German minister: more deaths possible in outbreak (AP)

BERLIN – Germany's health minister is warning that the number of deaths from an E. coli outbreak may increase — but he's hopeful that the worst is over.

The world's deadliest E. coli outbreak, which officials have traced to German-grown sprouts, has so far killed 33 people and sickened nearly 3,100.

Health Minister Daniel Bahr was quoted Saturday as telling the Bild am Sonntag newspaper that "the wave is gradually abating — there is reason to hope the worst is now over." He said it is unlikely the outbreak will flare up again.

But he is cautioning that "further deaths are not ruled out, as painful as that is."

Health officials said Friday that sprouts from a farm in northern Germany caused the outbreak, which prompted many in Europe to shun vegetables over recent weeks.

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Yemen awaits possible Saleh return after surgery (Reuters)

By Mohammed Ghobari and Mohammed Mukhashaf Mohammed Ghobari And Mohammed Mukhashaf – 1 hr 52 mins ago

SANAA/ADEN (Reuters) – Loyalists to wounded President Ali Abdullah Saleh celebrated reports that he would soon return to Yemen, but opponents said they were working to ensure that, even if he does, he will no longer be in power.

U.S. and Yemeni officials have said Saleh, 69, was burned on 40 percent of his body in a rocket or bomb attack at his palace last Friday -- injuries which, depending on the depth of wounds, could be fatal and would probably curb his ability to rule.

Saleh, who has ruled Yemen for three decades, has not been seen since being flown for surgery to Saudi Arabia.

But after months of factional violence and pro-democracy protests, he has resisted Western and Arab pressure to step down and a government website dismissed dire assessments of Saleh's condition, said his injuries were minor and announced on Thursday that preparations for his return were under way.

"He has overcome the health difficulties after successful surgery to remove shrapnel ... Sources expected him to return soon after completing his recovery and treating some light surface burns," the government website 26 September said.

Opposition figures said their main concern was for Saleh to transfer his powers, regardless of whether he returned.

Even before the wave of pro-democracy protests, Saleh was struggling to quell a separatist rebellion in the south and a Shi'ite insurgency in the north.

TRANSFERRING POWER

Mohammed al-Mutawakkil of the coalition of opposition parties said the opposition had informed Saleh's ruling General People's Congress party on Wednesday that it would seek to establish its own transitional assembly after one week if action was not taken on transferring power to his deputy, Ab-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who was named acting president on June 4.

"More important than Saleh's return is that the ruling party transfers power and begins implementing the Gulf initiative," he said, referring to a Gulf Arab plan for Saleh to begin a power transfer which stalled in the days before he was wounded.

Political analyst Ali Seif Hassan said he was not convinced by state media reports that Saleh was about to come back but said that his return could help cement a new order.

"I'm not worried if he comes back since the important thing is that he signs an agreement to transfer power, whether he does that in Sanaa or Riyadh," he said.

The Yemeni government website said preparations were being made around the country to welcome back Saleh, who wavered between accepting Arab and international calls for him to step down and accusing his opponents of staging a coup.

Army units and supporters were heard in many areas of the capital Sanaa firing shots in the air overnight in celebration and the General People's Congress said it would organize a "Friday of Loyalty" demonstration after Friday prayers.

The site described statements by U.S. and Yemeni officials that Saleh's health was in a dire state as fabrications, saying he was being treated for burns to his face and had had shrapnel removed from his chest.

WEST ALARMED

The volatile situation in a country that lies on oil shipping lanes alarms Western nations and neighboring oil giant Saudi Arabia, who fear the chaos could give al Qaeda freer rein to establish itself in the impoverished mountain state.

More than 40 percent of Yemenis live on less than $2 a day while a third face chronic hunger. Dwindling water and oil supplies are also problems.

A ceasefire has held in Sanaa since Saleh left, after more than 200 people were killed and thousands fled over two weeks in clashes between Saleh loyalists and the forces of tribal leader Sheikh Sadeq al-Ahmar, who backs the protesters.

Many government ministries are not functioning as staff stay away and the city is suffering from cuts in electricity, fuel and water supplies, while fighting rages in the southern town of Zinjibar where Islamist militants have taken over.

Some of Saleh's opponents have accused the president of deliberately allowing al Qaeda militants to take over Zinjibar, capital of Abyan province, to demonstrate the security risks if he were to lose power.

A government statement said on Thursday 12 members of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula had died in clashes, including some leading figures.

Health officials and residents described dire scenes in Zinjibar this week, as dead bodies were left on the streets and wild dogs roamed. Once home to more than 50,000 people, now it is a ghost town without power or running water.

Yemen's state news agency Saba said on Thursday the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees had begun the process of offering humanitarian aid to 10,000 people fleeing the Abyan province after the attacks from al Qaeda.

Saudi's state news agency quoted a Yemeni health ministry official as saying he estimated the number of people fleeing Abyan to be as high as 20,000.

There has been no word from Western powers, regional allies and Yemeni opposition parties on any efforts to take advantage of Saleh's absence to move toward implementing the Gulf Arab peace initiative -- by which Saleh was to step down one month after allowing a new opposition-led cabinet to be formed.

The U.N.'s World Food Programme (WFP) said Yemenis are going hungry as the fighting disrupts food supplies and pushes up the price of gas, water, fuel and other basic commodities.

(Additional reporting by Asma Alsharif and Shaimaa Fayed; Writing by Andrew Hammond; Editing by Philippa Fletcher and Jonathan Lynn)

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Gadhafi 'facing possible ICC arrest'

Moammar Gadhafi may face an arrest warrant for alleged crimes against humanity.NEW: Protesters call for Gadhafi's arrestThe U.N. envoy to Libya is expected in Tripoli SundayThe International Criminal Court will discuss crimes against humanity probe A source close to the case says Moammar Gadhafi is among 3 individuals named

Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- Moammar Gadhafi is among three Libyans facing arrest warrants from the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity, an official with direct knowledge of the case told CNN Saturday.

The court's Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo, who said in early March that he planned to investigate the embattled Libyan leader, will announce Monday that he's seeking the arrest warrants.

This was the first time the court investigated allegations as a conflict unfolded. The allegations include security forces killing unarmed protesters, forced displacement, illegal detentions and airstrikes on civilians.

Investigators looked at the most serious accusations in Libya since February 15, Moreno-Ocampo said, when demonstrations against Gadhafi ramped up. Since then, war has erupted in Libya as the strongman has tried to stay firm on his grip on power.

Moreno-Campo has to present all his evidence to a panel of judges before the court in The Hague, Netherlands, can decide whether to issue arrest warrants, which can take time.

In the rebel stronghold of Benghazi, hundreds of protesters marched in the streets Saturday demanding justice be meted out against Gadhafi, his family and senior officials for alleged crimes they committed against humanity.

"We want to pressure the International Criminal Court (ICC) to arrest Gadhafi," Najla Hakim, an event organizer with Libya's February 17th Youth group, told CNN.

"We want Gadhafi to be arrested and then possibly executed," said Noha Salem, a protester who marched along Amr ibn Alas street near the old section of Benghazi.

"All Libyans have been affected by those crimes, even little kids," she added. "He has been committing atrocities since 1969, not just since the start of this revolution."

Saturday's march started in the historic Omar al-Mokhtar square in Libya's second biggest city. Protesters chanted "Gadhafi, you have to go!" and "Libyans, lift your heads up high with pride."

The International Criminal Court's actions come after speculation this week about whether the combative Gadhafi had been injured in NATO airtstrikes on his compound. However, the embattled leader's voice was heard on Libyan state-run television Friday in an attempt to assure his people that he is alive and in a place where "you cannot kill me."

The audio message was broadcast several times over the course of the day and expressed gratitude to people around the world who were concerned for his safety.

"Tell the crusader cowards that I live in a place you cannot reach me," Gadhafi said.

Meanwhile, United Nations envoy for Libya Abdul Ilah al-Khatib was expected to visit Tripoli on Sunday to negotiate a ceasefire between Gadhafi's forces and rebel fighters.

It's unclear whether or how the International Criminal Court's actions would affect any negotiations.

A spokesman for the Transitional National Council declined to comment on the ICC action, noting that it has not yet been officially announced.

As the war rages with little evidence of a decisive victory for either side, rebel leaders have been trying to drum up international support, dispatching top leaders of the Transitional National Council to Europe and Washington.

Mahmoud Jibril, the top representative of the council, met with French President Nicholas Sarkozy and Foreign Minister Francois Fillon in Paris Saturday. France has been the strongest backer for the Libyan rebels and the NATO air campaign.

Jibril had tried to secure formal recognition for the interim council from the White House in meetings in Washington on Friday, but fell short of getting one. However, National Security Adviser Tom Donilon said the U.S. views the group "as a legitimate and credible interlocutor of the Libyan people," according to a White House statement released after the Friday meeting.

NATO continued airstrikes Saturday. A Libyan government official said NATO jets struck a military site in al-Aziziya, west of Tripoli.

CNN's Chuck Hadad, Jomana Karadsheh and Amir Ahmed contributed to this report.

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Keeping her a kid as long as possible

By Jack Gruber, USA TODAY

Quality time: Rory and Beth Sturm know their daughter Cheyenne, 12, is going through "a lot of stress and a big change," Beth says. So they keep up with a family tradition of hiking and "geocaching."

EnlargeCloseBy Jack Gruber, USA TODAY

Quality time: Rory and Beth Sturm know their daughter Cheyenne, 12, is going through "a lot of stress and a big change," Beth says. So they keep up with a family tradition of hiking and "geocaching."

Now, as a mom, Donahue says she has spent the past decade trying to prevent her own daughter from maturing too early. Donahue, 38, of Roanoke, Va., buys only hormone-free meat and organic milk. She cooks dinner every night and, for a time, even raised her own free-range chickens. She encourages her daughter, now 10, to play outside.

"If I can buy her even two more years of childhood, I want to try," Donahue says.

In many cases, the timing of puberty is set by genes; girls mature at about the same age their mothers did, says pediatric endocrinologist Paul Kaplowitz, author of Early Puberty in Girls.

But delaying a girl's first period by even one year reduces her lifetime exposure to estrogen, cutting future risk of breast cancer by 5% to 20%, says a 2007 report from the Breast Cancer Fund.

MORE: Girls hitting puberty earlier, but why?THE BOYS: Chemicals may threaten developmentParents can help their daughters cope with puberty by showing support and staying involved in their lives, experts say.

Rory and Beth Sturm, for example, try to be patient with 12-year-old Cheyenne, even as she experiences adolescent mood swings. Cheyenne needed a training bra at age 9

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Reid blames possible shutdown on Tea Party's 'extreme social agenda'

Update at 11:21 a.m. ET: Senate Majority Harry Reid, speaking on the Senate floor, said an agreement had been reached on spending cuts, but that the issue of women's health, a reference to the dispute over funding Planned Parenthood, was the sticking point.

Reid said "now the Tea Party among others, they are the biggest push, is trying to push its extreme social agenda, issues that have nothing to do with funding the bill."

More from our colleagues at On Politics and The Oval.

Earlier post: Only hours before a possible government shutdown, House Speaker John Boehner indicated no agreement had been reached, saying that Senate Democrats should do "the responsible thing" and pass the House budget bill.

"When will the White House and Senate Democrats get serious about cutting spending?" the Ohio Republican said.

Only moments later, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said on the Senate floor, "We're very hopeful we can reach agreement on the budget today."

Reid told reporters earlier today that both sides had agreed on a spending cut of $38 billion, but that a fight over federal dollars for Planned Parenthood is blocking a deal. Boehner's aides have denied that.

Boehner and Reid failed to reach a breakthrough during their meeting late Thursday with President Obama at the White House.

Obama had called upon both sides to give him a response this morning on whether they could bridge their differences and avoid a shutdown.

See photos of: Harry ReidTags:Harry ReidJohn Boehner .div-wrapper

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Countdown to possible federal shutdown stokes anxiety

By Jewel Samad, AFP/Getty Images

Debate flares among lawmakers and negotiators inside the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, while protesters outside urge deep cuts in spending.

EnlargeCloseBy Jewel Samad, AFP/Getty Images

Debate flares among lawmakers and negotiators inside the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, while protesters outside urge deep cuts in spending.

Republicans and Democrats, deeply divided over how much to cut spending to help bring the down the deficit, must reach a deal on funding the government through the end of this budget year in September to avert a shutdown when a temporary bill expires Friday at midnight.

At an afternoon town hall meeting in Fairless Hills, Pa., Obama warned that a shutdown could threaten the nation's economic recovery. He chastised Republican lawmakers for "playing games" with the budget.

CLOSINGS: Agencies are releasing details about their shutdown plansLOBBYING: Americans press Congress for their piece of the pieMONEY: Congress, Obama get paid in a government shutdownTRAVEL: Looming shutdown would close national parks, museumsA shutdown would "affect ordinary families day in, day out, and it affects our economy right at the time when our economy is getting momentum," Obama said. "We had the best jobs report we had had in a very long time this past Friday. But you know what? Companies don't like uncertainty, and if they start seeing that suddenly we may have a shutdown of our government, that could halt momentum right when we need to build it up — all because of politics."

To bide time, Republican House Speaker John Boehner said that the House today plans to vote on a week-long funding bill that would cut $12 billion more from this year's budget but also would fully fund the Pentagon for the next six months.

Boehner said Republicans will "fight for the largest spending cuts we can get" and accused Obama of failing to show leadership on the budget. "This is the responsible thing to do," he said of his plan for the one-week extension.

The White House and the Democratic-controlled Senate, however, have called that idea a non-starter.

"At a time when you're struggling to pay your bills and meet your responsibilities, the least we can do is meet our responsibilities to produce a budget," Obama told the crowd in Pennsylvania. "That's not too much to ask for. That's what the American people expect of us. That's what they deserve. You want everybody to act like adults, quit playing games, realize that it's not just 'my way or the highway.' "

While Obama and congressional leaders prepared for an 8:45 p.m. ET negotiating session in the Oval Office following Obama's day trip to Pennsylvania and New York, government agencies made plans for what to do if the government runs out of money at week's end.

Many essential services would continue. Social Security checks would still be cut and Medicare payments made to doctors and hospitals. Air-traffic controllers would stay on the job, as would postal employees.

Among a host of services and programs that would be scaled back or halted:

•Tax refunds for those who have filed their returns by mail would be delayed. Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Doug Shulman said those filed electronically won't be affected because those returns are processed automatically. Last year, about 70% of taxpayers e-filed their returns. Don't get any ideas about filing late: Shulman emphasized that April 18 remains the deadline, shutdown or not.

•In Charleston, S.C., events next week to mark the 150th anniversary of the firing on Fort Sumter, which marked the first battle of the Civil War, could be called off. The fort in Charleston Harbor, along with the National Park Service's visitors center, would be shuttered.

•In the nation's capital, which gets much of its funding from the federal government, garbage pickup will be put off for a week, street sweeping will cease, and public libraries will close.

Who'll get the blame for such inconveniences remains to be seen.

Asked Tuesday who's doing a better job in efforts to agree on a new budget, 41% said Democrats and 34% said Republicans in a new Gallup Poll. Asked the same question six weeks ago, 39% said Democrats and 42% said Republicans.

Respondents were more likely to agree with Republicans about the depth of cuts necessary, however: 45% say Obama and Democrats aren't cutting enough, while only 32% say Republican cuts go too far. Still, few want a shutdown: 58% of respondents say they want a compromise, even if it results in a budget they disagree with, compared with 33% who said their side should hold out for what they want. The poll of 1,014 adults has a margin of error of

View the Original article

Countdown to possible federal shutdown stokes anxiety

By Jewel Samad, AFP/Getty Images

Debate flares among lawmakers and negotiators inside the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, while protesters outside urge deep cuts in spending.

EnlargeCloseBy Jewel Samad, AFP/Getty Images

Debate flares among lawmakers and negotiators inside the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, while protesters outside urge deep cuts in spending.

Republicans and Democrats, deeply divided over how much to cut spending to help bring the down the deficit, must reach a deal on funding the government through the end of this budget year in September to avert a shutdown when a temporary bill expires Friday at midnight.

At an afternoon town hall meeting in Fairless Hills, Pa., Obama warned that a shutdown could threaten the nation's economic recovery. He chastised Republican lawmakers for "playing games" with the budget.

CLOSINGS: Agencies are releasing details about their shutdown plansLOBBYING: Americans press Congress for their piece of the pieMONEY: Congress, Obama get paid in a government shutdownTRAVEL: Looming shutdown would close national parks, museumsA shutdown would "affect ordinary families day in, day out, and it affects our economy right at the time when our economy is getting momentum," Obama said. "We had the best jobs report we had had in a very long time this past Friday. But you know what? Companies don't like uncertainty, and if they start seeing that suddenly we may have a shutdown of our government, that could halt momentum right when we need to build it up — all because of politics."

To bide time, Republican House Speaker John Boehner said that the House today plans to vote on a week-long funding bill that would cut $12 billion more from this year's budget but also would fully fund the Pentagon for the next six months.

Boehner said Republicans will "fight for the largest spending cuts we can get" and accused Obama of failing to show leadership on the budget. "This is the responsible thing to do," he said of his plan for the one-week extension.

The White House and the Democratic-controlled Senate, however, have called that idea a non-starter.

"At a time when you're struggling to pay your bills and meet your responsibilities, the least we can do is meet our responsibilities to produce a budget," Obama told the crowd in Pennsylvania. "That's not too much to ask for. That's what the American people expect of us. That's what they deserve. You want everybody to act like adults, quit playing games, realize that it's not just 'my way or the highway.' "

While Obama and congressional leaders prepared for an 8:45 p.m. ET negotiating session in the Oval Office following Obama's day trip to Pennsylvania and New York, government agencies made plans for what to do if the government runs out of money at week's end.

Many essential services would continue. Social Security checks would still be cut and Medicare payments made to doctors and hospitals. Air-traffic controllers would stay on the job, as would postal employees.

Among a host of services and programs that would be scaled back or halted:

•Tax refunds for those who have filed their returns by mail would be delayed. Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Doug Shulman said those filed electronically won't be affected because those returns are processed automatically. Last year, about 70% of taxpayers e-filed their returns. Don't get any ideas about filing late: Shulman emphasized that April 18 remains the deadline, shutdown or not.

•In Charleston, S.C., events next week to mark the 150th anniversary of the firing on Fort Sumter, which marked the first battle of the Civil War, could be called off. The fort in Charleston Harbor, along with the National Park Service's visitors center, would be shuttered.

•In the nation's capital, which gets much of its funding from the federal government, garbage pickup will be put off for a week, street sweeping will cease, and public libraries will close.

Who'll get the blame for such inconveniences remains to be seen.

Asked Tuesday who's doing a better job in efforts to agree on a new budget, 41% said Democrats and 34% said Republicans in a new Gallup Poll. Asked the same question six weeks ago, 39% said Democrats and 42% said Republicans.

Respondents were more likely to agree with Republicans about the depth of cuts necessary, however: 45% say Obama and Democrats aren't cutting enough, while only 32% say Republican cuts go too far. Still, few want a shutdown: 58% of respondents say they want a compromise, even if it results in a budget they disagree with, compared with 33% who said their side should hold out for what they want. The poll of 1,014 adults has a margin of error of

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Federal Workers Union Sues White House Over Possible Government Shutdown

FoxNews.com

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With time running out for congressional leaders to reach a budget deal, the country's biggest federal workers union is taking the Obama administration to court for what it called a failure to explain how federal programs and services would be affected if there's a government shutdown.

The American Federation of Government Employees announced Tuesday that it filed a lawsuit in federal court last week seeking details on the shutdown plans of federal agencies.

The union's national president, John Gage, said he filed the lawsuit after the White House Office of Management and Budget failed to respond to a Freedom of Information Act request sent early last month.

Gage said public unions have been given very little information on how agencies would determine which employees are essential in the event of a government shutdown.

"It's not something that should be cavalierly handled," Gage said in a written statement. "If a shutdown goes on, there will be federal employees who are going to be hurt financially. They should know before the eve of a shutdown what is happening and it should be done orderly and not in a last-minute rush."

The Office of Management and Budget declined to comment on the lawsuit, saying it doesn't talk about pending litigation. But the office said the administration "has taken unprecedented steps to improve government transparency and accountability, and shutdown planning is no exception. We still believe that there is an opportunity to avoid a costly government shutdown, which would cause undue harm to the lives of federal employees, the services millions of Americans rely on, and the economic recovery under way."

The agency called plans for a shutdown "pre-decisional at this time," adding that more information will be released as it is finalized.

With Republicans and Democrats unable to reach a budget agreement, a government shutdown could occur as early as this weekend. A top White House budget official has written a memo to agency heads directing them to review and share their contingency plans for a shutdown.

Gage said he sent a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder last week, stating the union's position that requiring federal employees to work without getting paid violates the 13th Amendment, which prohibits involuntary servitude. He said he also sent a letter last week to Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry asking how long "essential employees" can be required to work during shutdown without being paid.

Gage said if there is a shutdown, the union will be calling on employees to report to their job sites early next week to demonstrate that they are ready to go back to work.

"The American public can see at least that federal employees know the importance of their jobs and that political games should not be played with their services or with their jobs," he said.

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