Obama's pulpit is bully, but GOP keeps charging

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Running for re-election, President Barack Obama is employing powers not available to his Republican challengers. Just this week he's holding town halls in three states, arriving in grand style on Air Force One and granting coveted interviews to local TV news anchors.

He doesn't have the field entirely to himself and his poll numbers are sagging a bit as he feuds with Republicans over spending and deficit cutting. With Congress in recess, dozens of GOP lawmakers are holding their own events to tell constituents why they believe they have a better plan for cutting spending and revamping social programs.

Magic's Howard wins 3rd straight defensive award

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- Dwight Howard has another piece of hardware for his personal trophy case.

The Orlando Magic center became the first player to win the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award three straight seasons Monday - and the voting wasn't close.

Howard received 585 points, including 114 first-place votes, from a panel of 120 sports writers and broadcasters. Boston's Kevin Garnett finished second with 77 points and Dallas' Tyson Chandler was third with 70.

The Profits of Health Insurance Plans

Health insurance plans can look like an added fixed cost that you can not really want. However, health insurance can be helpful for a list of causes. You can seek through health insurance plans to get the better one for you, whether it is something that only covers the some and far-between doctor's visits you might want throughout the year, or disability coverage that takes into account any serious health issues that you might have. Health insurance, if it is the correct plan, can assist as a hugely good separate of maintaining you healthy.

Nationals prospect, 18, dies of meningitis in DR

NIGUA, Dominican Republic (AP) -- Washington Nationals prospect Yewri Guillen was laid to rest Saturday while the team tried to figure out how the 18-year-old shortstop contracted the bacterial meningitis that killed him.

Guillen was buried in a Nigua cemetery near the small home he shared with his father and two sisters. The Lerners, owners of the Nationals, said they would pay for the funeral and Nationals players donated money to help Guillen's family.

"I lost my hope," Carlos Noel Guillen, the prospect's father, told The Associated Press. "Even though I have two daughters, Yewri was everything to this family."