AP - President Bush said Friday that just as the United States helped Europe rebuild after World War II, the two powers must now stand with newborn democracies like Afghanistan and Iraq and reach out to people yearning for liberty, especially in the Middle East.

AP - Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki declared Friday that talks with the U.S. on a new security agreement were deadlocked, as Sunni and Shiite preachers spoke out against the deal that would enable American troops to remain in Iraq after year's end.

AP - A metal clip fell from Discovery's brakes on Friday but NASA said it won't delay the space shuttle's scheduled landing on Saturday.

AP - Democrat Barack Obama said Friday he would apply the Social Security payroll tax to annual incomes above $250,000, which would affect the wealthiest 3 percent of Americans.

AP - The inflation rate shot up in May at the fastest pace in six months, pushed higher by soaring costs for gasoline and other types of energy.

AP - Rising water from the Cedar River forced the evacuation of a downtown hospital Friday after residents of more than 3,000 homes fled for higher ground. A railroad bridge collapsed, and 400 city blocks were under water.

AFP - China and Taiwan signed historic agreements on Friday that from next month will see thousands more people travel every day between the two traditional rivals.

AFP - The US Supreme Court has ruled prisoners at the Guantanamo military base have a right to challenge their detention in US civilian courts, dealing a stiff rebuke to the Bush administration.

Reuters - China and Taiwan signed a landmark deal on Friday to launch regular flights between the long-time rivals as politics was put aside in favor of practicalities in the first such talks in almost a decade.

Reuters - Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Thursday he regretted that a U.S. air strike killed 11 Pakistani soldiers, and invited Pakistani and Afghan officials to help investigate the incident.

Reuters - For many California gays and lesbians, getting married is nothing new. They've done it more than once -- to the same person.

Reuters - Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama on Thursday accused Republican John McCain of mischaracterizing his tax plan and said most Americans would not see taxes go up.

Reuters - The U.S. dollar took centre stage as Group of Eight finance ministers gathered in Japan on Friday to wrestle with surging inflation and its impact on a slowing global economy.

Reuters - Guantanamo Bay prisoners can go before U.S. federal judges to challenge their years-long detention, the Supreme Court ruled on Thursday in a landmark decision that delivered another setback for President George W. Bush's war on terrorism.