AP - John McCain calls himself an underdog. That may be an understatement. The GOP presidential candidate trails Democrat Barack Obama in polls, organization and money while trying to succeed a deeply unpopular fellow Republican in a year that favors Democrats. McCain also doesn't seem to have a coherent message let alone much of a strategy despite securing the nomination three months earlier than Obama.
AP - Dying of cancer, Thomas Amschwand did everything he was told to make sure his wife would collect on the life insurance policy he had through his employer.
AP - Now that they're allies, Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton will help each other raise money in a series of fundraisers in New York next week.
AP - Cool, damp weather early Saturday helped crews gain ground on the huge wildfire that wiped out this coastal retreat's holiday tourist trade, allowing some personnel and gear to be shifted to a growing blaze farther south
AFP - Thousands of activists and farmers from around the world gathered in northern Japan Saturday for a major protest ahead of next week's summit of the Group of Eight rich nations.
AFP - Freed Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt faced a day of medical tests in Paris Saturday after receiving a hero's welcome following her six-year hostage ordeal, as video footage was released of her dramatic rescue.
Reuters - U.S. defending champion Joey Chestnut
won the annual Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest on Friday
by downing 64 hot dogs in a competition that stretched into a
first-ever overtime.
Reuters - South Korean police said they expect
about 35,000 to gather on Saturday for a protest against a U.S.
beef import deal and the polices of the new president, whose
government has faced a crisis due to the weeks of street
rallies.
Reuters - Democrat Barack Obama mixed
presidential politics with parades and barbecue on U.S.
Independence Day on Friday, celebrating his daughter's birthday
with a picnic and fireworks in Montana.
Reuters - Exhausted California firefighters
worked on Friday to contain two wildfires threatening homes
along the coast before sundown, when shifting winds were
expected to give the blazes more power.
Reuters - Iran said on Saturday its nuclear stance
had not changed and it was ready to hold talks with world major
powers over its disputed nuclear program based on international
regulations.
Reuters - Jesse Helms, a die-hard
anti-communist firebrand who championed a wide range of
conservative causes in his 30 years in the U.S. Senate, died
early on Friday, aged 86, his foundation said.
Reuters - Colombia showed a video on Friday
of the rescue of Ingrid Betancourt and 14 other hostages where
their anger turned to ecstasy as theater-trained military
agents duped and overpowered leftist rebels.
AP - The call girl involved in a scandal that brought down New York's former governor has dropped a lawsuit claiming "Girls Gone Wild" founder Joe Francis exploited her image and name on the Internet.
