Massive earthquake hits China...U.S. relief arrives in Myanmar...Mid-Atlantic rain

CHENGDU, China (AP) A massive earthquake has killed more than 8,700 people in central China. The 7.8 magnitude quake devastated a region of Sichuan province where most of the deaths have been reported. State television reports that landslides have left roads impassable, and the government has ordered soldiers into the area on foot.

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) The first U.S. relief supplies headed to victims of Myanmar's cyclone have arrived in the country. Several cabinet ministers from the military government greeted the C-130 cargo plane. The 14 tons of supplies aboard were taken away in Army trucks, and a government spokesman says they'll be ferried to the worst hit areas.

Washington (AP) As heavy rain drenches the mid-Atlantic region, the Coast Guard says it's rescued two men from a research ship that was breaking up off the coast of Delaware. Strong winds and saturated soil are combining to bring down trees throughout the region and cut power to tens of thousands. One emergency official in Maryland says the state's having possibly its worst flooding since Hurricane Isabel five years ago.

WASHINGTON (AP) There's a new candidate in this year's presidential race. Former Republican Congressman Bob Barr has announced he's running as a Libertarian. Barr first must win the Libertarian nomination at the party's national convention, but party officials consider him a front runner thanks to his national profile.

UNDATED (AP) West Virginia voters apparently haven't had enough of the Democratic presidential race. A Suffolk University poll out today suggests Democratic voters in the state heavily favor Hillary Rodham CLinton. And, nearly three-quarters of respondents said she is not hurting the Democratic Party by competing in the remaining contests.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APNP 05-12-08 1349CDT | save this article / add to your favorites list