Warning from Iraq...Better firefighting conditions...Forecaster reassigned

BAGHDAD (AP) If there's a quick U-S pullout from Iraq, the country could collapse into a full-scale civil war. The warning comes today from Iraq's foreign minister. But he's getting assurances from the White House that President Bush isn't thinking about a pullout now, even as he loses support among Republicans.

HOT SPRINGS, S.D. (AP) A wildfire in South Dakota that has now destroyed at least 30 houses and claimed one life is being slowed down by overnight rain and cooler temperatures. A fire official says it's giving firefighters a chance to shore-up their lines but conditions could still worsen again.

MIAMI (AP) The new head of the National Hurricane Center has been temporarily re-assigned. This, amid calls from about half of his staff for him to be given the boot. They say he undermined the public's confidence in the center's forecasts.

ELIZABETH, N.J. (AP) Prosecutors in New Jersey say they're not going to put Byron Halsey on trial again for the murder and rape of two children. He spent 22 years in prison for the crime, but was recently freed when D-N-A evidence implicated a neighbor.

APPLETON, Wis. (AP) The last time Christine Boskoff was seen alive, she was climbing a remote peak in northern China last December. Now, her body has been found there. The search had to be suspended for months because of snowy conditions. The body of her climbing partner was found shortly after they disappeared.

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APNP 07-09-07 1454CDT | save this article / add to your favorites list