AP - It was only her first day as an "American Idol" judge, but already Kara DioGuardi seemed part of the dysfunctional family.

AP - Six mausoleums for the unclaimed dead of Hurricane Katrina stand on what was vacant land just five weeks ago, as New Orleans — in what could be a testament to its determination — scrambles to complete a memorial by Friday's third anniversary of the storm.

AP - A day after the largest single-workplace immigration raid in U.S. history, Elizabeth Alegria was too scared to send her son to school and worried about when she'd see her husband again.

AP - Alaska Republicans gave U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens, currently facing a federal indictment, a primary victory on Tuesday.

AP - More than 30 Taliban fighters and four policemen were killed in a series of clashes, airstrikes and bombings in Afghanistan, officials said Wednesday.

AP - Tropical Storm Gustav was losing steam early Wednesday as it moved through the Caribbean a day after hitting Haiti as a hurricane.

AP - A U.S. military ship on Wednesday docked at the Georgian port of Batumi to bring humanitarian aid following a devastating war with Russia earlier this month.

AP - Hillary Rodham Clinton closed the book on her 2008 presidential bid with an emphatic plea for the party to unite behind Barack Obama.

AFP - Thousands of Thai protesters stormed a state-run TV station and the seat of government on Tuesday, in what Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej said was an effort to provoke another coup.

AFP - Russia on Tuesday formally recognised the Georgian rebel regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states in a startling new challenge to the West that drew a hail of criticism.

Reuters - A suicide bomber blew himself up in a crowd of police recruits in northern Iraq on Tuesday killing 28 people, in an attack that showed that parts of Iraq have yet to see the security gains felt elsewhere.

Reuters - North Korea said on Tuesday it will stop disabling its nuclear facilities and consider restoring the Yongbyon reactor that can make material for atomic bombs, accusing the United States of violating a disarmament deal.

Reuters - The number of Americans without health insurance dropped modestly in 2007 and the poverty rate remained stable, while median household income rose slightly, the government reported on Tuesday.

Reuters - Russia recognized two rebel regions of Georgia as independent states on Tuesday, escalating tension in the volatile Caucasus and putting Moscow on a collision course with the West.

Reuters - A Sudanese passenger plane was hijacked on Tuesday after leaving war-torn Darfur and has been forced to land in Libya, Arab media and Libyan authorities said.