AP - The drawdown of Marines from the former Sunni insurgent stronghold of Anbar will take time because there is still much work to be done, a top U.S. commander said Sunday on the eve of the once violent province's transfer to Iraqi security control.

AP - Russia warned the West on Monday against supporting Georgia's leadership and called for an arms embargo against the ex-Soviet republic nation until a different government is in place.

AP - As Hurricane Gustav threatens the Gulf Coast, President Bush is out to show the nation that his government has learned the haunting lessons of Katrina and is ready to act. That includes a rapid response by Bush himself, who will be planted near the danger zone even before the storm hits home.

AP - Oil prices rose Monday in Asia to near $117 a barrel as Hurricane Gustav advanced on Louisana, prompting companies to shut down drilling and refining operations in the Gulf Coast coast region.

AP - Hurricane Gustav charged toward the largely deserted coast of Louisiana early Monday morning, but appeared destined to make landfall to the west of a city still recovering three years after Katrina's devastating blow.

AFP - The organizers of mass marches in which white-clad protesters lit up the streets of Mexico to protest escalating violence were Sunday to hand in their demands to the president.

AFP - More than a million people fled Louisiana as killer Hurricane Gustav on Sunday roared toward New Orleans, a fragile US coastal city still deeply scarred by the devastating 2005 Katrina storm.

Reuters - Five Sudanese men accused of murdering a U.S. aid worker are religious extremists who plotted to attack foreigners at New Year's Eve gatherings, Sudanese prosecutors told a court on Sunday.

Reuters - Russia does not want confrontation with the West but will hit back if attacked, Kremlin leader Dmitry Medvedev said on Sunday, a day before EU leaders meet to draft a response to Moscow's actions in Georgia.

Reuters - Hurricane Gustav disrupted Republican John McCain's convention on Sunday -- President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney opted out of attending and Republicans considered shortening the event.

Reuters - U.S. energy companies shut nearly all offshore oil production and were racing to bring down flood-prone Louisiana refineries on Sunday ahead of Hurricane Gustav's landfall, which could rival the wrath of 2005's Hurricane Katrina.

Reuters - Thousands of people in New Orleans and across the U.S. Gulf Coast fled their homes on Sunday as Hurricane Gustav barreled through the Gulf of Mexico packing a punch potentially as powerful as Hurricane Katrina.

AP - Second-seeded Jelena Jankovic won her sort of split decision, beating No. 21 Caroline Wozniacki 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 Sunday to reach the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open.

AP - Batman's rich alter-ego Bruce Wayne has added half a billion dollars to his riches. "The Dark Knight" on Sunday became the second movie in Hollywood history to top $500 million at the domestic box office, raising its total to $502.4 million, according to estimates from distributor Warner Bros.

AP - Cody Miller was a high school football player who was allergic to ragweed. Douglas Briggs was a doctor coping with pain from an old back injury.