AUSTIN, Texas -- Political analysts say appealing to a wide demographic will be key to winning the Democratic presidential primary in the widely diverse state of Texas.While the Lone Star State has a conservative frontier image, The New York Times noted major cities such as Houston have large ethnic populations while Hispanics play a huge role along the border.The differences mean Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have their hands full in a statewide race."It's like ... [full story]

LONDON -- A judge Tuesday sentenced a West London man to life in prison for killing two young women and the attempted murder of a third.Levi Bellfield was convicted Monday of killing Amelie Delagrange, 22, in 2004; and Marsha McDonnell, 19 in 2003; and trying to kill Kate Sheedy, who was 18 at the time of the 2004 attack, The Times of London reported Tuesday.Bellfield didn't attend the court session Tuesday when sentence was pronounced ... [full story]

WASHINGTON -- Both Democratic U.S. presidential hopefuls pledged to curb lobbyists' influence in Washington, yet have won tax breaks for some of their contributors.The campaign for Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., accepted $54,350 from a member of a law firm that lobbied him to introduce a tax provision for a Japanese drug company operating in Illinois, USA Today reported Tuesday. Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., introduced legislation -- which subsequently became law -- at the request of ... [full story]

VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- The Oscars awards gala in Hollywood created a headache for an organ donor agency in British Columbia, Canada, because all charter jets were booked.Bill Barrable, executive director of BC Transplant, told the Globe and Mail a man in a rural part of the province died suddenly Thursday and had an unusually high number of viable organs, including both lungs and kidneys, heart, liver and pancreas.However, after contacting all 11 jet-for-hire companies ... [full story]

PALATINE, Ill. -- Jim Schwantz, a former linebacker for the Chicago Bears, is entering the political arena, announcing his bid for mayor in his hometown in Illinois.Schwantz, who won a Super Bowl with the Dallas Cowboys in 1996, announced he would run for mayor of Palatine, Ill., where he went to high school, the Chicago Tribune said Tuesday."For the better part of 30 years, I've taken advantage of everything Palatine offers. ... I felt at ... [full story]

MANILA, Philippines -- Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo rejected a former president's call to resign, saying it wouldn't solve a brewing political crisis.The president's aides said the call by former leader Corazon Aquino wasn't the answer to the political crisis triggered by allegations of graft in a national broadband network deal, the Philippine Daily Inquirer reported Tuesday ."The search for truth and justice must not be coupled with a political advocacy of resignation, lest other selfish ... [full story]

CHICAGO -- A federal judge in Chicago linked Illinois' governor to a case involving real estate developer Tony Rezko that could reach into the presidential race.U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve identified Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich Monday as the elusive Public Official A who received a $1.5 million campaign contribution brokered by Rezko, the Chicago Tribune reported Tuesday. Rezko faces charges of extortion, money laundering and fraud in a case that reaches deep into Illinois ... [full story]

CLEVELAND -- Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaign strategy going into Tuesday's debate in Cleveland against Barack Obama is to focus solely on her opponent's record, aides say.Frustrated by failed efforts to counter Obama's surge heading into next week's Democratic primaries in Ohio, Rhode Island, Texas and Vermont, the Clinton campaign has begun finger-pointing to assign blame for her slip in the polls, The Politico reported Tuesday.Communications chief Howard Wolfson blamed media Monday, alleging news outlets praise ... [full story]

TORONTO -- A Toronto-area man who threatened to detonate a propane bomb in his car on a major highway was arrested Tuesday after a three-hour standoff.The incident began about 9:30 p.m. Monday in the southbound lanes of Highway 400 north of Toronto when the man pulled over to the shoulder and contacted police threatening to detonate several propane tanks strapped together in his car, CTV News reported.The highway was closed in both directions, creating lengthy ... [full story]

BANGKOK -- Thailand's Election Commission has upheld the investigation finding parliament Speaker Yongyuth Tiyapairat guilty of election fraud.The panel will ask the nation's Supreme Court to ban Yongyuth from politics, a commission official said Tuesday. Yongyuth was accused of bribing local officials to campaign for votes for the People Power Party in a northern province, The Wall Street Journal reported.The decision could lead to an investigation into election fraud allegations against the People Power Party, ... [full story]