UConn player killed...Public option optional...Suicide attack in Iran

STORRS, Conn. (AP) A University of Connecticut Football player has died following an on-campus stabbing, hours after the team's victory over Louisville. An administration official says 20-year-old Jasper Howard was stabbed during a fight early today.

The starting cornerback led the Big East in punt returns last season.

Washington (AP) Top White House advisers appearing on the Sunday news shows say President Barack Obama still prefers a government-run health care option, but he's not insisting that Congress include it in the final overhaul bill. The House and Senate are at odds over the "public option" idea.

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) Iran's president is accusing unspecified foreigners of involvement in today's suicide bombing in southeastern Iran. State media reports more than 30 people were killed, including five senior commanders of the Revolutionary Guard. The U.S. State Department is condemning the attack and says the United States had nothing to do with it.

MIR ALI, Pakistan (AP) A Taliban spokesman says his group was behind a series of deadly attacks in Pakistan Thursday and Friday.

He also tells The Associated Press that Pakistan's new offensive against militants is "bound to end in the defeat of the Pakistan Army." Both sides are claiming to be inflicting heavy casualties in the battle that began yesterday near the Afghan border.

MEXICO CITY (AP) The strongest hurricane in the eastern North Pacific Ocean in more than a decade is kicking up the surf along part of Mexico's coast. Hurricane Rick is a Category 5 storm with winds of 175 mph. Forecasters expect Rick to remain offshore for the next few days and lose some of its punch over cooler waters.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APNP 10-18-09 1043CDT | save this article / add to your favorites list