National editor's pick of the top news stories in the nation and world at this hour:

Senators dissatisfied with Rice's answers on Benghazi

U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice met with three Senate critics Tuesday to address her previous comments on what caused the attack on the U.N. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, but the three senators said they came away from the meeting even more troubled than before. "Bottom line, I'm more disturbed now than I was before that 16 September explanation," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., in remarks largely echoed by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H. Rice, whose possible nomination

for secretary of state could be derailed by Republican opposition, told the senators that she was wrong on Sept. 16 when she portrayed the attack as an outgrowth of a protest against an anti-Islam video. The Obama administration knew days before that it was a militant attack, though it was unclear whether a protest against the video also occurred.

Thousands of Egyptians protest Morsi's new powers

Thousands of Egyptians crammed into Cairo's Tahrir Square on Tuesday to protest President Mohamed Morsi's seizure of near-absolute powers, and protesters and police hurled stones and tear gas nearby. Several hundred protesters have been camping in the square in protest since Friday, and on Tuesday they waved Egypt's flag and chanted slogans against Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood. Thursday, Morsi declared that he was placing himself above the oversight of anyone, including the courts, until a new constitution is adopted and parliamentary elections are held, which could be mid-2013. "The Brotherhood hijacked the revolution," said Rafat Magdi, an engineer who was among a crowd of around 2,000 marching to Tahrir. "People woke up by his

mistakes, and any new elections they will get no votes."

Arafat's body exhumed to be tested for poison

Yasser Arafat's body was exhumed Tuesday to be tested for any evidence that he was poisoned by Israeli agents eight years ago. Israel has strongly denied that it had anything to do with Arafat's death, but elevated amounts of polonium-210, a deadly radioactive substance, were found on some of Arafat's clothing this summer. Swiss, French and Russian forensics teams will test some 20 samples of Arafat's remains for traces of polonium, though it disintegrates rapidly, making a conclusive finding doubtful. Polonium was used in the 2006 assassination of Alexander Litvinenko, a former KGB agent who turned against the Kremlin. Arafat was exhumed behind the cover of large blue tarps in Ramallah, West Bank, and reburied Tuesday morning under wreaths of flowers.

Congo rebels vow to stay put in Goma

Rebels in eastern Congo defied an ultimatum to withdraw from the captured city of Goma, instead issuing a list of demands that the government would never agree to, including one that all government soldiers in the area disarm. Congo military spokesman Col. Olivier Hamuli called the rebels' defiance "a declaration of war" and said the army will resume combat, though it does not appear to be as powerful

as rebels in the area. The conflict appeared to widen Tuesday as a Hutu rebel group called the FDLR (Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda) crossed into Tutsi-ruled Rwanda and attacked Rwandan army positions. Rwanda and Uganda are widely believed to be backers of Congo's M23 rebels, though they deny it. The M23 is believed to be led by Bosco Ntaganda, a Tutsi former member of the Rwandan army who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity. Another leader of M23, Jean-Marie Runiga, said Tuesday in Goma that the rebels have 1,000 tons of arms and ammunition, including heavy artillery, abandoned by the fleeing Congolese army. The rebels hold the cities of Goma and Sake, while the army is holding at Minova, on the road south to Bukavu. Fighting was reported Tuesday 18 miles north of Goma in Kibumba, near the Rwandan border.

China news site falls for Onion spoof

Fake news stories by The Onion are funny enough, but what's really hilarious is when foreign news agencies mistake them for real. That's what happened to the online version of China's People's Daily, which ran a big report hailing The Onion's naming of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as the "Sexiest Man Alive." "With his devastatingly handsome, round face, his boyish charm, and his strong, sturdy frame, this Pyongyang-bred heartthrob is every woman's dream come true," the Chinese newspaper quoted Onion as saying. The People's Daily included a large spread of photos of the round-faced Korean leader, including one that showed him on horseback squinting into the sun. Two months ago, Iran's Fars news agency was taken in by an Onion report claiming that most rural white Americans would rather vote for Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad than for President Barack Obama.

The Wire, a summary of top national and world news stories from the Associated Press and other wire services, moves weekdays. Contact Karl Kahler at 408-920-5023; follow him at twitter.com/karl_kahler.