Barack Obama's spokesman fired off a fast criticism of Republican John McCain's new running mate on Friday, but the Democratic candidate himself quickly stepped in to offer her congratulations and praise. Obama, who is...

A timeline of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's life and career: ___ Feb. 11, 1964 _ Born in Sandpoint, Idaho. 1982 _ Graduated from Wasilla High School in Wasilla, Alaska. 1987 _ Graduated with a bachelor's degree in...

Republican John McCain introduced first-term Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his vice presidential running mate Friday, a stunning selection of a fellow maverick designed to get an edge in the increasingly competitive White...

Republican presidential candidate John McCain's surprise choice of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate has given a brief, upbeat biography of her the kind of boost that Sen. Joe Biden's memoir received when he...

John Edwards will emerge from seclusion and speak next month at Hofstra University in New York, taking the stage exactly one month after admitting to an extramarital affair. But his wife Elizabeth has canceled what was...

!!-- pobj:FLPEJ102-0602080251 -->!!-- pobj:FLPEJ104-0602080253 -->!!-- pobj:FLPEJ101-0602080251 -->Floodwaters 5 feet deep filled sculptor and retired Navy Cmdr. Robert Noguere's bayfront home when Hurricane Ivan made...

At least 17 Smithsonian Institution executives with six-figure salaries will see future pay cuts _ many in the tens of thousands of dollars _ under reforms adopted by the museum complex. According to figures released...

!!-- pobj:AZPHP101-0829081502 -->!!-- pobj:AZPHP102-0829081505 -->A series of fast-moving thunderstorms packing winds of up to 100 mph plowed through the Phoenix area, leaving tens of thousands without power, damaging...

A lush, under-the-stars spread of handmade bread, gourmet olives and fine wine makes an unlikely launch for a weekend dedicated to ending hunger, empowering poor nations and transforming farming as we know it. Welcome...

A bounty hunter who helped free the mother of a missing Florida toddler said Friday that he won't try to withdraw her bail after all. Bounty hunter Leonard Padilla had said a day earlier that he would ask associates to...

After Georgian soldiers stormed South Ossetia and killed Vitaly Guzitayev's friend, he hid in the woods. Once the Georgians left, he set fire to the elegant brick homes of ethnic Georgians who lived nearby. "Georgians...

Police questioned Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Friday for a seventh time in connection with one of the multiple corruption probes that have driven him to announce his resignation. Olmert was questioned for 2...

A provincial health official says an unusually high number of people have fallen ill with the bacteria salmonellosis across Quebec. Horacio Arruda, a director with Quebec's public health department, said Friday that 87...

European Union leaders will not impose sanctions on Russia at their summit next week in Brussels even though some EU countries have pushed for them, French officials said Friday. France's foreign minister, Bernard...

Georgia said Friday it will sever diplomatic ties with Moscow to protest the presence of Russian troops on its territory. Russia criticized the move, pinning blame for a breakdown in relations on Tbilisi. Georgia's...

!!-- pobj:NYBZ130-0410081426 -->The grip U.S. airlines have on travelers' wallets is about to get tighter as carriers go ahead with plans to trim their domestic schedules due to the high cost of fuel. Executives...

Alabama's largest county offered a plan Friday to restructure its $3.2 billion sewer debt and, at least for now, put off filing the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history. Gov. Bob Riley said an attorney for Jefferson...

Wall Street tumbled Friday after the government said personal incomes fell last month by the largest amount in nearly three years while consumer spending slowed. The Dow Jones industrial average more than 170 points,...

Machinists union leadership has called for a strike after deciding Boeing's final contract offer isn't good enough. Connie Kelliher, a spokeswoman for the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers...

Retail gas prices swung higher Friday _ the first increase in 43 days _ as analysts warned that a direct hit on U.S. energy infrastructure by Hurricane Gustav could send pump prices hurtling toward $5 a gallon. ...

Organizers of the Venice Film Festival waited to announce "Khastegi (Tedium)" by first-time Iranian director Bahman Motamedian until the last minute to avoid alerting authorities to its sensitive subject: transsexuals...

Barack Obama's acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention was seen by more than 38 million people. Nielsen Media Research said more people watched Obama speak than watched the Olympics opening ceremony in...

Jennifer Aniston will return home to NBC, the TV network where she became a breakout star on the hit sitcom "Friends." She's currently filming a guest appearance on the network's "30 Rock," Aniston publicist Stephen...

Hazel Warp, who was Vivien Leigh's stunt double in "Gone With the Wind," has died. She was 93. A spokeswoman at Evergreen Healthcare in Livingston confirmed Friday that Warp died Tuesday at Livingston Memorial...

Gold medalists Michael Phelps, Nastia Liukin and Kobe Bryant, along with 150 other U.S. Olympic team members, will be on the season premiere of "The Oprah Winfrey Show." Winfrey plans to tape the show at Chicago's...

Second-seeded Jelena Jankovic won another sneaker squeaker, playing 28 points in the last game to finish off Zheng Jie 7-5, 7-5 Friday and reach the fourth round at the U.S. Open. "You're not there in a picnic,"...

Pro golfer Tripp Isenhour has pleaded no contest to charges he faced for killing a protected hawk. Attorney David de Armas said Friday that Isenhour agreed to one year of supervised probation, four hours of anger...

A judge in Ohio has postponed a hearing in quarterback Ben Mauk's lawsuit against the NCAA. Mauk had asked the organization's reinstatement committee on Thursday to give him one more year of eligibility at the...

San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginobili, who helped lead Argentina to a bronze medal in the Beijing Olympics, will need surgery to repair a ligament injury in his left ankle. The Spurs said Friday that Ginobili will have...

LaDainian Tomlinson supports Shawne Merriman's decision to eschew surgery and play as long as he can with two torn ligaments in his left knee. "How do you tell a warrior to sit down?" San Diego's star running back said...

NEW ORLEANS (BP)--During this week's Democratic National Convention, national media were breaking away to report on the threat of Tropical Storm Gustav becoming a devastating hurricane. The media reports have New...

ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP)--As Tropical Storm Gustav churns toward the Louisiana-Mississippi Gulf Coast region, Southern Baptist disaster relief units in Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Virginia have been put on...

EDITOR'S NOTE: An audio version of this column is available online athttp://media1.imbresources.org/files/57/5721/5721-30967.mp3RICHMOND, Va. (BP)--Russia is on the move, reasserting its military power in the Caucasus...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--Employees of LifeWay Christian Resources spend hundreds of hours producing resources or events with the hope of providing spiritual transformation in the lives of individuals. Some LifeWay...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--When Chad Jordan became editor of LifeMatters, a Sunday School curriculum published by LifeWay Christian Resources, he wanted to develop a more intimate connection with the Sunday School teachers...

The government said Thursday that the salmonella outbreak that sickened at least 1,440 people appears to be over, but its ultimate source may never be known, partly because of shortcomings in the nation's food safety...

Scientists for the first time have peered into people's brains to directly measure the ebb and flow of a substance notorious for its role in Alzheimer's disease. The delicate research was performed not with Alzheimer's...

Almost 12 percent of the deaths among American Indians and Alaska Natives are alcohol-related _ more than three times the percentage in the general population, a new federal report says. The report released Thursday by...

In an Aug. 26 story about a new TV ad linking hot dogs with cancer, The Associated Press, relying on figures provided by a nutrition adviser to the American Institute for Cancer Research, erroneously reported average...

Talk about an extreme makeover: Scientists have transformed one type of cell into another in living mice, a big step toward the goal of growing replacement tissues to treat a variety of diseases. The cell identity...

When a computer glitch at a Federal Aviation Administration center caused widespread airline delays this week, it served as a reminder that the U.S. flight system is waiting for a modernizing overhaul. But it also...

The difference between a monster and a wimp for Gulf of Mexico hurricanes often comes down to a small patch of warm deep water that's easy to miss. It's called the Loop Current, and hurricane trackers say Gustav is...

General Motors Corp. says it will offer optional radios with USB ports for personal music players on some of its 2009 models. The new radios will allow customers to play music from iPods or MP3 players while charging...

Tips on how to keep your communications alive in a disaster such as a hurricane: _ Keep your cell phones charged. Buy extra batteries if you can, and remember to charge them. _ A car adapter will let you recharge from...

The tropical storm bearing down on the Gulf Coast could be a test for the country's wireless carriers, which faced criticism and a regulatory push after Hurricane Katrina took out networks. Sprint Nextel Corp....

Tropical Storm Gustav will continue to be the focus of potential serious weather for the next several days near the Gulf Coast, while a broadening ridge of high pressure will move through the heart of the country and...

The remnants of Tropical Storm Fay were expected to meander along the East Coast on Thursday, producing showers and thunderstorms from the Ohio Valley through the mid-Atlantic. A cold front was forecast to bring storms...

The remnants of Tropical Storm Fay in the Southeast moved slowly northward into the mid-Atlantic on Wednesday. There was the possibility of a brief tornado or two in addition to locally gusty winds. In the midsection...

Torrential rain was forecast for the Southeast on Tuesday as the remnants of Tropical Storm Fay lingered over the region, while showers were expected from the Pacific Northwest to the northern Rockies and into the...

The remnants of Tropical Storm Fay continued to bring trouble to the Southeast on Monday. As Fay moved slowly through Mississippi, areas of the Deep South saw heavy rainfall, strong winds and thunderstorms. Heavy rain...