Morning Headlines

OBAMA-ARIZONA STATE
UPDATE: Obama tells grads the real work lies ahead

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) - President Barack Obama has given his first
commencement address as president to Arizona State University's
Class of 2009.
He challenged the students to look ahead, reminding them that
their best "body of work" is yet to come.
He got a warm welcome from the students, and the campus, where
temperatures were in the 100-degree range. About 95 people were
treated for heat-related illness.
Obama also met a so-called snub by ASU officials head on. Obama
said even the title of president "says very little about how well
one's life has been led."
ASU officials said he hadn't accomplished enough yet for an
honorary degree.

CONGRESS-WAR SPENDING
House takes up war spending measure

WASHINGTON (AP) - A bill to fund the wars in Iraq and
Afghanistan through the end of September will be under House
consideration today.
The almost $97 billion measure is nearly $12 billion more than
the administration asked for. According to the Congressional
Research Service, the spending would push the cost of the wars in
Iraq and Afghanistan to almost $1 trillion.
Some of the extra funding covers cargo planes the administration
didn't ask for, as well as almost double the amount requested for
mine-resistant vehicles.
It does not include the $80 million the administration requested
to close the Guantanamo Bay prison. It does include a request for a
detailed plan regarding the prison's future.
Republicans tried, but failed, to include a provision blocking
the shutdown of Guantanamo.

PENTAGON-ABUSE PHOTOS
Obama seeks to block abuse photos

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama has sent government
lawyers back to court in a bid to block release of hundreds more
photos of U.S. troops abusing prisoners.
The president says these are not as sensational as the Abu
Ghraib prison photos, and their release won't add to public
understanding.
The president says the photos might, in fact, inflame
anti-American opinion and put U.S. troops in greater danger.
ACLU attorney Amrit Singh, who argued the case in court, says
the administration's opposition "makes a mockery of President
Obama's promise of transparency and accountability."
Obama counters the public already knows plenty about the abuse,
which took place long before his watch.

OBAMA-CREDIT CARDS
NEW: Obama continues push for credit card measure

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - President Barack Obama is talking today
with consumers to discuss how they've been mistreated by
credit-card companies.
The town-hall style meeting is at a high school in Albuquerque,
N.M. Participants are expected to include several dozen people
who've written the president to voice their frustrations about
their credit-card companies.
Obama will likely discuss his legislation aimed at ending credit
industry practices that have been called abusive, such as hidden
fees and sudden interest-rate hikes.
The House has approved a bill to enact some of the protections
Obama seeks. A slightly different version is pending in the Senate
where a vote could come as early as this week.

PLANE INTO HOME
NEW: NTSB to hear from regulators on NY state air crash

WASHINGTON (AP) - The National Transportation Safety Board
concludes three days of unusual public hearings today into the
crash of a commuter airliner in upstate New York that killed 50
people.
The panel will be hearing from federal regulators about how they
plan to address safety and other issues to prevent accidents like
the February crash near Buffalo.
Issues that have arisen include fatigue, cockpit distractions,
commuting long distances, pilot training and hiring.
The board will likely ask Federal Aviation Administration
officials whether better regulation is needed to prevent pilot
fatigue. That could include possible restrictions on long-distance
commuting.
The Flight 3407 co-pilot, Rebecca Shaw, lived near Seattle with
her parents, but worked out of Newark, N.J., where the flight
originated.

OBAMA-HOUSING
Obama administration to expand mortgage plan

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Obama administration is planning a morning
announcement about new additions to its mortgage aid plan.
The measures could help homeowners who don't qualify for other
kinds of assistance. It would help borrowers avoid foreclosure by
selling their properties or returning them to lenders.
One way would be to encourage a "short sale." That involves
selling a home for less than the amount owed on the mortgage, but
the lender can still consider the debt paid. A short sale also
doesn't harm a borrower's credit record as much as a foreclosure
would.
Another way is a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure - in which the
borrower gives the property to the lender to satisfy a delinquent
loan and avoid foreclosure proceedings.
It's all part of the administration's "Making Home Affordable"
initiative. More details will be announced Thursday morning by
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Housing and Urban
Development Secretary Shaun Donovan.

MIDEAST-POPE
Pope brings his Holy Land pilgrimage to Nazareth

NAZARETH, Israel (AP) - Thousands of pilgrims from around the
world are on hand to greet Pope Benedict XVI in Jesus' childhood
hometown of Nazareth, where he will celebrate the largest Mass of
his five-day visit to the Holy Land.
Thursday's Mass is being celebrated on Mount Precipice, where
Christian tradition says a mob tried to throw Jesus off a cliff.
Later, the pope plans stops at other sites central to Jesus' life,
such as the Basilica of the Annunciation, where Christians believe
an angel told Mary she would bear the child of God.
A day after making a ringing appeal for an independent
Palestinian state, the pope will also sit down Thursday with
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who still resists the
idea.

SHUTTLE-HUBBLE
Astronaust prepare for 1st spacewalk to fix Hubble

CAPE CANAVERAL (AP) - The hard work of repairing the Hubble
Space Telescope begins this morning.
Astronauts John Grunsfeld and Drew Feustel (FOY'-stahl) will
exit the space Shuttle Atlantis for the first of five spacewalks to
upgrade Hubble.
Astronauts will replace the telescope's 15-year-old workhorse
camera with one that sees deeper into the universe. The new camera
is the size of a baby grand piano.
The old camera will be displayed at the Smithsonian Institution.
This spacewalk should take about six-and-a-half hours and
includes replacing a computer data device that broke down last
fall.
Atlantis grabbed Hubble yesterday and shuttle commander Scott
Altman said the two spacewakers were "salivating over the
telescope."

WORLD MARKETS
UPDATE: European exchanges inch up while Asian stocks tumble

HONG KONG (AP) - Signs of distress among U.S. consumers sent
Asian stock markets tumbling Thursday while European exchanges
nudged upward in early trade.
Investors saw little to pin their hopes on after the U.S.
Commerce Department said retail sales unexpectedly dropped in April
for the second straight month. Separately, a private-sector report
showed a troubling rise in home foreclosures. The signs dashed
hopes for a faster end to the worst global economic slump in
generations.
Every major Asian stock market was hit by sharp losses, with
Japan and Hong Kong indexes down around 3 percent. An aggressive
nine-week rally that's lifted shares from Asia to the U.S. 30
percent or more has started to reverse course.
Wall Street futures pointed to more losses in U.S. markets.

WILDFIRES
Weather delays containment of Calif. wildfire

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (AP) - Firefighters are keeping a wary eye
on the winds as they try to surround the Santa Barbara, Calif.,
wildfire.
Forecasters say gusts have been reaching 45 mph in the Montecito
hills and humidity is dropping. Wind warnings are in effect, as
temperatures climb into the 80s around the foothills.
Officials say the fire still threatens about 45 homes. Those
homes were evacuated last week and more than 100 residents have not
been allowed back.
The fire is now 80 percent contained, but the forecast is
forcing crews to push their estimate for full containment to next
Wednesday.
The blaze has already blackened more than 13 square miles,
destroyed 80 homes and damaged 15 others. It's also injured 29
firefighters since it started last week. Investigators say the fire
may have been caused by someone clearing brush with a power tool.

SEVERE WEATHER
Severe storms hit 3 states, kill Mo. woman

KIRKSVILLE, Mo. (AP) - A woman is dead and dozens of buildings
are damaged after violent storms that spawned at least one tornado
hit northern Missouri.
The city of Kirksville apparently took the hardest hit. Police
Det. Sgt. Ron Celian said about 30 to 40 homes were damaged, one
was destroyed and an auto dealership sustained significant damage.
Sullivan County Emergency Management director Rick Gardner said
a woman was killed when what appeared to be a tornado struck a
mobile home east of Milan.
Julie Adolphson, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service
office in Pleasant Hill, said a tornado hit Kirksville and
Novinger, both in Adair County.
In Caddo County in southwest Oklahoma, a possible tornado
damaged homes and businesses in Anadarko.

WORLD OCEAN CONFERENCE
NEW: Ocean conference urged to act on global warming

MANADO, Indonesia (AP) - Government representatives from around
the world say there must be an urgent effort to protect oceans from
global warming.
Participants in the World Ocean's Conference in Indonesia are
trying to include concerns about the risk of rising seas, warmer
waters and spiraling acidity in a new U.N. climate treaty.
Governments say that the lives of tens of millions of people
could be affected.
Scientists have long warned that higher temperatures will melt
polar ice and cause sea levels to rise, wiping out island
communities and coastal ecosystems.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said in recorded
remarks that the effects of climate change are clear. She says they
can be seen not only in "melting glaciers and dying coral reefs,
but also in damaged homes, falling wages, rising poverty,
diminished opportunities."