A tornado that spun across the Oklahoma-Missouri border killed several people as severe storms raked the nation's heart Saturday, taking at least 11 lives, mangling buildings and trapping people in rubble in the storm-weary region. At least six people were killed as the tornado flattened the northeastern Oklahoma town of Picher before the funnel struck about 15 miles away near Seneca, Mo., and killed at least three, authorities said. Other tornadoes were reported near McAlester and Haywood in Pittsburg County and in rural Pushmataha County, both in southeastern Oklahoma. In a state hit by deadly tornadoes in February as well as earlier this month, a home and a business collapsed from a tornado in Arkansas, and there were reports of a few people trapped in buildings. The storms remained active into the evening, with watches and warnings as they swept eastward toward the Plains and South.

Murdoch revokes bid for newspaper

News Corp., the media conglomerate controlled by Rupert Murdoch, has withdrawn its bid to purchase the Long Island daily paper Newsday, a News Corp. spokeswoman said Saturday. The decision to revoke the offer came just days after Murdoch confidently predicted he would clinch a deal to buy the newspaper within a week. News Corp. had offered about $580 million for the paper, one of the country's biggest, but it was competing against rival bids from Cablevision Systems Corp. and New York Daily News owner Mortimer Zuckerman. Cablevision had reportedly made an offer of $650 million for the paper, now owned by the Tribune Co. Spokeswoman Teri Everett of News Corp. didn't immediately elaborate on why the company revoked its earlier offer, but she hinted at the potentially higher price tag, saying, "It became uneconomical for us to continue." A deal would have made News Corp. an even bigger giant in New York media. The company already owns the Wall Street Journal and the New York Post. A spokesman for the Tribune Co. did not immediately return a phone message.

Insanity defense weighed in slaying

An attorney is preparing an insanity defense for a man accused in the slaying of Auburn University freshman Lauren Burk of Marietta. Defense attorney Joel Collins has filed court documents in Auburn, Ala., that describe Courtney Larrell Lockhart as "suffering from some mental disease," saying he "lacks the ability to understand the difference between right and wrong." Lockhart, 23, of the Smiths community has been charged with capital murder in the March 4 death of the 18-year-old freshman. She was found on a roadside about five miles from school. Her car was later found burning in a campus parking lot. District Court Judge Russell Bush has ordered an evaluation of Lockhart by a state psychiatrist or psychologist before setting a trial date. He also issued a gag order covering parties in the case.

Justice critical of lethal injection

Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens said the euthanized Kentucky Derby horse Eight Belles probably died more humanely than death row prisoners do. Stevens' comments Friday night in Chattanooga came a month after he voted with a majority of the Supreme Court to approve the most widely used method of lethal injection, while saying for the first time that he now believes the death penalty is unconstitutional. According to the Chattanooga Times Free Press, Stevens said he checked into the procedure used to kill Eight Belles and was surprised to learn it is against the law in Kentucky to kill animals using one of the drugs in a three-drug lethal injection cocktail that many states, including Kentucky, use to execute prisoners. Stevens spoke to about 850 judges and lawyers at a conference of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Oil prices 'a crisis,' lawmaker says

The public must pressure Republicans in the White House and Congress to change directions in the country's energy policies, which have pushed oil and gas prices to record highs, a Democratic lawmaker said in the party's weekly radio broadcast. Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan said the rising price of oil, fostered by President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney's close ties to the oil industry, is no longer just a burden. "Now it is a crisis for every American family," she said.

Bush addresses nation's mothers

In his weekly radio address, President Bush offered special words for new mothers and women parenting adopted children. He also extended condolences to mothers grieving for sons or daughters killed in war —- and the children of mothers who have died serving the nation. "America appreciates the sacrifices that your families make in the name of duty," he said. "On this Mother's Day weekend, we remember the mothers grieving a son or daughter lost in the service to their country, as well as the children who have lost a mother in uniform."