SAN FRANCISCO -- Officials at San Francisco General Hospital said two men injured by an escaped zoo tiger that killed one other person could be released as early as Wednesday.Dr. John Brown, an emergency room physician at the hospital, said the tiger inflicted deep bites and claw cuts to the injured men's heads and upper bodies, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. Officials said the men, whose injuries were first considered life-threatening, were able to talk ... [full story]

WASHINGTON -- A Bush administration official said he remains positive about developments in the Iraqi government as leading generals postulate on troop redeployments in 2008.Brett McGurk, the senior director for Iraq and Afghanistan for the Bush administration, said that Iraqi legislation allowing former Baath officials to participate in the government is a major milestone in solidifying the central government of Iraq."The de-Baathification reform law is moving its way through the parliamentary process, which is very ... [full story]

CHICAGO -- The Chicago-area man who smashed his mini-van into a downtown television studio during the nightly news broadcast "wanted to be on the news."Prosecutors told a Cook County judge Gerald Richardson, 25, "wanted to be on the news" prior to driving his mini-van into WLS-TV, Chicago, television studio Sunday night.The judge ordered Richardson held on $125,000 bail and prosecutors charged him with criminal damage to property, resisting arrest, reckless driving and operating an uninsured ... [full story]

TEHRAN -- The Iranian defense minister said the country is in negotiations to buy the Tur-M1 missile system from Russia.Defense Minister Brig. Gen. Mostafa Mohammad Najjar said Iranian and Russian officials discussed the sale during the fourth meeting of the Iran-Russia defense commission, Fars News Agency reported Wednesday."During the meeting, the Iranian side entered negotiations with the high-ranking Russian delegation in different areas, and the two sides reached agreements on a number of issues, including ... [full story]

HAMMOND, Ind. -- A Hammond, Ind., federal court has ordered Minister Louis Farrakhan to appear and explain why stipends given to his son are not considered income.The Chicago-based Nation of Islam spiritual leader's son, Nasir Farrakhan, claimed he could not pay $350,000 in punitive damages to a Gary, Ind., couple after crashing into their car and leaving the scene in 2003 because he has no income and has never been employed, the Northwest Indiana Times ... [full story]

JAKARTA -- Indonesia marked the third anniversary of the tsunami that wiped out thousands of acres and killed more than 225,000 with renewed reconstruction efforts.The Multidonor Fund, a World Bank program established to organize international tsunami aid, plans to extend its tenure from 2010 to 2012 to help the government become more self-sufficient, Voice of America said Wednesday.International efforts produced upwards of 100,000 new homes and estimates suggest an additional 20,000 will be built by ... [full story]

LOS ANGELES -- Heavy winds left thousands of people without power in Southern California while the region braced for further gusts Wednesday.A total of 112,792 Southern California Edison customers lost power for some time Tuesday and about 15,000 customers remained without electricity Tuesday night, the Riverside (Calif.) Press-Enterprise reported Wednesday.Paul Klein, a spokesman for Edison, said Tuesday the company was working to have power restored to all areas as soon as possible."Every available Edison crew ... [full story]

BEIJING -- A Beijing dog owner, unwilling to take lying down a ban on him from using the Web to write on city dog rules, has reportedly taken the issue to court.An irate Chen Yuhua filed the lawsuit last month after he got no reply to his letters to Beijing mayor and the city council, The Washington Post reported. Recently Chen was told the district court had decided to reject the case but he may ... [full story]

AUSTIN, Texas -- Texas death sentences declined in the face of a de facto national moratorium and other legislation banning executions.Texas carried out more than 60 percent of all executions in the United States as a national tendency opposing or restricting the practice gains momentum. Yet the numbers of executions mask a moderate decline in Texas as well, as new sentencing guidelines and perceptions on the practice emerge to produce a near 13 percent decline ... [full story]

LAS VEGAS -- A wheelchair-bound woman said she spent hours on the tarmac of a Las Vegas airport when US Airways employees allegedly forgot her there.Jeanne Grettum was in Las Vegas for a connecting flight on her trip from California to Orlando, Fla., WKMG-TV in Orlando, reported Wednesday.She was taken onto the tarmac to make her flight but was apparently forgotten there until she was seen by an airport worker and taken into a hallway ... [full story]