AFP - The Kremlin on Sunday vowed to start pulling combat troops from Georgia on Monday, but a plan to retain Russian "peacekeepers" in the embattled republic sparked new tension.

Reuters - A string of potential vice presidential candidates were queried on Sunday about the possibility of being picked for the No. 2 spot but all remained mum on their chances.

Reuters - Embattled Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has been a "good ally," U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Sunday, but she refused to say whether he would receive U.S. asylum if he stepped down.

Reuters - U.S. prosecutors have sent letters to six Blackwater security guards involved in a Baghdad shooting last year in a move that could lead to groundbreaking criminal indictments, The Washington Post reported on Sunday.

Reuters - Pentagon chief Robert Gates dismissed as "empty rhetoric" on Sunday Russian warnings that Moscow would target Poland for a possible military strike because Warsaw agreed to host part of a U.S. missile shield.

Reuters - Russia announced it would begin withdrawing forces from Georgia on Monday after a war that dealt a humiliating blow to the Black Sea state and raised fears for energy supplies to Europe.

Reuters - Michael Phelps held his arms aloft on Sunday after surpassing Mark Spitz as the most successful swimmer and Olympian of all time, relief written on his face after he won an unprecedented eighth gold at one Games.

AP - When it comes to Olympic sprints, nobody does it better than the Jamaicans. Yeah, mon.

AP - It took four of Hollywood's biggest stars to take down Batman. The DreamWorks-Paramount comedy "Tropic Thunder" — with Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr., Jack Black and Tom Cruise — debuted at No. 1 with $26 million, bumping "The Dark Knight" to second place after four weekends on top, according to studio estimates Sunday.

AP - As soaring home prices set the stage for America's great housing meltdown, a critical step in making sure those home sales were a fair deal — the real estate appraisal — was undermined from within.

AP - The Afghan police ordered 7,000 officers onto the streets of Kabul to guard against attacks on senior leaders during Independence Day celebrations Monday, responding to signs of the Taliban's growing strength near the capital.

AP - A series of bombings in this small but strategic northwestern Iraqi city is stoking fears of a return to sectarian conflict here and raising questions about a strategy of handing urban security to Iraqi police.

AP - The folks in this picturesque mountain community with red barns and Amish buggies have been voting overwhelmingly Republican in national elections for decades.

AP - He stood, literally, on top of the world: Everest. The highest mountain on earth.

AP - Russia is showing signs of returning to its authoritarian past and its invasion of Georgia will require the U.S. to re-evaluate the strategic relationship between the superpowers, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Sunday.