AP - In a return to the public stage, John Edwards has confirmed plans to talk politics a month after admitting to an extramarital affair. But his wife won't be at his side.

AP - In two short years, Sarah Palin moved from small-town mayor with a taste for mooseburgers to the governor's office and now — making history — to John McCain's side as the first female running mate on a Republican presidential ticket.

AP - The Maine artist who brought LOVE to the world is doing the same with HOPE.

AP - The craggy gullies where Idaho cowboy Paul Nettleton runs 1,200 head of cattle are often precious minutes from reliable cell phone coverage.

AP - On the grasslands a few miles from the pinnacles and spires of Badlands National Park, federal wildlife officials have been waging a war since spring to save one of the nation's largest colonies of endangered black-footed ferrets.

AP - Hundreds of Oprah Winfrey fans are lining up in Chicago's Millennium Park for a chance at free tickets to the talk show host's season premiere featuring 150 U.S. Olympic team members.

AP - Thousands of people lined a parade route Saturday as Harley-Davidson riders from around the world revved their engines, waved flags and threw candy to the crowd for the iconic motorcycle company's 105th anniversary.

AP - Tara Hui climbed under her deck, nudged past a cluster of 55-gallon barrels and a roosting chicken, and pointed to a shiny metal gutter spout.

AP - People don't sleep well in New Orleans in August, not when a hurricane lurks offshore. People hear wind that isn't there; they wake at night, checking to make sure the floorboards are dry and families are safe.

AP - The $500,000 bond posted a week ago for the mother of a missing Florida girl was rescinded after she was taken back to jail on check fraud and theft charges, a bondsman said Saturday.

AP - Gustav swelled into a fearsome Category 4 hurricane with winds of 145 mph on Saturday as Cuba raced to evacuate more than 240,000 people and Americans to the north clogged highways fleeing New Orleans.

AP - Lines of people waiting for buses to take them out of the city grew longer Saturday and traffic grew heavier on main highways as Hurricane Gustav strengthened into a dangerous Category 4 storm on track for the Gulf Coast.