Top Stories - AP

NEW YORK - The five men facing trial in the Sept. 11 attacks will plead not guilty so that they can air their criticisms of U.S. foreign policy, the lawyer for one of the defendants said Sunday.

TEHRAN, Iran - Iran on Sunday began large-scale air defense war games aimed at protecting its nuclear facilities from attack, state TV reported, as an air force commander boasted the country could deter any military strike by Israel.

MIDDLETOWN, Pa. - The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission says the small amount of radiation detected at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant is not significant.

EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. - A month of harsh words between Rep. Patrick Kennedy and a strident critic, Roman Catholic Bishop Thomas Tobin, escalated Sunday when the bishop acknowledged asking Kennedy not to receive Holy Communion because of the Democratic lawmaker's support for abortion rights.

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. - Officials at the University of California, Santa Cruz say dozens of protesters who were occupying the university's main administrative building have ended their protest.

LOS ANGELES - Janet Jackson kicked off the American Music Awards with a medley of some of her biggest hits, but it was her late brother Michael who was poised to be one of the night's big winners, up for five American Music Awards, including entertainer of the year.

MADRID - Seven bulls being used on the set of a film starring Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz have broken free in Spain and slightly injured two people.

HOMESTEAD, Fla. - All Jimmie Johnson ever wanted was a chance to race with the best in NASCAR. Maybe even win a race or two.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - The defense Bill Belichick didn't want to put on the field a week ago kept the offense of the New York Jets off it Sunday.

TAMPA, Fla. - Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints keep on rolling.

LOS ANGELES - The vampire romance "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" sucked up $140.7 million in its first three days and pulled in a total of $258.8 million worldwide, according to studio estimates Sunday.

NEW YORK - Fewer people are expected to fly this holiday season, but travelers shouldn't expect a full reprieve from the horrid flight delays of Thanksgivings past, especially if they need to land anywhere near New York City.

BROMONT, Quebec - A Canadian woman on long-term sick leave for depression says she lost her benefits because her insurance agent found photos of her on Facebook in which she appeared to be having fun.

WASHINGTON - Since the 1997 international accord to fight global warming, climate change has worsened and accelerated — beyond some of the grimmest of warnings made back then.

NEW YORK - Mississippi, California and North Carolina, teams that started the season with lofty expectations before stumbling, have surged back into the AP Top 25 college football poll.

BAGHDAD - A stepped-up campaign by Iraq's prime minister against Saddam Hussein loyalists is alienating Sunni Muslims and stoking tensions between them and the majority Shiites ahead of key national elections.

NEW ORLEANS - The creatures living in the depths of the ocean are as weird and outlandish as the creations in a Dr. Seuss book: tentacled transparent sea cucumbers, primitive "dumbos" that flap ear-like fins, and tubeworms that feed on oil deposits.

WASHINGTON - Sen. Edward M. Kennedy will be a tough act to follow, even for the Kennedys. His death, coupled with the decision by family members not to seek the seat he held for nearly five decades, has prompted predictions that the family's long-running political dynasty is over.

WASHINGTON - The number of Americans traveling away from home for Thanksgiving will be up only slightly this year from 2008, according to a report from the AAA auto club.

JERUSALEM - Israeli aircraft attacked two suspected weapons-making factories and a smuggling tunnel in the Gaza Strip early Sunday in what the military said was retaliation for Palestinian rocket fire into southern Israel.

HEGANG, China - When gas levels suddenly spiked deep in the Xinxing coal mine, Wang Jiguo grabbed two co-workers and they ran for their lives. Minutes later, there was a huge bang, a torrent of hot air and the earth shuddered.

LONDON - Roger Federer overcame an erratic forehand and Fernando Verdasco on Sunday, rallying to beat the Spanish opponent 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 in the round-robin stage of the ATP World Tour Finals.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - Lee Westwood of England became Europe's No. 1 golfer on Sunday after winning the Dubai World Championship by six strokes.

WASHINGTON - The former director of the National Institutes of Health is advising women to ignore new guidelines that delay the start of routine mammogram testing for breast cancer.

LOS ANGELES - Kate Hudson, Pierce Brosnan, Neil Patrick Harris and other stars who are used to getting applause were giving it gladly at a ceremony honoring people who make a difference in the lives of others.

TEHRAN, Iran - Iran released a former vice president on a $700,000 bail Sunday after his lawyer said he had been sentenced to six years in prison in the mass trial of opposition figures accused of fomenting the post-election unrest.

TUCSON, Ariz. - Oregon quarterback Jeremiah Masoli watched as red-clad Arizona students ringed the sidelines as time ticked down, ready to rush the field.

JAKARTA, Indonesia - Rescuers saved more than 240 people aboard a crowded Indonesian passenger ferry that sank Sunday in rough waters off Sumatra island, but 29 people have died and at least 17 others were missing, officials said.