AP - Arlan Ettinger will never forget the response he got when he took one of civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks' hats to a meeting at the Apollo Theater in New York.

AP - Wish "Yankee Doodle" a happy 250th birthday. Maybe.

AP - Between surging oil prices, food inflation and a credit crunch that's depressed global growth, leaders from the Group of Eight economic powers face the gravest combination of economic woes in at least a decade when they gather next week.

AP - Hugo Chavez, once a key mediator in securing hostage releases from Colombian rebels, could do little more than phone congratulations to President Alvaro Uribe after this week's bold rescue.

AP - Only two Democratic presidential candidates have carried Montana since 1948. Barack Obama is betting he can do it in November.

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 - The United States on Thursday formally submitted a sanctions resolution in the UN Security Council that would target Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and 11 of his aides.

AFP - Colombian-French politician Ingrid Betancourt was Thursday tearfully reunited with her children for the first time in six years after her dramatic jungle rescue from Marxist rebels.

Reuters - Zambia's information minister told the nation on Thursday President Levy Mwanawasa was in stable condition in hospital, dismissing media reports that he had died.

Reuters - Afghanistan's insurgency can be overcome, not only by military means but by building up the state and getting the economy going, the United Nations envoy to Afghanistan said on Thursday.

Reuters - The United States said on Thursday it expects the U.N. Security Council to vote next week on sanctions against Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and top aides in response to last week's widely condemned election.

Reuters - Ingrid Betancourt, the symbol of rebel hostages in Colombia, hugged and wept with her children for the first time in six years on Thursday after a military rescue that dealt a severe blow to already weakened guerrillas.

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.