AP - Fifth-seeded Elena Dementieva reached the semifinals of the U.S. Open, beating No. 15 Patty Schnyder 6-2, 6-3 Tuesday in another one of tennis'most-played matchups.

Reuters - Republican presidentialcandidate John McCain defended on Tuesday his choice of AlaskaGov. Sarah Palin as his vice presidential running mate aftershe admitted that her teenage, unmarried daughter is pregnant.

Reuters - Thai soldiers would not use force toevict protesters occupying the prime minister's office, armychief Anupong Paochinda said on Tuesday despite a state ofemergency giving him the power to do so.

AFP - Outspoken conservative Taro Aso signalled his desire Tuesday to be Japan's next prime minister after the abrupt resignation of Yasuo Fukuda deepened political turmoil in the world's second largest economy.

AP - Women typically get heart disease much later than men, but not if they smoke, researchers said Tuesday.

Reuters - The U.S. military disputed on Tuesday thetoll of 96 civilians the Afghan government and United Nationssaid were killed in an air strike in western Afghanistan lastmonth, saying five to seven civilians had been killed.