RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, Jan. 15 (UPI) -- U.S. President George Bush issued a rare public warning of consequences of high oil prices Tuesday while visiting Saudi Arabia.

In his second day in the kingdom, Bush and King Abdullah reportedly discussed several issues, including Palestinian-Israeli violence, Iraq, Lebanon and Iran's nuclear defiance, Voice of America reported.

In a rare move, Bush spoke in front of media about oil prices.

"I talked to the ambassador and will again talk to his majesty tonight about the fact that oil prices are very high, which is tough on our economy, and that I would hope, as OPEC considers different production levels, that they understand that if one of their biggest consumers' economy suffers, it will mean less purchases, less oil and gas sold," Bush said.

The Saudi media was critical of Bush when he arrived Monday for his verbal attack on Iran he made Sunday in Abu Dhabi, with the Saudi Gazette calling it "a display of the fairly muddled thinking behind the current foreign policy of the United States."

Gaza fighting kills 15, injures 20

JERUSALEM, Jan. 15 (UPI) -- At least 15 Palestinian militants and civilians were killed in Israeli attacks Tuesday in Gaza City and an Ecuadorian farm volunteer was killed by a sniper.

Palestinian authorities said the Israeli ground and air attacks wounded at least 20 others, three of them critically, Haaretz reported. There were no reports of Israeli injuries.

The Israeli air and tanks attacks that began Monday night were in response to rocket attacks on Israel and targeted launch sites, the military said.

Among those killed was the 24-year-old son of Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar, the last surviving founder of the Islamist group, Ynetnews.com reported.

Elsewhere, a Palestinian sniper fired on a kibbutz across the border and hit a volunteer from Ecuador tending potatoes in a field, CNN reported. Ambulance workers said the unidentified 20-year-old man from Quito died soon after they arrived.

Hamas' military wing claimed responsibility for the shooting, Ynetnews said.

Rice detours to Iraq from Saudi Arabia

BAGHDAD, Jan. 15 (UPI) -- U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made an unannounced detour Tuesday from Saudi Arabia to Baghdad to meet with Iraqi leaders.

Rice was accompanying U.S. President George Bush on a Middle East tour to bolster the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and made the last-minute decision, White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe told reporters.

"President Bush and Secretary Rice decided this would be a good opportunity for the secretary to go to Baghdad to meet with Iraqi officials to build on political progress made and encourage political reconciliation and legislative action," Johndroe said.

While violence and casualties in Iraq are down somewhat, the Bush administration is reportedly frustrated by the delays in getting the Iraqi legislature to pass legislation to allow former members of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party to work in public service again and receive pensions, The New York Times reported.

Another key piece of legislation languishing in Baghdad is a bill defining oil revenue sharing among Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds, reports said.

Northern U.S. braces for deep freeze

MINNEAPOLIS, Jan. 15 (UPI) -- Northern U.S. Midwest states and New England states were digging out from heavy snowfall Tuesday as a sub-zero cold front bore down on northern Plains states.

Forecasters said temperatures during the day in the northern Plains could plunge by as much as 30 degrees, with gusty winds making it feel much colder, AccuWeather.com reported.

To the south, a storm was developing over the Gulf of Mexico that was expected to move north and send much-needed rain to southeastern states, the report said. As the system moves north into colder air, it was expected to dump another major snowfall on Northeastern states, still digging out from heavy snow on Sunday and Monday.

Monday, Peterboro, N.H., reported 12.5 inches of snow, while Cornish, Maine, reported 12.3 inches.

Monday, the New Hampshire legislature canceled its sessions and in Boston all but essential city staff were ordered to stay home.

A separate system in the northern Midwest dumped 22 inches of new snow on Minnesota's Lutsen Ski Resort, while Tofte, Minn., reported 16.5 inches and Golden Eagle Lodge, Minn., reported 15.5 inches, the report said.

'Weird' Michigan primary under way

DETROIT, Jan. 15 (UPI) -- Polls in Michigan opened Tuesday for a presidential primary in which only one Democrat was listed on the ballot compared with three Republicans.

The state's vote is all but meaningless as both parties penalized the state and its attendance at the national convention for having the primary before Feb. 5, in what the Detroit Free Press called "one of Michigan's weirdest and wildest presidential primary seasons."

For the Democrats, only Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., opted to have her name on the ballot while her two main opponents, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., and former Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., chose to stay away in a show of solidarity with the national party. Their supporters have an option of voting "Uncommitted."

Three Republicans campaigned in the state Monday: former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, Sen. John McCain of Arizona and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.

All three visited the North American International Auto Show Monday and Romney spoke at the Detroit Economic Club where he pledged a five-fold increase in federal research on automotive technologies, the Detroit News said.