AMERICAS NEWS AT 0500 GMT

TOP STORIES:

VENEZUELA-OPPOSITION

CARACAS, Venezuela — With Venezuela's first-ever opposition primary set to begin, allies and adversaries of President Hugo Chavez are focused on one burning question: Will the winner have what is takes to defeat a shrewd and charismatic leader who thrives during election campaigns? By Christopher Toothaker.

AP Photos.

PRESIDENTIAL RACE

PORTLAND, Maine — Mitt Romney ekes out a narrow win in Maine's Republican caucuses, state party officials announce, providing his campaign for the party's presidential nomination a much-needed boost after three straight losses earlier this week.

AP Photos, video.

VATICAN-ABUSE LAWSUIT

MILWAUKEE — Lawyers for a man who was sexually abused decades ago by a priest at a school for the deaf have withdrawn their lawsuit naming Pope Benedict XVI and other top Vatican officials as defendants, a major victory for the Holy See, which has long insisted the pope bears no liability for the actions of an abusive priest. By Dinesh Ramde.

HAITI-DUVALIER-MARTELLY

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Before President Michel Martelly took office in May 2011, Haiti's top prosecutor had recommended that former strongman Jean-Claude Duvalier face trial for the abuses associated with his 15-year rule. But when the judge released an order last week, it recommended that Duvalier be indicted for only financial crimes, fueling suspicions that officials from his old regime in the Martelly administration had swayed the outcome of the case. By Trenton Daniel.

AP Photos.

BRAZIL-POLICE STRIKE

RIO DE JANEIRO — Few police officers have adhered to a strike just days before this city's world-famous Carnival kicks off, official said Saturday.

AP Photos.

DRUG WAR-GUATEMALA

GUATEMALA CITY — Guatemalan President Otto Perez Molina says he will propose legalizing drugs in Central America in an upcoming meeting with the region's leaders.

SPEED FREAK KILLERS

SAN FRANCISCO — Human remains uncovered in Northern California with the help of a convicted serial killer have been preliminarily identified as one of his victims, and authorities continued to search another site for the remains of as many as 10 people. By Paul Elias.

AP Photo.

ENTERTAINMENT:

OBIT-WHITNEY HOUSTON

LOS ANGELES — Whitney Houston, who ruled as pop music's queen until her majestic voice and regal image were ravaged by drug use, erratic behavior and a tumultuous marriage to singer Bobby Brown, has died. She was 48. By Nekesa Mumbi Moody.

AP Photos, video.

With:

— WHITNEY HOUSTON-APPRECIATION — Whitney Houston's downfall was so long and sad that, in an impatient public's mind, it overshadowed her many accomplishments. By David Bauder. AP Photos.

FEATURES:

NY FASHION WEEK-DAY 3

NEW YORK — Fashion's top brass seems to like the military look for next fall. Three days into the seasonal previews at New York Fashion Week Saturday, sharp-shouldered styles for the urban brigade have emerged as a trend. By Samantha Critchell.

AP Photos.

LIVING LIKE MONKS

PHILADELPHIA — Looking for a wild-and-crazy time at college? Don't sign up for Justin McDaniel's religious studies class. The associate professor's course on monastic life and asceticism gives students at the University of Pennsylvania a firsthand experience of what it's like to be a monk. By Kathy Matheson.

AP Photos.