AFP - Officials warily eyed the mighty Mississippi Monday swollen by days of flooding as waterlogged Iowan towns began a massive clean-up with damage set to run into the billions of dollars.

AP - More than two weeks after Discovery's blastoff battered the launch pad, NASA is close to nailing down its repair strategy and insists the damage can be mended in time for the next space shuttle flight.

Reuters - Robert Bosch and Samsung SDI have signed a contract to form a hybrid electric vehicle battery joint venture to boost their presence in the next-generation energy business, Samsung said on Monday.

AP - The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission is recommending approval of the $5 billion merger between the nation's two satellite radio broadcasters in exchange for concessions that include turning over 24 channels to noncommercial and minority programming, The Associated Press has learned.

AFP - Flood ravaged Iowans were due to start cleaning up Monday but officials warned it could be two weeks before river levels returned to normal and the damage could run up to billions.

AFP - More rain was headed to flood ravaged Iowa Sunday where tens of thousands of residents had been forced to flee their homes and officials struggled to reinforce breached levies and stem the rushing waters.

Reuters - Political controversy may have slowed the pace of stem cell science, but the field is still promising enough to attract many talented researchers, stem cell experts said on Saturday.

AFP - Group of Eight finance chiefs sent a warning signal to oil speculators this weekend, highlighting the inflation threat to the global economy in an attempt to cool red-hot energy prices, analysts said.

AFP - The US shuttle Discovery touched down in Florida Saturday, capping a successful 14-day mission to deliver and open Japan's first space laboratory at the International Space Station.

AFP - Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd landed in Indonesia's tsunami-hit Aceh on Saturday to see first hand Canberra's billion-dollar effort to help rebuild the province.

AP - Space shuttle Discovery and its crew of seven returned to Earth on Saturday and capped a successful expansion job at the international space station, more spacious and robust thanks to a new billion-dollar science lab.

AP - Democrat Barack Obama told voters Saturday he would push an aggressive economic agenda as president: cutting taxes for the middle class, raising taxes on the wealthy, pouring money into "green energy" and requiring employers to set up retirement saving plans for their workers.