AP - A pair of one-night polls gave Barack Obama a clear edge over John McCain in their first presidential debate.

AP - A rare hurricane watch was posted for part of the Maine coast on Saturday as Tropical Storm Kyle roared north toward the region with a threat of conditions similar to one of New England's nor'easter storms.

AP - Automakers gained $25 billion in taxpayer-subsidized loans and oil companies won elimination of a long-standing ban on drilling off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts as the Senate passed a sprawling spending bill Saturday.

AP - Paul Newman, the Oscar-winning superstar who personified cool as the anti-hero of such films as "Hud," "Cool Hand Luke" and "The Color of Money" — followed by a second act as an activist, race car driver and popcorn impresario — has died. He was 83.

AP - Congressional leaders said Saturday they hoped to reach an agreement on a multibillion-dollar bailout plan for the financial sector before the markets open Monday, even if House and Senate votes would come later.

AFP - John McCain and Barack Obama battled in the shadow of the US finance crisis late Friday in a first presidential debate crackling with sharp disputes over the economy, Iraq and terrorism.

AFP - A car bomb exploded near a Shiite shrine in southern Damascus on Saturday killing 17 people and wounding 14 others, in one of the deadliest attacks in a dozen years, state television said.

Reuters - Opposition to a massive Wall Street bailout plan has quickly emerged on conservative talk radio, with hosts and callers saying the rescue undermines principles at the heart of the Republican Party.

Reuters - The biggest bank failure in U.S. history and nose diving banking stocks added pressure on the U.S. Congress to agree to a $700 billion financial rescue plan to breathe life back into credit markets.

Reuters - President George W. Bush on Friday said he told British Prime Minister Gordon Brown that the U.S. financial bailout was big enough to make a difference to ease financial market turmoil and would be passed.

Reuters - Preparations for a biological attack and repeated outbreaks of food poisoning have interfered with efforts by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to improve the safety of fresh produce, according to a report released on Friday.

Reuters - U.S. Senator Edward Kennedy was taken to a hospital near his Cape Cod, Massachusetts, home on Friday after a mild seizure, his office said in a statement.

AP - The brakeman on the freight train involved in a deadly collision with a commuter train filed a lawsuit Friday against the commuter railroad and the companies that provide its engineers.