Aaron's Daily WWW Newspaper

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Shares of Sun Microsystems Inc. fell in premarket trading Monday on news that IBM Corp. withdrew an acquisition offer.

LOS ANGELES - A producer who has worked with Farrah Fawcett says the actress has checked into a Los Angeles hospital.

LAS VEGAS - Carrie Underwood captured entertainer of the year Sunday night at the Academy of Country Music Awards, winning the top honor that has eluded women for nearly a decade, while Taylor Swift won album of the year and Julianne Hough snagged top new artist.

DETROIT - Police in Detroit have ruffled some feathers after they cracked down on an organized pillow fight at a downtown park.

DETROIT - In Monday night's NCAA men's championship, the North Carolina Tar Heels are rated a seven-point favorite over Michigan State, a team they beat by 35 points back in December at Detroit's Ford Field. Nobody is expecting such a blowout this time.

L'AQUILA, Italy (Reuters) - A powerful earthquake struck a huge swath of central Italy as residents slept on Monday morning, killing more than 50 people and making up to 50,000 homeless.

SEOUL/UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United Nations failed to agree on a response to North Korea's long-range rocket launch despite pressure from Washington and its allies for action, while regional powers weighed the extent of the new security threat.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Shares of Sun Microsystems Inc tumbled 24 percent on Monday after the company rejected rival computer and software maker International Business Machines Corp's $7 billion offer.

DOVER, Delaware (Reuters) - The media was permitted on Sunday to cover the arrival of a U.S. soldier's coffin at the Pentagon's main mortuary in Delaware late for the first time in 18 years.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner denied on Sunday the Obama administration was crafting bailout initiatives to allow companies to evade limits on executive pay and other restrictions imposed by Congress.

KABUL (Reuters) - Afghanistan's Justice Ministry said on Monday a law for the country's Shi'ite minority is on hold and under review after provoking an outcry in the West over concerns about women's rights.

PRAGUE (Reuters) - President Barack Obama set out his vision for ridding the world of nuclear arms on Sunday, declaring the United States ready to lead steps by all states with atomic weapons to reduce their arsenals.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Bankruptcy is not inevitable for General Motors Corp, said the automaker's new chief executive on Sunday, who is under White House orders to win more concessions from bondholders and unionized workers.

L'AQUILA, Italy (AFP) - A powerful earthquake tore through central Italy on Monday devastating historic mountain towns and killing at least 40 people, authorities said.

ANKARA (AFP) - US President Barack Obama began talks with Turkish leaders on Monday at the start of a two-day visit aimed at revitalising ties with a mainly Muslim ally and firmly anchoring it to the West.

JOHANNESBURG (AFP) - South Africa's top prosecutor said on Monday he was dropping corruption charges against Jacob Zuma, the country's likely next president, ending his legal battle just weeks before elections.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Territorial claims targeting riches hidden at the bottom of the Arctic Ocean and the preservation of Antarctica's pristine environment will top the agenda of the first meeting on the future of the North and South Poles that opens in Washington on Monday.

SYDNEY (AFP) - A list of Jews saved by Oskar Schindler that inspired the novel and Oscar-winning film "Schindler's List" has been found in a Sydney library, its co-curator said.

TOKYO (AFP) - Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso on Monday ordered fresh stimulus spending of at least 100 billion dollars to rescue Asia's biggest economy from its worst slump since World War II.

MOSCOW (AFP) - Russia faces a tough year ahead as the global financial crisis bites but it has managed to avoid a worst-case scenario, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said in a major speech Monday.