House OKs minimum wage raise, estate tax cut

WASHINGTON -- The House early Saturday passed the first increase in the minimum wage in a decade, paired with a cut in inheritance taxes on multimillion-dollar estates. The hybrid measure passed by a 230-180 vote and now heads to the Senate, where the minimum wage boost was likely to die at the hands of Democrats opposed to the estate tax cuts. Republicans saw combining the wage and tax issues as their best chance for getting a permanent cuts to the estate taxes, the object of powerful lobbying by farmers, small business owners and the super wealthy.

Midwest heats up as Calif. heat wave subsides

CHICAGO -- Forecasters predicted a prolonged period of sweltering heat for parts of the Midwest, issuing excessive heat warnings for the Chicago and St. Louis areas through Tuesday evening. The National Weather Service said the combination of heat and humidity could make it feel like 105 degrees in many areas. The heat wave may ease on Wednesday, the weather service said. The Midwest scorching comes as a two-week heat wave blamed for many as 141 deaths in California began to subside. The state had been sizzling in triple-digit temperatures since July 16.

Wildfire destroys three homes in Neb. Panhandle

OMAHA, Neb. -- At least three homes were destroyed and at least three others were damaged by one of the six wildfires burning in the Nebraska Panhandle. About 700 firefighters were battling the fires, which have scorched more than 62 1/2 square miles and continued to be fueled by triple-digit temperatures, low humidity and 20-mph winds. Elsewhere, a fire northwest of Rapid City, S.D., burned seven houses, officials confirmed Saturday. The fire was 80 percent contained; residents of 300 homes who were told to evacuate were allowed to return. A lightning-caused wildfire near the Oregon border was 60 percent contained Saturday. In Washington state, two wildfires were threatening vacation homes near Lake Cushman and Lake Chelan, with hundreds of people waiting for possible evacuation orders, fire officials said.

5 people killed in latest shootings in New Orleans

NEW ORLEANS -- Three brothers and a friend were killed in a neighborhood not far from the French Quarter, and a fifth person was gunned down in a separate incident hours later, authorities said Saturday. The shootings were the latest round of killings as the city struggles to rein in drug- and gang-related violence that has shadowed the recovery from Hurricane Katrina. The latest shootings did not happen in the high-crime areas police have been targeting in their drive to stamp out the violence, police Superintendent Warren Riley said Saturday.

Officials: Seattle shooter ambushed hostage

SEATTLE -- The man suspected in a fatal shooting rampage hid behind a potted plant in a Jewish charity's foyer and forced his way through a security door by holding a gun to a 13-year-old girl's head, authorities said Saturday. Once inside, police say, Naveed Afzal Haq opened fire with two semiautomatic pistols. One woman, Pam Waechter, 58, of Seattle was killed at the scene. Five more women were wounded. Haq, 30, was ordered held on $50 million bail Saturday pending formal charges of murder and attempted murder. Haq, a Muslim, told authorities he was angered by the war in Iraq and U.S. military cooperation with Israel.

Phoenix residents help in hunt for serial killers

PHOENIX -- With two serial killers on the loose in Phoenix, residents are patrolling their neighborhoods at night, cell phones and emergency whistles in hand. Some have started new block watch groups, while others have donned the red berets and white T-shirts of the Guardian Angels, who are starting a chapter here. In this city of 1.5 million, gunmen have randomly shot dozens of people since May 2005, killing 13. While many people still shutter themselves inside their homes, a growing number have decided to fight back.

Draft resolution on Lebanon seeks cease-fire

NEW YORK -- A draft resolution circulating Saturday among U.N. Security Council members would call for an immediate halt to fighting between Israel and Hezbollah and seek a wide new buffer zone in south Lebanon monitored by international forces and the Lebanese army. The proposal was sent quietly by France to the other 14 members of the council ahead of a possible meeting of foreign ministers in New York to discuss Lebanon sometime next week. The document calls for an immediate halt to fighting that began almost three weeks ago and has killed more than 500 people.

U.S. command confirms 3,700 troops to Baghdad

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- The U.S. command announced Saturday that it was sending 3,700 troops to Baghdad to try to quell the sectarian violence sweeping the capital, and a U.S. official said more American soldiers would follow as the military gears up to take the streets from gunmen. The 172nd Stryker Brigade, which had been due to return home after a year in Iraq, will bring quick-moving, light-armored vehicles to patrol this sprawling city of 6 million people, hoping security forces respond faster to the tit-for-tat killings by Shiite militias and Sunni Arab insurgents.

-- From wire reports