This is AP News Minute.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu kicked off his charged visit to Washington with a speech to the Pro-Israel Lobby AIPAC. The centerpiece of Netanyahu's trip is an address to Congress on Tuesday which has (spurred) controversy because it was not coordinated with the White House.
Iraqi security forces, with the help of Iranian fighters, have launched a large scale (military) operation to recapture Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit from the Islamic State group. If successful, it would be a major step in the campaign to reclaim territory (controlled) by the militants.
For the second time in less than a week, a natural gas explosion has rocked a house on the New Jersey shore. A Point Pleasant Beach man has been (hospitalized) with burns over half his body.
And the longest-serving woman in Congress announced she's calling it quits after this term. Maryland Senator Barbara Mikulski said Monday she'd rather spend the next 2 years "raising hell instead of raising money," and she won't seek (re-election) in 2016.
Kelly Daschle, The Associated Press with AP News Minute.