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From The Associated Press

Judge vacates order siding with Asarco
HELENA, Mont— A federal bankruptcy judge has changed his mind on a ruling in a tax-refund case involving mining and smelting company Asarco LLC and its corporate parent Grupo Mexico.

Judge Richard Schmidt originally signed an order awarding a $40.5 million tax refund to Asarco LLC, saying it was in the best interest of the company’s debtors to reject a tax sharing agreement with its parent company.

Then he vacated the order.

Doug McAllister, Asarco LLC executive vice president, said he believes the first ruling was issued in error. Both parties will now have time to further litigate the matter, he said.

Asarco, based in Tucson, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2005. It operates the Mission mine near Sahuarita, the Silver Bell mine west of Marana, the Ray mine near Kearny and the Hayden smelter 30 miles north of Oracle.

Tornado-stricken town, president mourn
ENTERPRISE, Ala. — In a sorrowful South, President Bush saw disheartening devastation Saturday from killer tornadoes and wandered through the shattered school where eight students died.

“Out of devastation can come hope and a better tomorrow,” he said after talking to teenagers grieving for their classmates at Enterprise High School.

He climbed over piles of concrete, roofing, insulation, broken glass and textbooks. Be strong and set an example for the other 1,200 students, he told four youngsters, all holding hands, as they spoke with him.

Down hallway three, lined by blue lockers, the president went in private, the corridor where the eight students succumbed and scores more were trapped in Thursday’s storm. The president also saw the school wing, now just rubble, where students had hunkered down—and survived—as the tornado approached.

“Today I have walked through devastation that is hard to describe,” he said, standing with students, one of whom had a tear running down her face. “A hundred kids got out of here alive, which is a miracle.”

Romney first choice in conservative straw poll
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Mitt Romney won the most support for the Republican presidential nomination in a straw poll of Republican activists attending an annual conference.

Despite his record of inconsistency on some social issues, the former Massachusetts governor got 21 percent of the 1,705 votes cast by paid registrants to the three-day Conservative Political Action Conference. They were asked who their first choice would be for the Republican nomination.

Rudy Giuliani, the former New York City mayor whose moderate stances on social issues irks the party's right wing, was second with 17 percent.

Both were among the more than half-dozen White House hopefuls who spoke at the conference.

Sen. John McCain of Arizona, who rounds out the top tier of serious Republican contenders, skipped the event—and was punished for it. He got only 12 percent of the vote.

Ahead of him were Romney, Giuliani and two others. Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas, a favorite of religious conservatives, got 15 percent, while former House Speaker Newt Gingrich of Georgia, who says he won't decide whether to run until the fall, got 14 percent.

Iraqi leader sees shakeup in 2 weeks
BAGHDAD, Iraq— Iraq’s prime minister said Saturday he will reshuffle his Cabinet within two weeks and pursue criminal charges against political figures linked to extremists as a sign of his government’s resolve to restore stability during the U.S.-led security crackdown in Baghdad.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki also told The Associated Press during an interview at his Green Zone office that Iraq will work hard to ensure the success of a regional security conference.

The conference in Baghdad, tentatively set for next weekend, is expected to bring together all of Iraq’s neighbors, including Iran and Syria, as well as the United States and Britain to find ways to ease this country’s security crisis.

Iran has not announced whether it will attend, but Iraqi officials believe that Tehran will send a representative.

Iranian president, Saudi king meet
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia—Following their first official talks in the kingdom, the Iranian and Saudi leaders agreed Saturday that the spread of sectarian strife is the biggest danger threatening Muslims and pledged to strive to fight such divisive attempts.

The two leaders also stressed the importance of Palestinian unity and the need to implement the security plan of the Iraqi government and safeguard Iraq's independence and unity, according to the official Saudi Press Agency.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad left Riyadh late Saturday following talks with King Abdullah.