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AP - Sen. John McCain said Monday the federal moratorium on offshore oil and gas drilling should be lifted, and individual states given the right to pursue energy exploration in waters near their own coasts.

AP - Al Gore is endorsing Barack Obama and promising to help the Democrat achieve what eluded him — the presidency. In a letter to be e-mailed to Obama supporters, the former vice president and Nobel Prize winner wrote, "From now through Election Day, I intend to do whatever I can to make sure he is elected president of the United States."

AP - Signs are emerging that Iraq has reached a turning point. Violence is down, armed extremists are in disarray, government confidence is rising and sectarian communities are gearing up for a battle at the polls rather than slaughter in the streets.

AP - An 18-hole playoff wasn't enough to decide the tie between Tiger Woods and Rocco Mediate at the U.S. Open. They played to a draw Monday and headed to sudden death. Each player shot even-par 71 at Torrey Pines, so the playoff continued, starting on the par-4 seventh hole.

AP - Even as flood fears eased in Iowa City, the state's south and east prepared for new problems ahead for a string of towns along the Mississippi River. Sandbagging was under way in Burlington, a key rail hub, to build the city's levee system and protect it from the river; 350 people had been evacuated.

AP - Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin fell in love at a time when lesbians risked being arrested, fired from their jobs and sent to electroshock treatment. On Monday afternoon, more than a half-century after they became a couple, Lyon, 84, and Martin, 87, plan to become the first same-sex couple to legally exchange marriage vows in San Francisco, and among the first in the state.

AP - A couple accused of killing their 13-year-old son by tying him to a tree for two nights for punishment appeared in a North Carolina courtroom Monday to face charges of murder and felony child abuse.

Reuters - The worst flooding in the U.S. Midwest in 15 years sent fresh shocks to global markets and consumers as corn prices hit record highs on fears of crop losses in the heart of the world's top grain exporter.

Reuters - U.S. President George W. Bush is ranked only slightly above the rulers of Pakistan and Iran as one of the least-trusted leaders in the world, a survey released on Monday showed.

AP - Scientists at the National Zoo say they have reversed a vasectomy on an endangered horse — the first known operation of its kind on an endangered species.

Reuters - Samuel Israel III, a former hedge fund manager convicted of fraud, is alive and on the run a week after he staged his suicide on a bridge above New York's Hudson River, a law enforcement official said on Monday.

Reuters - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said on Monday he plans to visit Iraq and Afghanistan before November's election and was encouraged by a recent reduction in violence in Iraq.

AFP - US President George W. Bush headed home on a high note Monday after a week-long farewell tour of Europe, concluding with a trip to Britain where he welcomed renewed support on Afghanistan and Iran.

Reuters - Tiger Woods, bidding for his 14th major title, held a two-shot lead over fellow American Rocco Mediate midway through the 18-hole U.S. Open playoff on Monday.

AP - Sara Evans has married former University of Alabama quarterback Jay Barker. Lori Genes, the country star's publicist at Sony BMG Nashville, told The Associated Press on Monday the couple had married, but didn't provide details.

Reuters - Policy- makers around the globe declared soaring inflation a top threat on Monday, with pressure rising for central bank interest rate increases amid protests against higher costs of living.

Reuters - Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe threatened on Monday to arrest opposition leaders over election campaign violence for which his opponents blame ruling party supporters.

Reuters - Israel sought on Monday to lower U.S. expectations for any deal with the Palestinians this year, brushing aside pressure over settlements and calling for decisions on Jerusalem's future to be deferred.

AFP - Tens of thousands of victims of China's earthquake were evacuated Monday as torrential rain lashed the region, triggering flood warnings on major rivers including the Yangtze and the Pearl.