NEW YORK (AP) - The massacre of 32 people at Virginia Tech by a
mentally disturbed student gunman was chosen the top story of 2007
by U.S. editors and news directors in The Associated Press' annual
vote.

The rampage, which prompted colleges nationwide to reassess
their emergency response systems, received 82 first-place votes out
of 271 ballots cast for the top 10 stories.

The mortgage crisis, which roiled the U.S. housing market, was
the No. 2 story, and the war in Iraq placed third.

Here are 2007's top 10 stories, as voted by AP members:

1. VIRGINIA TECH KILLINGS: Seung-Hui Cho, 23, who had avoided
court-ordered mental health treatment despite a history of
psychiatric problems, killed two fellow students in a dormitory on
April 16, detoured to mail a hate-filled video of himself to NBC
News, then shot dead 30 students and professors in a classroom
building before killing himself. It was the worst mass shooting in
U.S. history.

2. MORTGAGE CRISIS: A record-setting wave of mortgage
foreclosures, coupled with a steep slump in the housing market,
buffeted financial markets, caused multibillion-dollar losses at
major banks and investment firms.

3. IRAQ WAR: The ``surge'' that sent more U.S. troops to Iraq
was credited with helping reduce the overall level of violence. But
thousands of Iraqis and hundreds of U.S. personnel were killed
nonetheless during the year, and Iraqi political leaders struggled
to make meaningful progress toward national reconciliation.

4. OIL PRICES: Oil prices soared to record highs, at one point
reaching nearly $100 a barrel. The high prices, which burdened
motorists and owners of oil-heated homes, nudged Congress to pass
an energy bill that ordered an increase in motor vehicles' fuel
efficiency.

5. CHINESE EXPORTS: An array of Chinese exports were recalled,
ranging from toys with lead paint to defective tires to tainted
toothpaste and food.

6. GLOBAL WARMING: Warnings about the consequences of global
warming gained intensity with new reports from scientific panels
and a Nobel Prize to Al Gore for his environmental crusading that
included the film ``An Inconvenient Truth.'' Across the U.S., many
state governments sought to cap emissions blamed for global
warming.

7. BRIDGE COLLAPSE: An Interstate 35 bridge over the Mississippi
River in Minneapolis collapsed during the evening rush hour on Aug.
1, killing 13 people and injuring about 100. The disaster fueled
concern about possible structural flaws in other bridges
nationwide.

8. PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN: In a yearlong drama with shifting
subplots, large fields in both major parties battled for support
ahead of the caucuses and primaries that will decide the 2008
presidential nominees. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama led among
the Democrats; some polls showed five Republicans with double-digit
support.

9. IMMIGRATION DEBATE: A compromise immigration plan, backed by
President Bush and Democratic leaders, collapsed in Congress due to
Republican opposition. The plan would have enabled millions of
illegal immigrants to move toward citizenship, while also
bolstering border security. The issues remained alive in the
presidential campaign.

10. IRAN'S NUCLEAR PROGRAM: Worried that the ultimate goal is a
nuclear arsenal, the United States and other countries pressed Iran
to halt uranium enrichment. Iran said it never had a weapons
program. A U.S. intelligence report concluded there was such an
effort, but it stopped in 2003.

Among stories about pop culture celebrities, the saga
surrounding the death of Anna Nicole Smith got the most votes,
finishing in 32nd place ahead of such stories as the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the departure of Tony Blair as British prime minister, and the military crackdown in Myanmar.

Mike Bailey, the managing editor of The Courier News in Elgin,
Ill., said, ``Anyone who picks the Anna Nicole Smith story in the
Top Ten should be beaten with sticks.''