Reuters - President George W. Bush lifted a White House ban on offshore drilling on Monday to try to drive down soaring energy prices, a largely symbolic move unlikely to have any short-term impact on high gasoline costs.

Reuters - Buyers flocked to Freddie Mac's $3 billion debt sale on Monday, just hours after the U.S. government pledged support for the nation's top mortgage finance agencies, but the steps failed to stem growing alarm on Wall Street.

AP - Cliff Lee of the Cleveland Indians and Milwaukee ace Ben Sheets were picked as the starting pitchers for Tuesday night's All-Star game at Yankee Stadium.

AP - Whoopi Goldberg is going back to Broadway. Goldberg, a co-host on the ABC's "The View," announced on the air Monday that she will appear in the Tony-nominated roller-skating musical "Xanadu" as one of the show's evil sisters, Caliope.

AP - Tropical Storm Bertha raked Bermuda with high winds on Monday while kicking up choppy surf along the East Coast of the United States.

AP - Stocks declined Monday as investors worried that even a safety net set up over the weekend for mortgage financiers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac couldn't head off further troubles in the financial markets.

AP - Barack Obama's campaign says a satirical New Yorker magazine cover showing the Democratic presidential candidate dressed as a Muslim and his wife as a terrorist is "tasteless and offensive."

AP - Putting pressure on congressional Democrats to back more exploration for oil, President Bush on Monday lifted an executive ban on offshore drilling that his stood since his father was president.

AP - The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court filed genocide charges Monday against Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, accusing him of masterminding attempts to wipe out African tribes in Darfur with a campaign of murder, rape and deportation.

AP - The Federal Reserve has adopted rules to give home buyers more protection from the types of shady lending practices that have contributed to the housing crisis and propelled foreclosures to record highs.

AP - The maker of the King of Beers has agreed to go to work for the Belgian brewer InBev SA.

AFP - Pope Benedict XVI was resting in Australia Monday as hundreds of thousands of Catholic pilgrims converged on Sydney for World Youth Day celebrations.

AFP - Nine US soldiers and several militants were killed after rebels stormed a remote outpost in Afghanistan in one of the deadliest attacks on international forces in years, officials said Monday.