Reuters - The U.S. ambassador to Israel played down speculation on Thursday that an attack by either country on Iranian nuclear sites was imminent, saying the allies agreed sanctions should run their course.

Reuters - Britain has received new U.S. assurances that the CIA did not secretly smuggle terrorist suspects through its territory, but critics said on Thursday the government had failed to ask Washington the right questions.

Reuters - U.S. employers cut workers for a sixth straight month in June for the longest such streak since 2002 and vast service sector unexpectedly contracted, underscoring the economy's frailty.

AP - Venus and Serena Williams won in straight sets Thursday to set up their third all-sister Wimbledon final and seventh Grand Slam championship matchup.

AP - Christie Brinkley testified at her divorce trial Thursday that the day she learned her husband was having an affair with a teenager was the day her world was "completely shattered."

AP - John McCain toured Mexico's holiest Roman Catholic site and received a blessing from its monsignor Thursday, the final day of a three-day Latin America tour.

AP - Some 200 opposition supporters crowded outside the U.S. Embassy in Zimbabwe on Thursday, appealing for protection amid new reports of violence aimed at dissenters against the heavy-handed rule of President Robert Mugabe.

AP - Oil prices briefly soared to a new high near $146 a barrel Thursday, extending the previous day's record-shattering rally before easing somewhat as the dollar gained ground against the euro.

AP - Federal prosecutors have filed kidnapping charges that carry the death penalty against a Vermont man whose 12-year-old niece was found dead near his home.

AP - Employers cut payrolls by 62,000 in June, the sixth straight month of nationwide job losses, underscoring the economy's fragile state. The unemployment rate held steady at 5.5 percent.

AP - Former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt embraced her children for the first time in six years Thursday, saying the thought of them helped her stay alive until a daring rescue plucked her and 14 other hostages from the jungle.

AP - The Pentagon has extended the tour of 2,200 Marines in Afghanistan, after insisting for months the unit would come home on time.

AFP - Soldiers have been taken off the streets of Mongolia's capital following riots that left five people dead, the country's justice minister said on Thursday, as the electoral committee announced victory for the former communists.

AFP - French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt, three US nationals and 11 other hostages were rescued from Marxist FARC rebels Wednesday, freed after years in captivity by a daring Colombian military operation.