Facing long odds in California, Cruz courts state's Republicans

BURLINGAME, Calif. (Reuters) - U.S. presidential candidate Ted Cruz made a plea to the California Republican Party on Saturday to line up behind him in the state's June primary in his uphill battle to stop front-runner Donald Trump from grabbing the nomination.

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Obama takes final bow at star-studded Washington dinner

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - With seven performances under his belt, U.S. President Barack Obama will try one last time to bring the house down at the annual White House correspondents' dinner on Saturday, a night of playful ribbing of both politicians and the news media.

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Five killed in Texas floods as severe weather lashes central U.S.

AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - A grandmother and four of her grandchildren were killed in floods in Texas caused by a storm system that unleashed tornadoes, damaging hail and torrential rains on several central U.S. states, officials said on Saturday.

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Air strikes pound Syrian city of Aleppo, death toll climbs

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Nearly 30 air strikes hit rebel-held areas of Syria's northern city of Aleppo on Saturday and the total number of people killed by the warring sides after nine straight days of bombardment reached nearly 250, a monitoring group said.

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Russia defends intercept of U.S. reconnaissance plane over Baltic

MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Russian Defence Ministry said on Saturday it had sent a fighter plane on Friday to intercept a U.S. aircraft approaching its border over the Baltic Sea because the American plane had turned off its transponder, which is needed for identification.

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Bomb in Baghdad suburb kills at least 17: police sources

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A suicide bomber driving a car killed at least 17 people and wounded more than 40 others on Saturday in an attack near a group of Shi'ite Muslim pilgrims in a southeastern suburb of Baghdad, Iraqi police sources said.

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Iran's moderates make modest gains in run-off election: Iranian media

DUBAI (Reuters) - Moderate candidates allied to President Hassan Rouhani came out strongest in a second round of parliamentary elections in Iran, unofficial results showed on Saturday, but they appeared unlikely to win an overall majority.

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