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• A superstar in his youth, Rooney was Hollywood's top box-office draw in the late 1930s to early 1940s. He epitomized the "show" part of show business, even if the business end sometimes failed him amid money troubles and a seesaw of career tailspins and revivals.
• Pint-sized, precocious, impish, irrepressible -- perhaps hardy is the most-suitable adjective for Rooney, a perennial comeback artist whose early blockbuster success as the vexing but wholesome Andy Hardy and as Judy Garland's musical comrade in arms was bookended 70 years later with roles in "Night at the Museum" and "The Muppets."
• Rooney died Sunday at age 93 surrounded by family at his North Hollywood home, police said. The Los Angeles County Coroner's office said Rooney died a natural death.
• There were no further details immediately available on the cause of death, but Rooney did attend Vanity Fair's Oscar party last month, where he posed for photos with other veteran stars and seemed fine. He was also shooting a movie at the time of his death, "The Strange Case of Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde," with Margaret O'Brien.
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• KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- Afghans and the international community hailed its presidential election as a triumph of democracy over violence Sunday, despite complaints about ballot shortages and sporadic fraud after millions of people braved a Taliban threat to vote for a new president. But some cautioned against declaring a premature defeat of the Islamic militants.
• Securing the vote was a test for Afghan government forces as they prepare to take full responsibility for their own security as the U.S. and allied forces end their combat mission at the end of this year. The consensus was that they largely passed, though there was sporadic violence.
• A roadside bomb hit a pickup truck transporting ballot boxes Sunday in the northern province of Kunduz, killing three people, officials said. But the major attacks that had been feared did not materialize.
• "This in itself is a victory over violence and a victory over all those who wanted to deter democracy by threats and violence," said Thijs Berman, the head of the European Union's election assessment team in Kabul.
• Electoral officials, meanwhile, urged patience, saying officials continued to log

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