MADISON, Wis. (AP) – The Democratic-controlled Senate passed a budget Monday that Gov. Jim Doyle hoped would end the nation's longest budget impasse.

But Assembly Republicans vowed to reject the plan, meaning the logjam would continue.

The budget must clear both chambers and be signed by Doyle to become law.

Wisconsin is the only state in the country without a new budget. Current tax and funding levels continue while the Legislature tries to reach a deal.

"Senators, we need to compromise. Wisconsin needs a budget," said Senate Majority Leader Judy Robson, D-Beloit, before pulling out a reference to a Kenny Rogers song. "You just have to know when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em."

Sen. Mike Ellis, R-Neenah, said lawmakers still had a way to go to reach deal that both sides could support.

"This budget is not even close to a compromise," he said.

Obama rejects triangulation politics in reference to rival Clinton's husband

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Barack Obama said Monday the nation has had enough of "triangulation and poll-driven politics," a reference to the presidency of Bill Clinton, the husband of his chief Democratic rival.

Addressing a convention center rally dominated by students, Obama said that he had spoken out against going to war in Iraq in 2002, even as advisers told him it would be a mistake to challenge a popular president, George W. Bush.

Then an Illinois state lawmaker, Obama said he did so because he did not want to "enter the United States Senate already having compromised on core principles."

"We've had enough of … triangulation and poll-driven politics," he said. "That's not what we need right now."

Obama never mentioned Hillary Rodham Clinton by name. His reference to triangulation, however, refers to Bill Clinton's eight years as president when some advisers urged him to make policy decisions by splitting the difference on opposing views. The practice became known as "triangulation."

Warning of vetoes, Bush pushes back on Democratic spending bills

ROGERS, Ark. (AP) – President Bush admonished Congress on Monday for failing to send him a single spending bill yet, and warned lawmakers to trim their plans or face rejection.

"You're fixin' to see what they call a fiscal showdown in Washington," Bush told a friendly audience in this northwest Arkansas community.

"The Congress gets to propose, and if it doesn't meet needs as far as I'm concerned, I get to veto," Bush said. "That's precisely what I intend to do."

The budget year began Oct. 1, and federal agencies are operating on a stopgap bill for now. Congress has not yet agreed on the 12 spending bills that keep the government running.

"Congress needs to be responsible with your money and they need to pass these appropriations bills – one at a time," Bush said, roaming the stage. "And then we can work together to see whether or not they make fiscal sense for the United States."

AOL to cut 2,000 jobs, including 1,200 in U.S., as it transforms into online ad company

NEW YORK (AP) – AOL is eliminating another 2,000 jobs worldwide as it tries to cut costs and make room to grow in online advertising.

The 20 percent slice from AOL's work force comes after several rounds of layoffs in recent years, including a cut of 5,000 jobs last fall. The latest cuts would give AOL more flexibility to expand ad-related businesses through acquisitions and potentially new hires, company officials said.

"This realignment will allow us to increase investment in high-growth areas of the company – as an example, we added hundreds of people this year through acquisitions – while scaling back in areas with less growth potential or those that aren't core to our business," AOL Chief Executive Randy Falco told employees Monday.

AOL believes it is now best at developing Web sites such as its Moviefone and MapQuest properties to attract people in some 30 countries, Falco said. Its goal, he said, is to build "the largest and most sophisticated global advertising network" for marketers to reach that online audience.

AOL, once the leading seller of Internet access subscriptions, has struggled in recent years as Internet users have ditched their AOL accounts for high-speed services offered by cable and telephone companies.

Putin postpones trip to Tehran until Tuesday amid warnings of assassination plot

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) – Russian President Vladimir Putin pledged Monday to negotiate with Iran on behalf of the international community in their nuclear standoff, although he didn't come to Tehran as scheduled amid warnings of a possible assassination plot.

Putin's planned trip, the first here by a Kremlin leader since World War II, raised hopes that personal diplomacy could find a solution to the impasse over the Iranian nuclear program, but he delayed his arrival, which had been set for Monday evening.

The Russian leader insisted to reporters in Germany that he was going ahead with the trip, but the Kremlin declined to discuss details. The official Iranian news agency said late Monday that Putin had only put off his trip by several hours and would be in Tehran early Tuesday in time for a Caspian region summit.

"Putin will arrive in Tehran at the head of a delegation tomorrow morning," the Islamic Republic News Agency said, quoting Iran's presidential press service.

Iran gave no further details, and Kremlin officials wouldn't comment on reasons for the delay or say exactly when Putin would arrive. Officials in Germany, where Putin wrapped up a two-day visit, said they could not say where the Russian leader was.

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