Campaign push...Iraq security talks...Insanity defense in Austria case

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) Just one more day of campaigning before the key primaries in Indiana and North Carolina. Barack Obama told a crowd last night: "I need help." And Hillary CLinton called this "the final push" as she spoke to her volunteers. Polls show her in a close contest in Indiana and narrowing Obama's lead in North Carolina.

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) Iran says it won't hold a new round of discussions with the U.S. on security in Iraq until American forces end an assault against Shiite militias. An Iraqi government spokesman says the military crackdown by U.S and Iraqi forces will continue even if Iran pulls out of the security talks.

JERUSALEM (AP) Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is winding up a trip aimed at getting the Mideast peace process moving forward. Israel's prime minister and the Palestinian president are to meet today, one day after Rice demanded that Israel ease roadblocks to make life better for Palestinians in the West Bank.

AMSTETTEN, Austria (AP) An Austrian man accused of imprisoning his daughter for 24 years and fathering her seven children will use insanity as his defense. His lawyer says Josef Fritzl has a mental disorder and "didn't choose" to do what police allege he did.

RIGA, Latvia (AP) Latvia's coast guard says a stranded cruise ship with nearly 1,000 people on board will be evacuated. A coast guard officer says the captain of the Mona Lisa agreed to the move after efforts to free the ship from a sand bar in the Baltic Sea failed.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APNP 05-05-08 0437CDT | save this article / add to your favorites list