USA

Senior US military commanders favor withdrawing troops from Iraq within 23 months, not the 16 months President Obama has often mentioned, officials said Saturday. Army Gens. Ray Odierno, the top US commander in Iraq, and David Petraeus, the head of the US Central Command, prefer the longest of three options, the other being 19 months.

All but one of 126 ice fishermen stranded 1,000 yards off the shore of Lake Erie were rescued Saturday after an 8-mile-wide ice floe moved out of reach. One person died when he fell into the water while searching for a link to the shoreline. The fishermen used wooden pallets as a bridge over a crack in the ice, but the floe broke loose when the crack expanded.

The procedures used in the Jan. 26 birth of octuplets to a California woman have prompted the state's Medical Board to open an investigation of Nadya Suleman's doctor. The board wants to check for possible violations "of the standard of care." Suleman used the same fertility specialist to give birth 14 times altogether with fertilized embryos.

In trying to free a Navy warship grounded three days on a shoal near Honolulu, fuel, water, and personnel were off-loaded Saturday in anticipation of renewed efforts to free the 9,600-ton USS Port Royal.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told lawmakers that financial institutions that receive government assistance will have to participate in mortgage loan modifications and meet other standards the department sets, according to Democratic sources.

Alex Rodriguez, baseball's highest- paid player, tested positive for steroids in 2003, the year before he joined the New York Yankees, according to a story posted on Sports Illustrated's website Saturday. Rodriguez, who was the American League's MVP in 2003 playing for the Texas Rangers, referred questions to the players' union, but there was no immediate response.

US Airways pilot Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger received a standing ovation Saturday in New York after a cast member of "South Pacific" introduced him to the audience. Sullenberger safely splash-landed Flight 1549 in the Hudson River on Jan. 15.

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