Nation briefs

WASHINGTON: Obama freezes bonuses

President Barack Obama Tuesday froze any cash bonuses or similar discretionary pay boosts for political appointees, calling it a prudent example of cost-cutting at a time when many families are just trying to get by financially. The move is expected to affect at least 2,900 people on the federal payroll and save about $1.9 million a year. Obama has also suggested a salary freeze for senior political appointees throughout the government, but that move would take the approval of Congress.

TEXAS: Quintuplets born

A Houston woman has given birth to quintuplets with the help of 23 doctors in two operating rooms. Veronica Mayorga-Real, 30, delivered the three girls and two boys by Caesarean section Saturday at Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston. Aaron, Priscilla, Matilde, Joel and Isaac weighed between 2 pounds 14 ounces and nearly 4 pounds. Mayorga-Real and her husband, Enrique Mayorga, were using fertility drugs.

GEORGIA: Message to freedom

Police say an Atlanta woman tied to her bed by an armed burglar was freed by police after she used her toes to type a message to her boyfriend. Atlanta police Capt. Van Hobbs says the woman's boyfriend called 911 Tuesday morning to say she told him she'd been bound since midnight. Hobbs says a laptop was on her bed with her and she was able to use her toes to type and contact her boyfriend. Hobbs says the intruder stole the victim's car.

NEW YORK: Stabbed girls recovering

The parents of two girls who were stabbed in their home across the street from Martha Stewart's Westchester County estate say they're in good condition. Maeve Kelly, 7, and Annabel Kelly, 9, were repeatedly slashed Saturday night while their parents were at a nearby concert in Katonah. An aunt was baby-sitting the girls and has been charged with assault.