Los Angeles police under scrutiny in Jackson death (AP)
3 Jul 2009

AP - The investigation of Michael Jackson's death is widening as questions intensify about the drugs he took, the doctors who provided them and the actions of police.

Jackson ex-wife shows interest in custody of kids (AP)
3 Jul 2009

AP - The future of Michael Jackson's children was thrown into question Thursday when his ex-wife emerged and won a delay in a custody hearing while she decides whether she wants to raise her two offspring.

NKorea fires missiles; launch toward US feared (AP)
3 Jul 2009

AP - North Korea fired a barrage of short-range missiles off its east coast in a possible prelude to the launch of a long-range missile toward Hawaii over the U.S. Independence Day holiday.

Marines suffer first casualties in Afghan campaign (AP)
3 Jul 2009

AP - U.S. Marines suffered their first casualties of a massive new military campaign Thursday as they engaged in sporadic gunbattles along 55 miles of Taliban-controlled heartland in southern Afghanistan. One Marine was killed and several others were injured or wounded on the first full day of the assault, the largest military operation in Afghanistan since the fall of Taliban government in 2001.

Obama to tell Putin: Time to move past Cold War (AP)
3 Jul 2009

AP - Days from his first Moscow summit, President Barack Obama declared Thursday that former Russian President Vladimir Putin "still has a lot of sway" in his nation and needs an in-person reminder the Cold War is over.

Donovan issues ultimatum to Galaxy over Beckham (AFP)
3 Jul 2009

AFP - Landon Donovan has issued the Los Angeles Galaxy an ultimatum -- have English superstar David Beckham clean up his act or risk the departure of Donovan, the club's all-time top active scorer.

Feds seize Madoff penthouse, wife leaves (AP)
3 Jul 2009

AP - Federal marshals seized disgraced financier Bernard Madoff's $7 million Manhattan penthouse on Thursday and forced his wife to move out and leave her possessions behind, including a fur coat she had asked to take with her, an official told The Associated Press.

FBI notes: Saddam Hussein sought familiar refuge (AP)
3 Jul 2009

AP - After the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Saddam Hussein stayed in Baghdad until he saw "the city was about to fall." Months later, he was caught hiding at the same farm where he had fled in 1959 after taking part in an attempt to kill the country's prime minister.

Clashes in Honduras as OAS chief warns of challenge (AFP)
3 Jul 2009

AFP - The army has clashed with demonstrators supporting ousted President Manuel Zelaya in Honduras, as the head of the Organization of American States warned of the challenge to reinstate him.

Neverland just a shell without Jackson (AP)
3 Jul 2009

AP - The gates to Michael Jackson's fabled Neverland Ranch swung open Thursday to reveal a shell of the fantasyland the boy-man had created in his heyday.

South Carolina governor did not misuse state funds: official (Reuters)
3 Jul 2009
Reuters - South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford, who faces growing calls to quit over his affair with an Argentine woman, did not misuse public funds in trips he made to see his mistress, the state's top police official said on Thursday.

Did hacker threaten Sanford and lover over affair? (McClatchy Newspapers)
3 Jul 2009

McClatchy Newspapers - RIO DE JANEIRO — A television anchor who's the only journalist known to have spoken with South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford's Argentine lover since news of their affair broke last week said the couple received an e-mail threat from the person who hacked into her Hotmail account.

Video shows vigorous Jackson before death (AFP)
3 Jul 2009

AFP - A video released Thursday showed Michael Jackson vigorously practicing a song-and-dance routine days before his death, supporting accounts he had been in good health.

Who makes bank at the White House (The Yahoo! Newsroom)
2 Jul 2009

The Yahoo! Newsroom - In the spirit of transparency, the Obama Administration posted on its White House blog a detailed list of who makes what at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Comoros crash survivor welcomed back home in Paris (AP)
2 Jul 2009

AP - A severely bruised young girl believed to be the only survivor of an Indian Ocean plane crash flew back Thursday to Paris, where she was embraced gently by her father, who tried to lift her spirits with a joke.

Baaad news? Global warming now shrinking sheep (AP)
2 Jul 2009

AP - Like the wool sweater that emerges from the dryer a size too small, global warming seems to be shrinking sheep.

UK comedy actress Mollie Sugden dies at 86 (Reuters)
2 Jul 2009
Reuters - British actress Mollie Sugden, best-known for her role as Mrs Slocombe in the television comedy series "Are You Being Served?," has died at the age of 86.

Sarah Palin: An "unholy amalgam"? (The Yahoo! Newsroom)
2 Jul 2009

The Yahoo! Newsroom - The latest issue of Vanity Fair isn't even on newsstands yet and it's already making headlines for a not-so-politely titled article, "It Came from Wasilla," about Gov. Sarah Palin.

Will Obama violate the spirit of the Fourth? (The Christian Science Monitor)
2 Jul 2009
The Christian Science Monitor - Soon after taking up his White House tasks, the idealistic Barack Obama of the 2008 campaign got mugged by the reality of being America's commander in chief.