Americans' unhappy birthday: 'Too much wrong right now' (AP) 
5 Jul 2008, 4:48 pm

AP - Even folks in the Optimist Club are having a tough time toeing an upbeat line these days.

Man flying lawn chair lifted by helium balloons (AP) 
5 Jul 2008, 4:48 pm

AP - Riding a green lawn chair supported by a rainbow array of more than 150 helium-filled party balloons, Kent Couch took off Saturday in a third bid to fly from central Oregon all the way to Idaho.

Grief leads father to create bomb-defusing robot (AP) 
5 Jul 2008, 4:47 pm

AP - The knock on Brian Hart's door came at 6 a.m. An Army colonel, a priest and a police officer had come to tell Hart and his wife that their 20-year-old son had been killed when his military vehicle was ambushed in Iraq.

Rescue video shows duped rebels, elated hostages (AP) 
5 Jul 2008, 4:42 pm

AP - Military intelligence agents posing as aid workers and a film crew flew to the jungle aboard a white helicopter, staging a mock humanitarian mission that rebels were told would ferry their hostages to another camp for talks on a prisoner swap.

Obama: Media response to Iraq remarks overblown (AP) 
5 Jul 2008, 4:38 pm

AP - Barack Obama celebrated "active faith" as an obligation of religious Americans and a chief agent of societal change while speaking Saturday to a nearly all-black roomful of churchgoers, but hoping to reach far beyond them.

Iran indicates it has no plans to halt enrichment (AP) 
5 Jul 2008, 4:32 pm

AP - Iran indicated Saturday that it has no plans to meet a key Western demand that it stop enriching uranium, a day after Tehran sent the European Union a response to an international offer of incentives for halting enrichment.

California's wildfire in check -- for now (Reuters) 
5 Jul 2008, 4:29 pm

Reuters - Firefighters in California have fended off a blaze threatening more than 3,000 homes in and around the coastal town of Goleta and are turning their attention to preventing its spread toward the nearby picturesque city of Santa Barbara, officials said on Saturday.

Helms never changed on civil rights opposition (AP) 
5 Jul 2008, 4:24 pm

AP - Jesse Helms forever changed North Carolina politics and the conservative movement. The former senator did it without ever changing much about himself.

Venus beats Serena for 5th Wimbledon singles title (AP) 
5 Jul 2008, 4:23 pm

AP - Thrilled as she was to win her fifth Wimbledon singles championship, Venus Williams dialed down her celebration. No hopping in place and skipping to the net after match point, the way she's done so often on that Centre Court lawn. No giddy laughter and whoops of joy, as she's let out in the past.

California wildfires strain state's resources (AP) 
5 Jul 2008, 4:01 pm

AP - A wildfire threatening hundreds of homes in Southern California spread slowly through scenic canyonlands Saturday, straining resources as crews struggled to contain hundreds of other blazes around the state.

U.S. and Japan to discuss next steps in six-party talks (Reuters) 
5 Jul 2008, 3:31 pm

Reuters - President George W. Bush and Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda will discuss the next steps in the six-party talks over North Korea's nuclear status when they meet on the sidelines of the G8 summit in Japan, a White House official said on Saturday.

Crikey! 'Crocodile Hunter' daughter gets own doll (AP) 
5 Jul 2008, 3:06 pm

Obama "puzzled" by Iraq comment frenzy (Reuters) 
5 Jul 2008, 2:54 pm

Reuters - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said on Saturday his plan to end the Iraq war was unchanged and he was puzzled by the sharp reaction to his statement this week that he might "refine" his timetable for withdrawing U.S. combat troops.

Williams sisters storm to Wimbledon doubles title (Reuters) 
5 Jul 2008, 2:52 pm

Reuters - Venus and Serena Williams returned to Center Court three hours after doing battle in the singles final to secure the Wimbledon doubles title with a 6-2 6-2 thumping of American Lisa Raymond and Australian Samantha Stosur on Saturday.

Film shows Zimbabwe vote rigged: report (Reuters) 
5 Jul 2008, 2:44 pm

Reuters - A film secretly taken by a Zimbabwe prison guard and smuggled out of the country shows the extent of the rigging that took place for the June 27 presidential run-off vote, the Guardian said on Saturday.

Mississippi River reopens as flooding wanes (Reuters) 
5 Jul 2008, 12:49 pm

Reuters - The Mississippi River, the most important U.S. commercial waterway, reopened to water navigation on Saturday after much of it was closed for nearly a month due to the worst flooding in 15 years.

Mbeki meets Mugabe and in Zimbabwe (AFP) 
5 Jul 2008, 12:35 pm

AFP - South African President Thabo Mbeki, chief regional negotiator on the Zimbabwe crisis, met here Saturday with President Robert Mugabe and leaders of a breakaway faction of the main opposition party.

Iran vows to pursue nuclear work (Reuters) 
5 Jul 2008, 12:13 pm

Reuters - Iran vowed on Saturday to pursue its uranium enrichment program, a day after delivering its response to an incentives package by world powers trying to curb its nuclear ambitions.

Colombia foils bomb plot after rescue (Reuters) 
5 Jul 2008, 11:52 am

Reuters - Colombia found explosives set to be used in bombs across the capital in reprisal for this week's rescue of leftist rebels' highest-profile hostages, including Ingrid Betancourt, military officials said on Saturday.

Iran offers talks but without nuclear freeze (AFP) 
5 Jul 2008, 11:51 am

AFP - Iran on Saturday offered to negotiate on its nuclear drive but without a freeze on uranium enrichment, in its first comments since responding to an international package aimed at ending the standoff.