GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — A beleaguered Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas declared a state of emergency and disbanded the Hamas-led unity government after the Islamic militant group vanquished its Fatah rivals and effectively took control of the Gaza Strip today.

Fearful that Hamas' momentum could spread to the West Bank, Fatah went on the offensive there, rounding up three dozen Hamas fighters. Angry Fatah militants threw office furniture out a third-story window of the Palestinian parliament building in the West Bank city of Ramallah, then set fire to the office of three Hamas lawmakers.

It was a day of major victories for Hamas and its backers in Iran and Syria — and of devastating setbacks for the Western-backed Fatah. In one particularly humiliating scene, masked Hamas fighters marched agents of the once-feared Preventive Security Service out of their headquarters, arms raised in the air, stripped to the waist and ducking at the sound of a gunshot.

The violence has killed at least 90 people in the past five days, including 32 today alone. Witnesses, Fatah officials and a doctor reported executions by Hamas militants of defeated Fatah fighters today; Fatah said seven of its men were shot in the head gangland-style. Hamas denied any such killings.

Abbas, of Fatah, fired the Hamas prime minister and said he would install a new government, replacing the Hamas-Fatah coalition formed just three months ago. Abbas' decrees won't reverse the Hamas takeover of Gaza. Instead, his moves will enable Fatah to consolidate its control over the West Bank, likely paving the way for two separate Palestinian governments.

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Bush tries to save immigration bill by agreeing to accelerate funding for border security

WASHINGTON — President Bush called for $4.4 billion in accelerated funding for "securing our borders and enforcing our laws at the work site" today, as his administration and key senators struggled to revive controversial immigration legislation.

"We're going to show the American people that the promises in this bill will be kept," Bush said, two days after launching a personal rescue mission.

The measure's most controversial feature envisions eventual citizenship for many of the estimated 12 million immigrants now in the country unlawfully. At the same time, it calls for greater border security and a crackdown on the hiring of illegal employees.

Bush made his remarks a few blocks from the Capitol, where the bill's supporters said they were closing in on a tentative agreement that could clear the way for the measure's revival within two weeks.

Under the plan, Republicans and Democrats would each be accorded several chances to amend the measure, with the understanding that they would then combine to provide the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster by die-hard opponents.

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Ruth Graham, wife of the world's most renowned evangelist, Billy Graham, dies at age 87

MONTREAT, N.C. — Ruth Graham, who surrendered dreams of missionary work in Tibet to marry a suitor who became the world's most renowned evangelist, died today. She was 87. Graham died at 5:05 p.m. at her home at Little Piney Cove, surrounded by her husband and all five of their children, said a statement released by Larry Ross, Billy Graham's spokesman.

"Ruth was my life partner, and we were called by God as a team," Billy Graham said in a statement. "No one else could have borne the load that she carried. She was a vital and integral part of our ministry, and my work through the years would have been impossible without her encouragement and support.

"I am so grateful to the Lord that He gave me Ruth, and especially for these last few years we've had in the mountains together. We've rekindled the romance of our youth, and my love for her continued to grow deeper every day. I will miss her terribly, and look forward even more to the day I can join her in Heaven."

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Libby preparing for prison after judge rejects delay in CIA leak case

WASHINGTON — I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby began making prison arrangements today after a federal judge refused to delay the former White House aide's 2›-year sentence in the CIA leak case.

Despite the promise of an emergency appeal, the former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney met with probation officials to arrange for his surrender sometime in the next few weeks.

U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton was never persuaded that Libby deserved to have his sentence delayed. The judge cited the "overwhelming" evidence that Libby lied to investigators and obstructed Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald's inquiry into the 2003 leak of a CIA operative's identity.

"Unless the Court of Appeals overturns my ruling, he will have to report," Walton said as Libby sat stoically and his wife wiped tears from her eyes.

Libby, the highest-ranking White House official to be sent to prison since the Iran-Contra affair, will soon receive a federal inmate number and a notice from the Bureau of Prisons telling him where and when to show up.

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Protests, sporadic attacks on Sunni mosques mark day after Shiite shrine bombing

BAGHDAD — A handful of Sunni mosques were attacked or burned today, but curfews and increased troop levels kept Iraq in relative calm a day after suspected al-Qaida bombers toppled the towering minarets of a prized Shiite shrine.

Wednesday's attack on the Askariya shrine in Samarra, which was blamed on Sunni extremists, stoked fears of a surge in violence between Muslim sects. A bombing at the same mosque complex in February 2006 that destroyed the shrine's famed golden dome unleashed a bloodbath of reprisals.

The U.S. military said Iraqi forces had arrested the Emergency Service Unit commander and 12 policemen responsible for security at the shrine at the time of the explosions.

"We must condemn the bad actions of terrorists, and the sons of all tribes must come together and forgive each other," the military quoted Brig. Gen. Duraid Ali Ahmed Mohammad Azzawi, deputy commander for the National Police in Samarra, as saying.

Increased U.S. and Iraqi military patrols crisscrossed the streets of the capital, and additional checkpoints were set up along roads leading to Sadr City, witnesses said. Hundreds marched peacefully through the streets of that teeming neighborhood, a stronghold of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia. Demonstrations also took place in Kut, Diwaniyah, Najaf and Basra — all predominantly Shiite cities in the south.

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Lawmakers disclose a variety of earnings, assets — books, TV spot, Irish cottage

WASHINGTON — The political fortunes of new congressional leaders Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid soared last year, and financial disclosure forms revealed today they're also doing well in personal money matters.

New House Speaker Pelosi, through her investor husband, holds stocks and property worth well into the millions. Senate Majority Leader Reid, a gold miner's son, reported property around his hometown of Searchlight, Nev., as well as investments valued at several million dollars.

They are hardly the richest members of Congress. Sen. Edward Kennedy D-Mass., reported four Kennedy family trust funds worth $20 million to $100 million.

Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., heir to his family's oil fortune, has three blind trusts worth more than $80 million.

Sen. Herbert Kohl, D-Wis., listed numerous investments, including stock in the Milwaukee Bucks valued at more than $50 million, the highest category on the forms. Kohl owns the professional basketball team, which Forbes magazine valued at $260 million this year.

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Kelly Clarkson cancels summer tour due to slow ticket sales amid turmoil over new album

NEW YORK — Just two days after parting ways with her manager, Kelly Clarkson has canceled her upcoming summer tour over disappointing ticket sales, yet another sign of turmoil as she prepares to release her third album, "My December."

In a statement on her Web site, Clarkson said: "In the craziness of the music business, performing is what I look forward to doing the most, so it really is disappointing for me to have to tell you that I won't be coming out to tour this summer. The fact is that touring is just too much too soon.

"But I promise you that we're going to get back out there as soon as is humanly possible to give you a show that will be even better," she added.

In a statement released by her new representative, Paul Freundlich, it acknowledged the sales for the arena tour have been slow. The tour will be on hold and the size of it will be re-evaluated, the statement said.

"The day when she will play in sold-out arenas is, no doubt, coming, but for now her fans should look forward to seeing her in a more intimate concert environment," Gregg Perloff, CEO of concert promoter Another Planet Entertainment, said in the statement. "Kelly deserves a tremendous amount of praise for her courage in not only being a part of, but in supporting, this difficult decision."

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Stocks rally again after core wholesale inflation shows slight rise

NEW YORK — Wall Street surged again today, launching the Dow Jones industrial average to its best two-day advance since last July after data showed that wholesale inflation, excluding energy and food costs, is rising at a gentle pace.

The market was unfazed by the Labor Department's headline producer price index, which rose 0.9 percent in May due to surging gasoline prices — a bigger increase than in April and higher than economists predicted. Investors instead were pleased that the core PPI, which strips out often-volatile food and energy costs, posted a small 0.2 percent rise, as expected, after a flat reading in April.

If core inflation is under control, the Federal Reserve is unlikely to lift interest rates, a possibility that started dogging the market last week, when the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note passed 5 percent for the first time since last summer.

The 10-year yield edged up today to 5.23 percent from 5.21 percent late Wednesday, but stayed well below the peak of 5.295 percent reached Tuesday. The market's initial dismay over rising bond yields and the diminishing chance of a rate cut seems to have abated; with Treasury yields appearing stable, the market is more at ease with the idea that the Fed probably won't lower rates this year, said Jay Suskind, head trader at Ryan Beck & Co.

"Now perhaps the glass is being seen as half-full," Suskind said. "If the reason for higher interest rates is growth, well, at the end of the day, that's what grows corporate earnings."

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A-Rod drives in 2 more runs to help red-hot Yankees win 9th straight, 7-1 over Diamondbacks

NEW YORK — Joe Torre found his new lucky spot in the dugout, then watched Alex Rodriguez, Andy Pettitte and the rest of the team go to work. Yep, things are falling into place nicely for the New York Yankees. Rodriguez drove in two more runs, Pettitte breezed for eight innings and the Yankees won their ninth straight game, beating the Arizona Diamondbacks 7-1 today.

"It's fun right now to come to the ballpark and do this," Pettitte said.

Playing with a fresh bounce in their step, the Yankees finished off another sweep — they brushed aside Pittsburgh last weekend — and extended their longest winning streak since a 10-game run in 2005. Next up, the New York Mets visit for the Subway Series.

Torre certainly enjoyed the view, standing in front of the steps that lead up to the field, rather than taking his usual seat on the padded blue bench. Before the game, the manager indicated it was a bit of superstition to help his team score runs.

"I have a system," Torre said. "I'll let you in on it sometime down the road. It's not very complicated."