AP - World leaders meeting at the U.N. General Assembly this week face a global financial crisis that threatens the United Nation's efforts to generate billions of dollars to fight poverty, especially in Africa.

AP - In a state known for bustling, exciting tourist destinations such as Waikiki and the Kilauea volcano, Kalaupapa is sacred ground, with a history of disease, suffering and isolation.

AP - The doomed crew piloting a Learjet that crashed on takeoff, killing four people and injuring two popular musicians, thought a tire blew as they hurtled down the runway and struggled unsuccessfully to stop the plane, a federal safety official said Sunday.

AP - Kathy Leeds grows animated as she describes the courses she is taking this fall, including classes in current events, art and literature.

AP - Businesses were beginning to reopen, cell phone service was improving and power was coming back, but leaders warned that Galveston remains dangerous more than a week after Hurricane Ike's devastating assault.

AP - Six minors have been temporarily placed in state custody as part of a child porn investigation after a raid on a ministry run by a man who says "consent is puberty" when it comes to sex, officials said Sunday.

AP - A federal judge on Saturday ordered Dick Cheney to preserve a wide range of the records from his time as vice president.

AP - For all Barack Obama's remarkable fundraising and sizable surplus, the Democratic presidential nominee entered the final two months of the presidential contest on virtually equal financial footing as Republican rival John McCain.

AP - Deep-seated racial misgivings could cost Barack Obama the White House if the election is close, according to an AP-Yahoo News poll that found one-third of white Democrats harbor negative views toward blacks — many calling them "lazy," "violent" or responsible for their own troubles.

AP - Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said Sunday that the nation's credit markets remain frozen and Congress must move quickly to pass a $700 billion bailout package for financial firms. But key Democrats said the legislation needs changes to provide better protections for taxpayers and homeowners in danger of losing their homes.