AP - Salim Hamdan pleaded with a military jury to spare him from a life in prison, apologizing Thursday for the "innocent people" who died in the Sept. 11 attacks and saying he worked as Osama bin Laden's driver only because he needed a job.

AP - Two Iraqi officials say the U.S. and Iraq are close to a deal under which all American combat troops would leave by October 2010 with remaining U.S. forces gone about three years later.

AFP - The UN atomic watchdog's number two was in Tehran on Thursday for a new round of talks on Iran's nuclear drive as Western governments said the time had come for the Security Council to impose fresh sanctions.

AFP - US President George W. Bush raised "deep concerns" about China's detention of dissidents and respect for human rights Thursday, as he prepared to head to Beijing for the Olympic Games.

Reuters - McDonald's Corp said on Thursday it was considering further price increases, but would do nothing that slowed customer traffic into its global network of stores.

Reuters - Falling government revenues amid a slowing economy, coupled with increased federal spending, will result in a U.S. budget deficit this year of around $400 billion, the Congressional Budget Office estimated on Wednesday.

Reuters - A top U.N. nuclear watchdog official arrived in Iran on Thursday for talks on cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency over Tehran's disputed nuclear program, Iran's IRNA news agency reported.

Reuters - A military jury on Wednesday convicted Osama bin Laden's driver of supporting terrorism but acquitted him on more serious charges of conspiring with al Qaeda to wage murderous attacks, in the first U.S. war crimes trial since World War Two.

Reuters - Pakistan's ruling coalition led by the party of slain former prime minister Benazir Bhutto has agreed to begin impeachment proceedings against President Pervez Musharraf.

Reuters - Protesters at the Democratic National Convention in Denver can be restricted to fenced-in areas, federal judge ruled on Wednesday, saying that security needs outweighed curbs on their rights.

Reuters - U.S. Army scientist Dr. Bruce Ivins was the only person responsible for the 2001 U.S. anthrax attacks that killed five people, and authorities will close the case, a federal prosecutor said on Wednesday.

Reuters - Doves flew and confetti rained down as the Olympic torch was carried along the ancient Great Wall on a misty Thursday, the day before the opening of Games that China hopes will demonstrate its modern-day strength.

AP - Brett Favre's journey from retirement and back has finally ended — in New York.

AP - Federal prosecutors have decided not to pursue a criminal case into how Heath Ledger obtained the powerful painkillers that contributed to his overdose death this year, a law enforcement official said Wednesday.

AP - Republican presidential candidate John McCain is taking up the issue of possible job losses due to the closure of a DHL shipping site in Ohio, the result of a corporate merger aided by his campaign manager during his work as a lobbyist.