PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) - Members of the Rutgers women's basketball team in New Jersey have agreed to meet with Don Imus, to talk about his racially-charged on-air insult.

At a news conference today, the players stopped short of saying whether they thought Imus should be fired. One player says she and her teammates don't know what they'll hear from Imus, or whether they will accept his apology.

Their coach, Vivian Stringer, says the comments from the radio host were "racist and sexist." She describes them as "deplorable, despicable and unconscionable." Stringer urged thenation to see her players not the way Imus described them, but instead as accomplished young women, calling them "the best this nation has to offer."

Rutgers University President Richard McCormick says Imus' words were deeply hurtful to the players and their families.

Imus has been suspended from this show for two weeks for calling the basketball team a group of "nappy-headed hos" last week. On his show today, Imus said he made "a stupid, idiotic mistake."

US-IRAQ

UPDATE: Bush: Time for Congress "to get the job done"

FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) - President Bush has made it clear that hewill not change his position opposing troop withdrawal timetables. And he says it's time for Congress to "get the job done," and approve additional war funding.

Speaking today to an American Legion audience in Fairfax, Virginia, the president confirmed that he's invited Democrats to the White House to discuss the standoff over a war-spending bill. The president says the meeting will allow leaders from both parties to report on progress.

Bush says he expects a bill "without artificial timetables for withdrawal" and one that doesn't restrict military leaders.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says Democrats are ready to talk to Bush, but insists that the president must be willing to "take a seat at the table of negotiation."

GOVERNOR-IRAQ

Ohio gov. urges Bush administration to ensure proper training

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - The governor of Ohio is calling on the Bush administration to ensure proper training and equipment for National Guard troops who may be deployed to Iraq.

Ted Strickland tells National Public Radio that the troops will "pay the price" if there's a failure to adequately plan for their deployment. He says he wants to make sure that soldiers from Ohio are "given every advantage they need to be safe."

National Guard troops in Ohio, Arkansas, Indiana and Oklahoma are preparing to serve as replacement forces in the war. One unit from Columbus is being called up for a second time.

Strickland says his concerns also include the deployment's impact on the families and employers of the soldiers.

IRAQ-VIOLENCE

Bombers kill more than 20

BAGHDAD (AP) - Authorities in Iraq say at least 16 people have died after a female suicide bomber detonated her explosives belt in a crowd of about 200 police recruits northeast of Baghdad.

Police say at least six others died in a bombing near Baghdad University.

Also in the capital U-S and Iraqi army forces have engaged in fierce fighting with gunmen in two Sunni-dominated neighborhoods. An Iraqi soldier was among the six people killed. In addition, 21 people were hurt. An American helicopter came under ground fire but was not shot down.

NUCLEAR-IRAN

Russia, France voice skepticism about Iran's claims

MOSCOW (AP) - There is some skepticism about Iran's announcement that it's ramping-up uranium enrichment.

A spokesman for Russia's foreign ministry says Russia has yet to receive confirmation of "any recent technological breakthroughs" in Iran. The Russian government knows Iran's nuclear program well.
It helped build Iran's only reactor.

France is also casting doubts on Iran's announcement. A spokesman for the foreign ministry says "there are announcements, and then there is technological reality."

Australia has voiced similar doubts about Iran's ability to produce substantial quantities of enriched uranium.

Iran said yesterday that it has begun operating three-thousand centrifuges to begin industrial-scale nuclear fuel production, despite U-N demands not to.

Iranian state media reports that two U-N inspectors have arrived in Iran to visit its uranium enrichment plant.

CONGRESS-STEM CELLS

White House: Bush would veto bill subsidizing stem cell research

WHITE HOUSE (AP) - The White House says President Bush will again veto a bill to subsidize stem cell research using human
embryos.

But the White House did express its support for an alternative bill that permits public funding for studies on embryos incapable of developing into fetuses -- arguing that science and ethics don't
need to be "at odds."

Both bills are moving toward a Senate vote this week with a debate over a budding science that some researchers say could cure diseases that afflict (m) millions of people.

The bill Bush opposes would lift the president's ban on federal funding for any new embryonic stem cell studies.

The one Bush supports would prohibit taxpayer money from being spent on the creation of embryos for research purposes.

WALL STREET

UPDATE: Market is narrowly mixed

NEW YORK (AP) - Stocks have been narrowly mixed as investors refrain from major moves ahead of first-quarter earnings reports that begin with Alcoa's results after the closing bell.

For the quarter, Wall Street expects profit growth for the S-and-P 500 to remain in the single digits.

Oil prices are rising slightly after selling off yesterday. Crude remains below 62 dollars a barrel.

D-R Horton, the nation's largest homebuilder as measured by deliveries, says fiscal second-quarter sales orders fell 37 percent, led by even steeper declines in California and the
Southwest.

OFFICE SHOOTING

Police say suspect in Detroit-area office shooting apparently targeted two

TROY, Mich. (AP) - Police say the man who opened fire yesterday in a Detroit-area office building apparently targeted two of his three victims.

Authorities say Anthony LaCalamita shot three people at an accounting firm yesterday, killing one.

LaCalamita had been fired from his job at the firm last week.

Police say the two surviving victims, both men in management positions, may have been specifically targeted. They say LaCalamita may have also been looking for another man who wasn't at the office
at the time.

Police apprehended LaCalamita after a high-speed chase following the shootings. He's being held on charges of fleeing and eluding police and is scheduled to be arraigned tomorrow.

LOST DATA

Georgia says company reported lost CD holding personal data

ATLANTA (AP) - Georgia health officials say a disk containing information on nearly three (m) million Medicaid and children's health care recipients is missing.

The disk contained names, birth dates, addresses and Social Security numbers. Officials say the records went back four years and included some people who are no longer on the rolls.

The state says the security breach was reported by a private computer services vendor.

State officials have told the company to notify everyone affected and offer free credit reports. Officials also say they've notified state and federal authorities about the missing data.

MAYOR'S PITCH-SANDWICH

Mayor's errant pitch leads to the Screwball sandwich

CINCINNATI (AP) - An errant opening-day pitch by the mayor of Cincinnati has inspired a sandwich. It's called the Mark Mallory Screwball.

Mallory's ceremonial pitch April Second at Great American Ball Park was several feet wide of home plate. That made him the butt of jokes on late-night T-V.

He's taken the ribbing in stride, even appearing on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" last week. Now, he says he's flattered that a restaurant near City Hall is naming a sandwich for him.

Izzy's deli describes the sandwich as "any two meats tossed in the general direction of a bun or two pieces of bread." The Screwball will be served with a potato pancake and pickles for seven dollars and 75 cents.

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

AP-NY-04-10-07 1239EDT