have been rawer. At the very least,executive producers Frank Konigsberg and Larry Sanitsky and directorJohn Power should have generated a trashy, tearful and entertainingexpedition into Buckingham Palace's heart of darkness. Instead, theyhave created …

Man Charged in Ga. officer killing waives hearing

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — A man charged with killing a north Georgia police officer and wounding another in a shooting has waived an initial court hearing.

The Athens-Clarke County magistrate court says 33-year-old Jamie Hood waived a hearing Monday morning. The court did not have the name of Hood's …

Beauty contest for nuns in Italy

An Italian priest and theologian said Sunday he is organizing an online beauty pageant for nuns to give them more visibility within the Catholic Church and to fight the stereotype that they are all old and dour.

The "Miss Sister 2008" contest will start in September on a blog run by the Rev. Antonio Rungi and will give nuns from around the world a chance to showcase their work and their image.

"Nuns are a bit excluded, they are a bit marginalized in ecclesiastical life," Rungi told The Associated Press after Italian media carried reports of the idea. "This will be an occasion to make their contribution more visible."

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Justice Dept. doesn't support SBC long-distance bid in Illinois

SBC Communications, the second- largest U.S. local-telephonecompany, failed to win U.S. Justice Department support for its bidsto enter the $7 billion market for long-distance service in fourstates.

SBC is one of the regional phone companies created by the 1984breakup of AT&T Corp., known as Baby Bells. The companies must proveto regulators they have opened networks to competitors before theycan sell long distance in states where they dominate local calling.

SBC has issued inaccurate bills to carriers who buy wholesalelocal services on its network, the Justice Department said in itsdecision on SBC's application to sell long distance in Illinois,Indiana, Ohio and …

Acquaintance charged in senior's slaying

Acquaintance charged in senior's slaying

A 37-year-old man identified by Chicago police as Donald Wilson has been charged with the murder of Lilly Hall, an 81-year-old woman whose family reported her missing last week.

Wilson, who has an extensive police record, is the boyfriend of the slain woman's daughter. He allegedly stole her wallet and car to collect on a debt. The victim was found slain in a vacant garage early Sunday.

Hall, who resided in the 7400 block of South Stewart, was found in a commercial garage located in the 1100 block of East 76th Street, near an Scurve just west of South Chicago Avenue.

The Medical Examiner's Office has determined that …