In appealing the ruling, the administration recommitted itself to a position Obama took during his re-election campaign that younger teens shouldn't have unabated access to emergency contraceptives, despite the insistence by physicians groups and much of his Democratic base that the pill should be readily available.

A day earlier, the Food and Drug Administration lowered the age that people can buy the Plan B One-Step morning-after pill without a prescription to 15 younger than the current limit of 17 and decided that the pill could be sold on drugstore shelves near the condoms, instead of locked behind pharmacy counters.

That decision appeared to fly in the face of a judge's decision last month that women of any age should be allowed to buy both Plan B and its cheaper generic competition as easily as they can buy aspirin. U.S. District Judge Edward Korman of New York gave the FDA 30 days to comply, and the Monday deadline was approaching fast, prompting the administration on Wednesday to ask the court to put the ruling on hold while it reconsiders.

With the appeal, the Obama administration is making clear that it's willing to ease access to emergency contraception only a certain amount not nearly as broadly as doctors' groups and contraception advocates have urged. Still, the FDA decision moving the pill from behind the counter to drugstore shelves reflected a societal shift in the long battle over women's reproductive rights, marking a major milestone for those who believe all forms of birth control should be easy to buy.

Reluctant to get drawn in to a messy second-term spat over social issues, White House officials insisted Wednesday that both the FDA and the Justice Department were acting independently of the White House in deciding how to proceed. But the decision to appeal was certain to irk abortion-rights advocates who say they can't understand why a Democratic president is siding with social conservatives in favor of limiting women's reproductive choices.

"We are deeply disappointed that just days after President Obama proclaimed his commitment to women's reproductive rights, his administration has decided once again to deprive women of their right to obtain emergency contraception without unjustified and burdensome restrictions," said Nancy Northup, president of the Center for Reproductive Rights, which filed the lawsuit that prompted Korman's ruling.

Current and former White House aides said Obama's approach to the issue has been heavily influenced by his experience as the father of two school-age daughters. Obama and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius have also questioned whether there's enough data available to show the morning-after pill is safe and appropriate for younger girls, even though physicians groups insist that it is.

In Wednesday's filing, the Justice Department said Korman exceeded his authority and that his decision should be suspended while that appeal is under way, meaning only Plan B One-Step would appear on drugstore shelves until the case is finally settled. If Korman's order isn't suspended during the appeals process, the result would be "substantial market confusion, harming FDA's and the public's interest" as drugstores receive conflicting orders about who's allowed to buy what, the Justice Department concluded.

Rather than take matters into his own hands, the Justice Department argued to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that Korman should have ordered the FDA to reconsider its options for regulating emergency contraception. The court cannot overturn the rules and processes that federal agencies must follow "by instead mandating a particular substantive outcome," the appeal states.

The FDA actually had been poised to lift all age limits and let Plan B sell over the counter in late 2011, when Kathleen Sebelius overruled her own scientists. Sebelius said some girls as young as 11 were physically capable of bearing children but shouldn't be able to buy the pregnancy-preventing pill on their own.

Sebelius' move was unprecedented, and Korman had blasted it as election-year politics meaning he was overruling not just a government agency but a Cabinet secretary.

More than a year later, neither side in the contraception debate was happy with the FDA's surprise twist, which many perceived as an attempt to find a palatable middle ground between imposing an age limit of 17 and imposing no limit at all.

Any over-the-counter access marks a long-awaited change, but it's not enough, said Dr. Cora Breuner of the American Academy of Pediatrics, which supports nonprescription sale of the morning-after pill for all ages.

"We still have the major issue, which is our teen pregnancy rate is still too high," Breuner said.

Even though few young girls likely would use Plan B, which costs about $50 for a single pill, "we know that it is safe for those under 15," she said.

Most 17- to 19-year-olds are sexually active, and 30 percent of 15- and 16-year-olds have had sex, according to a study published last month by the journal Pediatrics. Sex is much rarer among younger teens. Likewise, older teens have a higher pregnancy rate, but that study also counted more than 110,000 pregnancies among 15- and 16-year-olds in 2008 alone.

Contraception advocates see a double standard. No one is carded when buying a condom, but under the FDA's decision they would have to prove their age when buying a pill to prevent pregnancy if that condom breaks.

"This isn't a compromise. This is wrong," said Cynthia Pearson of the National Women's Health Network.

Social conservatives were outraged by the FDA's move to lower the age limits for Plan B as well as the possibility that Korman's ruling might take effect and lift age restrictions altogether.

"This decision undermines the right of parents to make important health decisions for their young daughters," said Anna Higgins of the Family Research Council.

Obama aides bristled at the suggestion that the FDA decision was an attempt at political compromise, insisting the FDA merely responded to an application filed by Plan B's manufacturer. At the same time, however, White House spokesman Jay Carney said Obama's concern had been about girls younger than 15 having access, suggesting an age limit of 15 might be acceptable.

If a woman already is pregnant, the morning-after pill has no effect. It prevents ovulation or fertilization of an egg. According to the medical definition, pregnancy doesn't begin until a fertilized egg implants itself into the wall of the uterus. Still, some critics say Plan B is the equivalent of an abortion pill because it may also be able to prevent a fertilized egg from attaching to the uterus, a contention that many scientists and Korman, in his ruling said has been discredited.

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Associated Press writer Pete Yost contributed to this report.

The singer, 57, is to undergo surgery, and is expected to make a full recovery but will require a "lengthy" rehabilitation period, the statement said.

"Over the last few weeks I haven't felt good and I didn't know what was going on," Jones said in a statement. "We just found out that I have a stage-one tumor on my bile duct. Luckily we caught it really early and fast and the doctors say it's operable and curable!"

Bile ducts carry bile produced by the liver from the gallbladder into the small intestine to aid with digestion.

Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings are best known for the 2007 song "100 Days, 100 Nights" and 2010's "I Learned the Hard Way."

The group's fifth album, "Give the People What They Want," was scheduled to be released on August 6. A new release date has not been announced.

The band is credited with reviving interest in soul music over the past decade and preceding such acts as the late British soul singer Amy Winehouse.

Without Jones, the brassy Dap-Kings have also provided backing music to such artists as Winehouse and British rockers The Heavy and Muse.

(Reporting by Eric Kelsey; Editing by Piya Sinha-Roy and Mohammad Zargham)

Brian Cookson had previously backed McQuaid's re-election bid, but said Tuesday he changed his mind after being offered strong support by a number of federations, riders and team managers. That included two of the most vocal supporters of the fight against doping, former Lance Armstrong teammate Jonathan Vaughters and reformed doping cheat David Millar.

Cookson, who described himself as a ''peacemaker rather than a street fighter,'' added that McQuaid's inability to improve the UCI's image convinced him to join the race.

''In January there were still a lot of issues that we needed to be clear about, I hoped that we could get into a situation where relations and the image of the UCI was improving, but that has not happened,'' he said.

Jaimie Fuller, chief executive of sportswear manufacturer Skins, a cycling sponsor also involved in the Change Cycling Now group that has been campaigning for a shake-up in the sport's management, welcomed Cookson's decision.

''He's got a terrific track record,'' Fuller said. ''With transparency and integrity, he has done an amazing job'' at British Cycling.

McQuaid and Cookson are the only declared candidates so far for the September election.

''The passion I and many others have for cycling cannot hide the fact that our international body, the UCI, remains hugely distracted, continuing to flounder in waves of damaging historical controversies,'' Cookson added in a statement. ''For far too many people, our sport is associated with doping, with decisions that are made behind closed doors and with ceaseless conflicts with important members of the cycling family and other key stakeholders. This situation is deeply damaging for our sport, and it has severely compromised the UCI's ability to develop and communicate some of the good work that is happening across the world.''

McQuaid, who has led the UCI for eight years, is seeking a third four-year term despite criticism of his leadership in the Lance Armstrong doping case. Cycling has been battered by doping scandals over the last 15 years and its image was badly tarnished last year when the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency established that Lance Armstrong used systematic doping on his way to his seven consecutive Tour de France victories.

McQuaid and his predecessor Hein Verbruggen have been accused of ignoring the doping culture and accepting money from Armstrong in exchange for turning a blind eye to his team's doping practices. Both denied any wrongdoing.

However, McQuaid is praised for the introduction of the biological passport, which monitors an athlete's blood profile over time to look for signs of cheating.

The 61-year-old Cookson promised to carry out a fully independent investigation into the allegations of corruption. Earlier this year, the UCI disbanded its own independent commission to investigate any alleged involvement of the cycling governing body in the Armstrong case.

''I'm not accusing anyone of corruption, let's be clear about that,'' Cookson said. ''The allegations need to be thoroughly and independently investigated. If I'm elected I'll make sure that happens quickly and effectively,'' he said. ''I hope there is not corruption and I hope there was not any collusion or covering up of things that should not have been covered up. But if we do find something, we'll need to deal with it properly.''

Cycling has also been hit by several doping cases this season, most recently when high-profile Italian riders Mauro Santambrogio and Danilo Di Luca tested positive for EPO in connection with the Giro d'Italia.

While the UCI's relationship with World Anti-Doping agency has deteriorated over the past few years, Cookson said he will build new bridges with the organization if he wins.

''Cycling is not the only sport with problems but if we don't have a sport that parents can send their children to with absolute confidence, then we are failing,'' Cookson said. ''If elected I will devote myself to rebuilding relations with WADA and establishing with them a completely independent body to deal with anti-doping in cycling so that no one can doubt that it is being tackled without fear or favor. I will also seek their full co-operation in the independent investigation into the UCI's past.''

Cookson has been a member of the UCI management committee since 2009. He has led the British federation for 17 years and been promoted by British media as a suitable candidate to restore cycling's image. Cookson is enjoying the full support of his federation, while McQuaid's bid has been endorsed by the Swiss federation after Cycling Ireland withdrew its backing.

''We need to work for the good of cycling globally, and not protect vested interests, wherever they may lie,'' he said. ''The best way we can achieve this is to be much more open on how we operate and make decisions. In essence, my manifesto will outline how I would build trust in the UCI, and what our vision should be, for the future.''

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AP Sports Writer John Leicester contributed to this report in Paris

MONTREAL (Reuters) - Fernando Alonso, desperate to get his Formula One championship bid back on track, signaled his intentions to start with this weekend's Canadian Grand Prix by setting the fastest lap in practice on Friday.

The Spaniard posted the day's fastest overall time when he lapped the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in one minute 14.818 seconds during the 90-minute afternoon session.

Briton Lewis Hamilton, a three-time winner at the Montreal street circuit, was second fastest overall in his Mercedes, just 0.012 behind Alonso's Ferrari.

Frenchman Romain Grosjean was third quickest for Lotus, while his Finnish teammate Kimi Raikkonen, currently second in the championship standings, was 11th.

Australia's Mark Webber was fourth for Red Bull while his teammate, triple world champion Sebastian Vettel, could only manage seventh best and was expecting a close race.

"It felt pretty good. It's always difficult to know what other people are doing, but all in all it was a good run," Vettel told reporters.

"Mercedes was very quick, Ferrari looked very competitive in both long and short runs, so I think those will be the main two rivals.

"But never forget the Lotus. They can be a surprise in the race by going further than everyone else."

Britain's Paul Di Resta was the surprise leader for Force India after the morning session, which began in light rain with puddles of water still on the track.

But he tumbled down the timesheets to 13th place in the afternoon session, when he had an electrical problem and all the cars went much quicker after the track had dried and they switched to softer tires.

Despite two wins and a second-place finish from the previous six races this season, Alonso has slipped back to third place in the standings, 29 points behind Vettel after finishing seventh at the most recent race in Monaco.

The Spaniard has made no secret of the fact he believes he needs to finish in front of Germany's Vettel this weekend to start eating into his lead.

"We can expect a very complicated weekend, because the weather is due to remain changeable right up to Sunday and judging the grip level will be difficult, both in qualifying and in the race," said Alonso.

"It was an untypical Friday, affected by the extremely changeable weather. We didn't manage to complete our program because the track was wet in the morning and so only tomorrow will we find out if the updates we tested here produce a real performance evolution."

Hamilton said he was happy enough by his car's performance but said his chances of winning would be better if the rain stayed away.

"The car felt pretty good today and I tried a couple of different things over the two sessions which made me feel a little more comfortable so that's positive," he said.

"Hopefully it will be dry for qualifying tomorrow and we can have a strong day."

There were no major incidents in either session although Venezuela's Pastor Maldonado hit a wall in the morning when the track was slippery and wet, breaking the front wing of his Williams.

The drivers will have a third practice session on Saturday morning before official qualifying gets underway later that day.

Jenson Button, a winner in Canada two years ago, was second fastest in the morning then ninth in the afternoon after his McLaren experienced gearbox problems.

"We needed the car to be reliable and it wasn't today," said the Englishman. "But there is a lot info to look at on both cars and they were running very different set-ups and downforce levels, so at least we got some information."

(Editing by Frank Pingue)

Human rights groups and Indonesian religious organizations were appalled by Thursday's award, saying President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has done too little to suppress a rising tide of violence against minority faiths.

Rabbi Arthur Schneier with the Appeal of Conscience Foundation implicitly noted the controversy, saying, "You fully understand that the work is not complete. This is just a step in the right direction."

Yudhoyono, who did not mention religious rights, accepted the award in the name of all of Indonesia, saying "statesmanship can be collective." He said he hoped for "a harmonious society founded in peace and prosperity."

The foundation has handed out its "world statesman" award for decades, without controversy, to leaders such as British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.

Kissinger handed the award to Yudhoyono. President Barack Obama sent him a letter praising his award, as did East Timor's former president, Jose Ramos-Horta, who guided the country to independence from Indonesian rule in 1999.

But Usman Hamid, a noted activist with the Indonesian human rights group Kontras, questioned the foundation's credibility in giving the award to the Indonesian president, who he said "is still far from protecting minorities from intolerance."

Indonesia is a secular country. The majority of its 210 million Muslims are Sunni, and most practice a moderate form of the faith. But the country's religious affairs minister, Suryadharma Ali, called for the Ahmadiyah to be banned in 2011 and proposed last year that Shia Muslims convert to Sunni Islam.

A researcher with Human Rights Watch, Andreas Harsono, said Yudhoyono's administration has basically laid down the legal infrastructure that discriminates among religious minorities. "He makes them second-class citizens," Harsono said.

Human Rights Watch has reported a steady increase in brutal attacks over the past few years due to the Indonesian government's failure to confront harassment of Christians, Shia Muslims and the Ahmadiyah, an Islamic sect. The group cited reports from the Jakarta-based nonprofit Setara Institute, which recorded 264 religious attacks last year, up from 244 the previous year and 216 in 2010.

A senior U.S. State Department official, Dan Baer, last week expressed concern over such attacks and ineffective Indonesian government responses, saying it threatens to tarnish the nation's reputation for religious tolerance. He also referred to a "disturbing trend" in forcible closures of churches including 50 in 2012 alone and of Ahmadiyah mosques.

Human Right Watch's Asia advocacy director, John Sifton, said the problem is Yudhoyono's "religious affairs minister and his home minister are pretty conservative Sunni Muslim politicians who were brought into the government as a political compromise."

Sifton added, "The problem is the attitude where a Sunni extremist group professes extremist interpretations and advocates persecution and hostility toward a religious minority. A lot of politicians don't have the spine or guts to stand up to them."

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Associated Press writers Margie Mason and Niniek Karmini in Jakarta contributed to this report.

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Chinese censors have rejected a cut of "World War Z," Paramount's film about the zombie apocalypse starring Brad Pitt, an executive familiar with upcoming releases in China told TheWrap. A Paramount executive said that the studio had not yet heard back from China's censorship office, and was unaware of any rejection.

The decision is potentially significant as the inability to screen in China would limit one of the year's most expensive movies, reportedly $200 million, from having access to the world's second biggest market. A release in China could contribute tens of millions of dollars in grosses to the film's bottom line.

"It definitely got rejected the first time" it was submitted, said the executive, who is close to China's decision-making structure, which is run by the state. "It has not been cleared." He said the decision came down a week ago.

The Paramount executive countered: "We have submitted one version and have yet to receive a response."

Paramount is angling for a precious release slot in a quota-driven system in China. It may yet be approved; Paramount can still resubmit the film, which opens in the United States on June 21, and hope censors change their minds.

China is "always moving the goal posts," the executive said. Several other films are still waiting to see whether they gain approval, as China often rewards a release date after a movie even opens.

"Fast and Furious 6," a already a hit at home and overseas, will not open in China until July 26, at which point it should be thoroughly pirated in that country.

As TheWrap previously reported, Paramount already changed "World War Z" as a preemptive move to increase the movie's chances of being approved. In the scene, officials debated whether a global outbreak originated in China. Paramount removed the line "China is dark," but the line was played during a Super Bowl advertising spot, which China knew about.

Other hurdles to Chinese approval of the film include a sensitivity to Pitt, who is remembered for having starred in "Seven Years in Tibet," which highlighted Tibet's struggle for autonomy in the wake of Chinese invasion and capture of that nation.

The film also features zombies, which are subject to censor scrutiny in a country that does not like depictions of magic, horror or superstition.

The film has drawn an incredible amount of attention ever since Paramount postponed its release, hired Damon Lindelof to rewrite the end and reshot parts of the movie. Paramount executives are now very optimistic about the film, but there's no question that being deprived a release in China would hurt the box office potential of a $200M+ production.

China's value as a market was underlined for Paramount over the weekend, when the studio's "Star Trek Into Darkness" wrapped its first week of release there with more than $25 million.

Among the movies that have been cleared include Warner Bros.' "Man of Steel" and "Pacific Rim," Sony's "After Earth" and "White House Down" and Universal's "Fast and Furious 6."

One shooter, who then fled to Santa Monica College, was shot and killed by police. Authorities have also taken another suspect into custody.

The rampage started at 2036 Yorkshire Ave. in the eastern portion of Santa Monica, where fire officials responded to a call at 11:52 a.m. PT. A house was on fire when firefighters arrived. The first responders also noticed "shots fired," said Chief Scott Ferguson during a news conference.

Inside they found multiple victims, two of whom were dead.

Two officials said Friday night that the killings began as a domestic violence incident and the victims in the home were the gunman's father and brother, .

From that point, police received reports of a carjacking and random shootings as the suspect or suspects moved westward down Pico Boulevard, a busy artery that connects Santa Monica to Los Angeles. One victim was shot near Pico and Cloverfield, two near Pico and 19th and yet another near 19th and Pearl, an intersection near the campus of Santa Monica College.

At that point, campus police exchanged gunfire with a single shooter, who was dressed in black and carrying what's believed to have been an AR-15, semiautomatic rifle, police said.

The suspect ran onto the school's campus, where he shot a woman who later died, before fleeing into the library.

Several witnesses said they saw a broad-shouldered man, approximately 6 feet tall, walking casually inside the building with the rifle at his side.

"I'm a huge gun advocate; I've been around guns all my life, I knew exactly what was happening," Brett Holzhauer, a 19-year-old student, told Yahoo News at the scene. "I ran to my stuff, packed it up as fast as I could and dove into a study room."

Police followed the suspect inside the building, where they fired upon and ultimately killed him. No police officers were injured.

that Santa Monica Police Sgt. Richard Lewis said, "At this time, we believe it is a single gunman and that part of it has been resolved"

Holzhauer said he hid in the study room for 35 minutes, until police arrived and evacuated the building.

"I saw hundreds of rounds of ammunition in the lobby of the library," Holzhauer said. "I saw shattered glass. I saw blood all down the stairs of the main entrance to the lobby, and as I was walking out I saw a dead body."

Ava Rezai, 20, hid inside a room in library after hearing shots. "I was just praying, just hoping that I could go home," Rezai told Yahoo News.

Three women were taken to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. According to Dr. Marshall Morgan, chief of emergency medicine, one died, another was in surgery and a third was in serious condition. Three other women went to UCLA Medical Center in Santa Monica with minor injuries.

The rampage played out on a morning when President Obama was across town for a fundraiser.

Police officials described the gunman as a white male, 25 to 30 years old and wearing a bulletproof vest.

They took another person of interest into custody, according to Santa Monica Police spokeswoman Jacqueline Seabrooks at the news conference. ABC News later reported that person was questioned and released.

Police were adamant that this was not a "campus shooting" but rather a series of shootings that ended up at a school. They have not determined the motive for the shootings, but Seabrooks said the incident on Yorkshire "appears not to be [random]."

It's been a tough week for supporters of immigration reform.

On Friday, a few Republican senators expressed their reservations about the sweeping overhaul of the nation's immigration laws on the first day it was brought to debate on the Senate floor. Just the day before, nearly the entire House Republican caucus voted to strip the temporary legal status the Obama administration has offered young unauthorized immigrants since last year, which sent a strong message that the legalization portion of immigration reform could face an uphill battle in the chamber.

On a mostly party-line vote of 224-201, the House voted for an amendment Thursday introduced by immigration hawk Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, to reverse President Barack Obama's policy of not deporting young immigrants known as "dreamers" who were brought to the country as children, attend or have graduated high school, and have committed no crime. The amendment, which is now attached to a Department of Homeland Security spending bill, isn't likely to pass the Democratic-controlled Senate or make it past President Barack Obama's desk.

But the vote cast doubts on reform proponents' gamble that Republicans, faced with a bruising 2012 election loss spurred on by a poor showing with Hispanic voters, will line up behind immigration reform to broaden their party's appeal despite some objections among the GOP base.

DALLAS (Reuters) - Breast cancer charity Susan G. Komen for the Cure, which suffered a publicity backlash last year after it sought to cut funding to Planned Parenthood, said on Tuesday it was canceling fundraising walks next year in seven cities where money goals have not been met.

The organization, which says it is the largest non-government funder of breast cancer research, said it was cutting three-day walks for 2014 in Phoenix, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Tampa Bay, San Francisco and Washington. The event will continue in seven other places.

"The difficult decision to exit these markets was not made lightly, as we know this bold and empowering event has touched the lives of thousands of participants like you," the Dallas-based group said in a message on its Facebook page.

A Komen spokeswoman said in an email that participation in the three-day walks declined by 37 percent in the past four years, without specifying whether that was the number of participants or dollars raised. The group decided to remove the cities from next year's schedule that have not been meeting fundraising goals, the spokeswoman said.

It was unclear what the group's fundraising targets were for the walks. Each participant is required to raise a minimum of $2,300 and walks about 60 miles over the three days.

The charity sparked an outcry last year when it said it would cut funding to Planned Parenthood, a provider of birth control, abortion and other women's health services.

Komen, which supports Planned Parenthood's efforts to provide access to breast-cancer screening, reversed that decision within days and said it would restore the funding.

After the controversy, several of the group's leaders stepped down, and the group's founder, Nancy Brinker, stepped down as CEO, though she continued to hold a management role.

Brinker founded the organization in 1982, two years after her sister, Susan G. Komen, died of breast cancer.

Komen's signature event is the Race for the Cure, which includes 5 kilometers and marathon races as well as the walks. The group says the events involve more than 1.7 million participants each year.

Komen will continue to hold walks in Atlanta, Dallas/Fort Worth, Michigan, Philadelphia, San Diego, Seattle and Minneapolis-St. Paul.

(Editing by Edith Honan and Cynthia Osterman)