SAN FRANCISCO — The number of immigrants who became American citizens reached an all-time high in 2005, and the percentage of those who did so reached its highest level in a quarter-century, according to a study released Wednesday.

WASHINGTON — President Bush and the Democratic-controlled Congress lurched toward a veto showdown over Iraq on Wednesday, the commander in chief demanding a replenishment of war funding with no strings and Speaker Nancy Pelosi counseling him, “Calm down with the threats.”

MIAMI — More than 100 Haitian migrants reached South Florida on Wednesday after spending at least three weeks at sea in a dilapidated sailboat, officials said. One man died in the crossing, and three people were in critical condition from dehydration.

KUTERI, Sudan — The men with rifles lounged on a carpet in the sand. The five of them had come to the village that morning from the crumble of mountains nearby, and now the afternoon sun was blasting. Some sipped tea.

OCEANSIDE — Five tattooed skulls stretch from Marine Cpl. Jeremy Slaton’s right elbow to his wrist, spelling out the word “Death.” He planned to add a tattoo spelling “Life” on his left arm, but that’s on hold because of a Marine policy taking effect Sunday.

ABOARD THE USS JOHN C. STENNIS — The United States wrapped up a massive military exercise in the Persian Gulf Wednesday, putting on a show of strength for Iran even as the United Arab Emirates became the second Gulf nation to declare it would not take part in any attack on the Islamic Republic.

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Iran’s foreign minister said Wednesday that Britain must admit that its 15 sailors and marines entered Iranian waters in order to resolve a standoff over their capture by the Mideast nation.

PALO ALTO — Paul Joseph Cohen, a leading mathematician who won several of the world’s most prestigious math awards, has died. He was 72.

12:15 p.m. WASHINGTON -- Senate Democrats ignored a veto threat and pushed through a bill Thursday requiring President Bush to start withdrawing troops from ''the civil war in Iraq,'' dealing a rare, sharp rebuke to a wartime commander in chief.

12:15 p.m. LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. -- In Coldwater Creek, a middle-class housing development outside Atlanta, the neighbors mind their own business and respect each other's privacy - ideal conditions, it turns out, for growing marijuana in the suburbs.