AP - They're not traditional family heirlooms, but Larry Birkhead's is not a traditional family.

AP - Thunderstorms sparked as many as 75 wildfires in a wilderness area in far Northern California on Saturday as officials farther south got close to containing a blaze that destroyed several homes and forced thousands to evacuate.

AP - The decisive battle of the Iraq war is shaping up — not in the streets of Baghdad but in the halls of government where the future of America's role across the region is on the line.

AP - Same-sex couples across California exchanged vows and wedding bands on the first weekend since the state began allowing gays and lesbians to legally marry.

AP - A rescue ship battling huge waves and strong winds on Sunday reached a passenger ferry that capsized in Typhoon Fengshen, but found none of the more than 700 people who were on board. The storm has submerged entire communities in the Philippines and left at least 80 people dead.

AP - Amid the battle to hold back the swollen Mississippi River, some towns in northeastern Missouri and Illinois got an unwelcome surprise Saturday as river levels rose higher than projected.

AP - Scott Kalitta died Saturday when his Funny Car burst into flames and crashed at the end of the track during the final round of qualifying for the Lucas Oil NHRA SuperNationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park.

AP - Is everything spinning out of control? Midwestern levees are bursting. Polar bears are adrift. Gas prices are skyrocketing. Home values are abysmal. Air fares, college tuition and health care border on unaffordable. Wars without end rage in Iraq, Afghanistan and against terrorism.

AP - The U.S. energy secretary said Saturday that insufficient oil production, not financial speculation, was driving soaring crude prices.

AP - With communities in the Midwest still under water, Democrat Barack Obama on Saturday criticized Republican John McCain for opposing federal spending on flood prevention programs and opened a new debate in the White House race.

AFP - Hand-picked spectators cheered runners as the Olympic torch relay passed through Tibet's capital Lhasa on Saturday, just three months after deadly riots against China's rule here.

AFP - A South African mediation team was in Zimbabwe on Saturday as part of efforts to resolve the country's political crisis amid mounting violence ahead of next week's presidential run-off election.

Reuters - Angola's veteran leader has added his weight to appeals to Zimbabwe's government to end the political violence and intimidation that is threatening the legitimacy of its June 27 presidential run-off election.

Reuters - Iran is pressing on with uranium enrichment "non-stop," its envoy to the U.N. nuclear agency was quoted as saying on Saturday, despite a world powers' offer of economic incentives to coax Tehran into halting such activities.

Reuters - The crest of the swollen Mississippi River moved relentlessly downstream on Saturday as volunteers manned sandbagged levees, nursed hopes and coped with the costs of the worst U.S. Midwest flooding in 15 years.