AP - Debbie Halcomb unpacked boxes as she moved back into her flood-damaged home, but worried that her damp carpet harbors mold. She enjoys the normally tranquil setting of Winfield, a community about three miles from the Mississippi River. But she's had enough. She's hoping for a government buyout so she can move to higher ground.

AP - For years, mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac tenaciously worked to nurture, and then protect, their financial empires by invoking the political sacred cow of homeownership and fielding an army of lobbyists, power brokers and political contributors.

AP - The world's natural resources are being squandered in the pursuit of "insatiable consumption," Pope Benedict XVI said Thursday in a speech urging followers to care more for the environment and reconnect with the principle of peace.

AP - The White House said President Bush will visit Northern California on Thursday to get a first-hand look at the wildfires that have ravaged hundreds of square miles and strained the state's firefighting resources.

AFP - The United States announced Wednesday a senior US diplomat would attend international nuclear talks with Iran in the highest-ranking meeting between the two foes in three decades.

AFP - Five Lebanese prisoners freed by Israel arrived to a hero's welcome in Lebanon Wednesday, hours after Hezbollah handed over the bodies of two Israeli soldiers seized by its guerrillas two years ago.

Reuters - Canada said on Wednesday it would not press for the return of a young Canadian inmate held at Guantanamo Bay despite the release of video footage that showed him weeping and calling for his mother.

Reuters - Five Lebanese freed from captivity in Israel were flown to a heroes' welcome in Beirut on Wednesday after Hezbollah returned the bodies of two Israeli soldiers seized in a cross-border raid in 2006.

Reuters - The United States is looking to send more troops to Afghanistan soon in the face of rising insurgent violence there, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Wednesday.

Reuters - Iran signaled on Wednesday it did not plan to make major concessions on its nuclear program at talks this week to be attended by world powers including the United States.

AP - Frosty baseball games have long been a fixture at Wrigley Field, where a stiff wind off Lake Michigan can chill fans, players and managers alike.