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AP - Democrats defended plans to push massive health care legislation through the House without a direct vote and Republicans assailed the strategy Tuesday, as both parties fenced ferociously over the health overhaul end game.

AP - The Federal Reserve on Tuesday repeated its pledge to hold interest rates at record lows to foster the economic recovery and ease high unemployment.

AP - Thai protesters seeking a change of government turned to shock tactics Tuesday, pouring gallons of their own blood into a glistening puddle at the gate of the prime minister's office.

AP - Hundreds of Palestinians in east Jerusalem set tires and garbage bins ablaze on Tuesday and hurled rocks at Israeli riot police, who responded with rubber bullets and tear gas. The heaviest clashes in months broke out as an American envoy abruptly canceled a visit, deepening a U.S.-Israeli diplomatic feud.

AP - A bus headed for Mexico carrying 40 people overturned along a southern Texas highway on Tuesday, killing at least two people and sending at least 30 people to hospitals, officials said.

AP - PepsiCo plans to remove sugary drinks from schools worldwide, following the success of programs in the U.S. aimed at cutting down on childhood obesity.

AP - Tiger Woods said Tuesday he will return to golf next month at the Masters, ending a four-month hiatus brought on by a sex scandal that shattered his image as the gold standard in sports.

AP - The Feds are on Facebook. And MySpace, LinkedIn and Twitter, too.

AP - The world's shortest man has died in Italy, where he was to take part in a TV show, the program's production company said Tuesday.

AP - Charlie Sheen is back at work and shooting has resumed on "Two and a Half Men."

Reuters - Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd on Tuesday said Congress needs to fast track financial reform despite Republican pleas to slow down the process to rewrite sweeping new rules.

Reuters - U.S. housing starts fell last month as winter storms disrupted construction and another drop in building permits suggested the weakness would linger.

Reuters - Palestinians mounted violent protests in Jerusalem on Tuesday and President Barack Obama's Middle East envoy canceled plans to return to the region as a U.S.-Israeli crisis over Jewish settlement plans simmered.

Reuters - EU finance ministers backed plans on Tuesday by countries in the euro area to help debt-stricken Greece financially if it becomes the first state in 11 years of monetary union to seek such aid.

Reuters - The Vatican criticized on Tuesday what it said was a bid to undermine the Church, which is facing a deepening scandal over child abuse by priests in Europe.

AFP - Hundreds of Palestinians clashed with Israeli security forces across east Jerusalem on Tuesday in the worst rioting in years, as a senior Hamas leader called for a new "intifada," or uprising.

AFP - Protesters spilled their own blood at the gates of Thailand's government headquarters Tuesday in a colourful act of political theatre designed to propel their fugitive hero back to power.