Reuters - Strong exports and consumer spending supported by government stimulus checks pushed the U.S. economy ahead at a solid 3.3 percent annual rate in the second quarter, much stronger than first thought, but growth is expected to flag as those factors fade.

Reuters - Jamaicans deserted the streets and government offices closed as a strengthening Tropical Storm Gustav took aim at the island on Thursday on a path toward the Gulf of Mexico oil fields as a powerful hurricane.

Reuters - Democrats prepared a grand celebration on Thursday for Barack Obama, who will accept a historic presidential nomination with a speech that spells out his vision for change in America.

AP - Baseball's replay central is an 18-by-24 foot room on the fifth floor of a former baking factory in Manhattan's Meatpacking District that's crammed with so many computers and television screens that it looks like NASA's Mission Control.

AP - An art museum in northern Italy said Thursday it will continue displaying a sculpture portraying a green frog nailed to a cross that has angered Pope Benedict XVI and local officials.

AP - A four-day battle that began with an ambush on a joint U.S-Afghan patrol in southern Afghanistan has killed more than 100 militants, the coalition said Thursday.

AP - Mexico's Supreme Court has voted to uphold legal abortion in the capital.

AP - Looking toward his turn in the spotlight, Republican presidential nominee-in-waiting John McCain sought to siphon attention from Democrat Barack Obama's show in Denver by playing coy about his pick for vice president.

AP - The economy pulled out of a dangerous rough patch in the spring, thanks largely to strong exports, but the rebound isn't expected to last. Economic slowdowns overseas could make exports tail off just as Americans are hunkering down after the bracing impact of rebate checks wanes, plunging the country into another rut later this year.

AP - Tourists and oil workers fled Thursday as Gustav swamped eastern Jamaica on a path to hit the Cayman Islands with winds near hurricane force. Louisiana called a state of emergency and put the National Guard on standby, hoping to avoid the chaos of Hurricane Katrina three years ago.

AP - Barack Obama aims to weave the personal with the political Thursday night as he tells 75,000 supporters in a football stadium — and millions more at home — how as president he would make a difference in their lives.

AFP - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev turned to Asian allies Thursday for support in the Georgia crisis as the Group of Seven condemned Moscow in a standoff that is stoking fears of a new Cold War.

AFP - Barack Obama will Thursday summon Americans to join his crusade for political change, as he claims his place in history in a dazzling finale to the Democratic convention.