CLEVELAND (AP) — The coroner in Cleveland says six badly decomposed bodies found at the home of a convicted rapist were all women who were killed, at least five by strangulation. It's not clear how long the bodies had been there. Police have jailed 50-year-old sex offender Anthony Sowell, who had been sought on new charges of rape and felonious assault.

SYDNEY (AP) — A search is under way about 1,500 miles northwest of the Australian coast for about two dozen people who had been aboard a boat that sank in the Indian Ocean. A merchant ship responding to a distress call was able to rescue 17 people. It's unclear if the boat was carrying asylum seekers.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Coast Guard says the search for nine people missing when a U.S. Coast Guard plane collided with a Marine Corps helicopter over the Pacific Ocean is now a recovery mission. The crash happened Thursday evening off the coast of Southern California during a search for a missing boater. The Marine aircraft was taking part in a training exercise.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Top Obama administration officials say they're willing to work with Afghan President Hamid Karzai despite continuing doubts about his credibility. Citing concerns about fraud, Karzai's rival in a Nov. 7 runoff says he won't participate. Obama adviser David Axelrod says the U.S. will "deal with the government that is there."

LONDON (AP) — United Nations officials say they need $39 billion over the next six years to fight pneumonia, the world's top killer of children. The World Health Organization and UNICEF will release a plan tomorrow that is aimed at saving more than 5 million children from dying of pneumonia by 2015.