National Headlines

WASHINGTON (AP) - Hours before President Barack Obama's high-stakes appeal to Congress for health care reform, a new poll finds that public disapproval of his handling of the issue has jumped to 52 percent. The Associated Press-GfK survey also indicates that 49 percent now disapprove of his overall performance as president. In July, just 42 percent disapproved of how he was handling his job.

CHICAGO (AP) - The American Medical Association has posted a letter on its Web site, urging President Barack Obama and Congress to reach an agreement on health reform. It's a shot in the arm for Obama as he tries to salvage a top project. The AMA's president reiterates the group's support for reform that provides insurance for all Americans.

WASHINGTON (AP) - The newest Supreme Court justice appears reluctant to lift a ban on political campaign spending by corporations and labor unions. Sonia Sotomayor jumped right into the questioning today, as the court heard a case arising from a film that attacked Hillary Rodham Clinton.

NEW YORK (AP) - Former President Bill Clinton is remembering Walter Cronkite as "a great citizen and a profoundly good human being." He spoke during a memorial service for the legendary newsman in New York. Clinton saluted Cronkite for "an inquiring mind and a caring heart and a careful devotion to the facts." Cronkite died in July at age 92.

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) - A federal judge is allowing the hunting of gray wolves in the Northern Rockies to go on. The judge in Montana is denying a request by environmentalists and animal welfare groups to stop the first organized wolf hunts in decades.

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