A chosen few see bin Laden photos as the rest wait

Select members of Congress are making appointments at CIA headquarters to view graphic photos of Osama bin Laden's corpse. But the American people might have to wait decades to see images of the al-Qaida leader who was killed in Pakistan by Navy SEALs during a daring middle-of-the-night raid.

The CIA is allowing members of the House and Senate Intelligence and Armed Services committees to see the photos in a secure room at the agency's headquarters in Langley, Va., a CIA spokesman said Wednesday. Lawmakers cannot take copies of the photos with them.

China landslide death toll rises to at least 12

State media say the death toll in a landslide that swamped a dormitory at a quarry in southern China has risen to 12 with 10 others presumed dead.

Xinhua News Agency said Tuesday that rescuers were still searching for the 10 missing but there were no signs of life after the landslide a day earlier in Luojiang village near the resort city of Guilin.

Xinhua said the dormitory was buried in sludge the length of a football field.

Heavy rains fell over the weekend in the region roughly 1,080 miles (1,750 kilometers) south of Beijing amid steep hills and thick jungle bordering Vietnam.

© 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

UK banks won't appeal payment protection ruling

LONDON (AP) -- British banks on Monday gave up the fight against compensating customers who were missold payment protection insurance on mortgages and other loans, and now face a compensation bill estimated at 4.5 billion pounds ($7.4 billion).

The British Bankers' Association said it took the decision in the "interest of providing certainty" for bank customers.

"We continue to believe that there are matters of important principle which we will be taking forward in other ways with the authorities," the association said, without specifying the issues.

Key role in bin Laden raid for secret choppers

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Secret until now, stealth helicopters may have been key to the success of the Osama bin Laden raid. But the so-far-unexplained crash of one of the modified Black Hawks at the scene apparently compromised at least some of the aircraft's secrets.

The two choppers evidently used radar-evading technologies, plus noise and heat suppression devices, to slip across the Afghan-Pakistan border, avoid detection by Pakistani air defenses and deliver two dozen Navy SEALs into the al-Qaida leader's lair. Photos of the lost chopper's wrecked tail are circulating online - proving it exists and also exposing sensitive details.

School in rural Wash. town vies for Obama speech

BRIDGEPORT, Wash. (AP) -- This rural farm town tucked amid Washington's apple and cherry orchards seems an unlikely stop for a U.S. president.

Yet Bridgeport High School is one of three national finalists for a commencement address by President Barack Obama, thanks to an on-time graduation rate that exceeds the national average and a college push that beats some of the ritziest public schools.

All 37 seniors will graduate next month. All are headed to college or to a technical school. And the possibility of a presidential visit has them and their whole town buzzing.