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AP News in Brief

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"Insulza asked Honduras to reinstate Zelaya, but the president of the court categorically answered that there is an arrest warrant for him," said court spokesman Danilo Izaguirre. "Now the OAS has to decide what it will do."

Insulza made no comments as he emerged from the meeting. He has said Honduras will be suspended from the organization, a move that could lead to further sanctions against one of the Americas' poorest countries, unless Zelaya is restored by Saturday morning. The OAS has called an emergency meeting in Washington for Saturday afternoon.

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Vice President Biden presses Iraqi leaders to make political progress

BAGHDAD (AP) — Vice President Joe Biden pressed Iraqi leaders Friday to do more to foster national reconciliation and offered U.S. assistance in achieving that, as concerns grow that a lack of political progress is fueling violence in Iraq.

Protesters, meanwhile, burned an American flag and chanted anti-U.S. slogans in Baghdad's main Shiite district of Sadr City.

Followers of anti-U.S. Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr hold such demonstrations weekly after Friday prayers, but the rally underscored the challenges facing the United States as it begins drawing down its military forces and losing its dominance in Iraq.

Biden, who was making his first visit to Baghdad since being appointed to oversee the administration's Iraq policy, said he came with a message of continuing support for the country even as the U.S. military pulls back.

"There are still political steps that must be taken and Iraqis must use the political process to resolve their remaining differences and advance their national interest," he said at a joint news conference after meeting with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

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MOUNTAIN OF DEBT: Legacy of debt from Founding Fathers not celebrated on Independence Day

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Founding Fathers left one legacy not celebrated on Independence Day but which affects us all. It's the national debt.

The country first got into debt to help pay for the Revolutionary War. Growing ever since, the debt stands today at a staggering $11.5 trillion — equivalent to over $37,000 for each and every American. And it's expanding by over $1 trillion a year.

The mountain of debt easily could become the next full-fledged economic crisis without firm action from Washington, economists of all stripes warn.

"Unless we demonstrate a strong commitment to fiscal sustainability in the longer term, we will have neither financial stability nor healthyeconomic growth," Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke recently told Congress.

Higher taxes, or reduced federal benefits and services — or a combination of both — may be the inevitable consequences.

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Terrified SC residents hole up, cancel Fourth of July plans as authorities hunt serial killer

GAFFNEY, S.C. (AP) — Terrified residents canceled Fourth of July plans and holed up in their homes Friday as investigators hunted a serial killer believed to have shot four people to death.

Tanya Phillips had been looking forward to a backyard barbecue at her brother's house but instead planned to stay home with her doors locked.

"I'm not taking any chances," said Phillips, 32, a mother of two who works in a day-care center. "I'll go out during the day, but not at night. I just don't feel safe."

Plenty of evidence links the killings, though officials have not yet determined how the victims are connected or if they knew whoever shot them, said Cherokee County Sheriff Bill Blanton.

"Yes, we have a serial killer," he said at a news conference in this rural community 50 miles south of Charlotte, N.C.

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Pachyderms outperform people in NYC cross-species eating contest, 505 hot dog buns to 143

NEW YORK (AP) — In the fight of pachyderms vs. people — the pachyderms now have the upper trunk.

Three circus elephants scored a decisive victory over three human competitive eaters at a cross-species eating contest Friday, chomping down on 505 hot dog buns in six minutes. The humans forced down only 143 buns in the bout at Brooklyn's Coney Island.

The elephants, Bunny, Susie and Minnie — all in their 40s — ate at what appeared to be a leisurely pace from behind a table piled high with buns. They even paused to eat some fresh fruit, which was not counted toward scoring.

Their human competitors were far more focused. Eric "Badlands" Booker, a New York City subway conductor who is the world champion in corned beef hash eating, took a double-fisted approach, dipping two buns at once into liquid to make them go down easier.

Juliet Lee, a petite 43-year-old who started the contest with her midriff exposed, pushed several buns into her stretched mouth simultaneously. Originally from China, Lee is the world cranberry sauce champion, a title she won by eating 13.23 pounds of the sauce in eight minutes.

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14 down, 1 to go: Federer to face Roddick in Wimbledon final, with chance to break Slam mark

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — Rising, rising, rising, high above the most famous patch of grass in tennis, Roger Federer channeled Pete Sampras on match point in the Wimbledon semifinals Friday, tucking both feet back beneath his body and uncorking an overhead smash.

And now, after years of chasing Sampras, Federer is poised to surpass him.

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