It's the start of the work week. Here's a roundup of what you need to know from staff and Associated Press reports to get you off to a good start.
WEATHER
Heat relief is in the forecast today. The National Weather Service says there's a 60 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms today and tonight, especially from noon to 10 p.m. The rain and clouds will be generated from a cold front drifting south, but don't expect to see much difference on the thermometer, as the high today should be 92. There's a 40 percent chance of rain for Tuesday, and the high should be 88 degrees.WASHINGTON (AP) - Bickering in public yet bargaining in private, congressional leaders are struggling for a compromise debt limit deal that avoids a market-rattling default in little over a week while cutting trillions in spending.
ECONOMY
House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, planned to meet with his chamber's Republicans on Monday to discuss the GOP's clash with President Barack Obama over extending the government's borrowing authority, which lapses on Aug. 2 - a week from Tuesday. There were widespread expectations on Capitol Hill that Boehner would unveil debt ceiling legislation by that session, if not earlier.
After meeting at the White House on Sunday with Obama and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said bipartisan talks on a solution had collapsed because Republicans were insisting on only extending the debt limit for a short period. He said he was crafting a $2.7 trillion package of spending cuts that would also push the government's borrowing authority through next year, a timeline that Obama and top Democrats are demanding.
Reid, D-Nev., called Boehner's forthcoming proposal "a nonstarter in the Senate and with the president." In a written statement, he said that it "would not provide the certainty the markets are looking for and risks many of the same dire economic consequences that would be triggered by default itself."
As yet another day passed with the two parties unable to shake hands, the drama seemed certain to play out in nail-biting fashion. If the government's authority to borrow money isn't renewed by Aug. 2 - its current $14.3 trillion limit has been reached - it won't have cash to pay all its bills. The administration and many others say that scenario would risk a first-ever federal default, with higher interest rates and other devastating effects cascading through the entire economy.
SPORTS
CINCINNATI - Drew Stubbs went to the plate ready to swing at the first pitch. When he got the fastball he expected, Stubbs went the opposite way for a leadoff homer in the ninth inning Sunday night, sending the Cincinnati Reds to a 4-3 victory over the Atlanta Braves and their first set of back-to-back victories in more than five weeks. Stubbs expected Scott Linebrink (3-2) to try to get ahead in the count with his first pitch. Good guess. "I went up there looking for a fastball out over the plate," Stubbs said, after the second game-ending homer of his career. "He gave it to me, I put a good swing on it, and the rest is history."
INTERNATIONAL
BEIJING - Doubts about China's breakneck plans to expand high-speed rail across the country have been underscored by a bullet train wreck that killed at least 38 people.
One train rammed into the back of another that had stalled after being hit by lightning Saturday in China's deadliest rail accident since 2008. Six carriages derailed and four fell about 65 to 100 feet (20 to 30 meters) from a viaduct. More than 190 people were injured.
Railways Minister Sheng Guangzu has apologized to the victims of the crash and their families. The U.S. Embassy in Beijing said two U.S. citizens were among the dead.
The Railways Ministry and government officials haven't explained why the second train was apparently not warned there was a stalled train in its path.
One expert said he thought human error may have been involved.
"I think the problem may have come from the mistakes of dispatching management, instead of technological failure," said Qi Qixin, a professor at the Transportation Research Institute of Beijing University of Technology. "The system should have an ability to automatically issue a warning or even stop a train under such circumstances," he said.
The accident is the latest blow to China's bullet train ambitions. Designed to show off the country's rising wealth and technological prowess, the prestige attached to the high-speed rail project is on a par with China's space program.
CRIME
GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas - As music blared from Forum Roller World's loudspeakers, children skated and adults mingled at an 11-year-old Texas boy's birthday party - until his father suddenly pulled out a gun.
Shouting at kids to leave the snack area, 35-year-old Tan Do opened fire on his estranged wife and her family - killing her, her teenage sister and three other adults before fatally shooting himself in a rampage that lasted just a few terrifying moments.
"Kids were having fun and all of a sudden: 'Bang! Bang! Bang!'" said Walt Hedrick, owner the Grand Prairie roller rink about 20 miles west of Dallas. "It was out of the clear blue. ... I didn't know what was going on."
Hedrick, who was about 40 feet away when the shooting began Saturday night, pushed some youngsters down and ushered them and employees into an office to hide.
"There was nothing anyone could do," Hedrick said Sunday.
Officers arrived quickly after the 7 p.m. shooting, ordering everyone to remain on the ground and shouting for someone to turn off the music.
"I didn't realize it was playing," Hedrick said.
Police said Do, of Grand Prairie, and his wife were estranged after ongoing marital problems and may have argued before the shooting. A public records search showed no criminal record for Do.
Police identified those killed as his wife Trini Do, 29, of Grand Prairie; her sisters Lynn Ta, 16, and Michelle Ta, 28; her brother, Hien Ta, 21; and her sister-in-law, Thuy Nguyen, 25.
About 30 friends and relatives were attending the birthday party, some from out of town, and the rink was closed to the public for the private party. The wounded were taken to hospitals Saturday night with non-life-threatening injuries, but information about them was not being released Sunday.
HEALTH
ATLANTA - Chickenpox vaccine has dramatically cut deaths from the disease, especially in children, says a new government study proclaiming an important public health victory.
Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that chickenpox deaths fell from an average of 105 per year to 14 after the vaccine had been available for a dozen years.
Deaths declined in all age groups, but the drop was most significant among children.
"To see the near elimination of chickenpox deaths in this country is very exciting," said Jane Seward, a CDC official who co-authored the paper. She has been involved in the agency's chickenpox vaccine program for 15 years.
The report was released online Monday by the journal Pediatrics.
FILM
LOS ANGELES - In a battle of summer movie heroes, Captain America topped Harry Potter this weekend at the box office. Paramount Pictures' "Captain America: The First Avenger" opened at No. 1 with $65.8 million, according to Sunday studio estimates. The Marvel Comics superhero adventure sets up next summer's all-star blockbuster "The Avengers."
Warner Bros.' "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2," the eighth and final installment in the boy-wizard franchise, dropped to the second spot. It made just over $48 million in its second weekend for a domestic total of $274.1 million.
Don Harris, head of distribution for Paramount, said "Captain America" exceeded expectations. He figured it would do the same sort of business as "X-Men: First Class," which opened with $55.1 million in June.
"It looked to me, when I saw the marketing on the movie and then saw 'Captain America,' like a throwback movie. It reminded me a little bit of 'Raiders of the Lost Ark.' It had a little bit of a 'Raiders' feel to it, which is one of the best movies of all time," Harris said. "People embrace the look of the character. The character is a little bit like Iron Man - he didn't have a lot of special weapons to himself, he just was a pretty interesting character. Click here for showtimes.
