AP - Liu Xiang and the entire nation of China looked forward to this moment for years: The defending Olympic champion lining up to run the 110-meter hurdles at the Beijing Games.

AP - When Cedar Hemmings and his small party returned from a Grand Canyon hike to the spot where they had tied their rafts, they found that a flash flood had left them stranded.

AP - • The top U.S. general in Afghanistan issued a rare public warning that militants are planning attacks during the country's Independence Day on Monday. Just hours before the alert went out, a suicide bomber killed nine Afghans near a U.S. base.

AP - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is heading to Europe on Monday to talk with NATO allies about what message the West should send to Russia following its invasion of Georgia.

AP - Russia's president promised to start withdrawing forces from positions in Georgia on Monday, but suggested they could stay in the breakaway region at the heart of the fighting that has reignited Cold War tensions.

AP - Tropical Storm Fay pounded Cuba with torrential rain and wind Monday, prompting authorities to evacuate dozens of low-lying communities, cancel carnival celebrations in a central of province and warn of flooding.

AP - President Pervez Musharraf announced Monday he was resigning to avoid an impeachment battle with Pakistan's ruling coalition that would harm the nation.

AFP - Pakistan's ruling coalition tightened the screw on President Pervez Musharraf Sunday, saying that it had readied impeachment charges against him and was giving him two days to stand down.

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.