Twin fires raging along California central coast (AP)
Sat, 05 Jul 2008 12:32:27 GMT
AP - Weary firefighters got no Independence Day reprieve from a pair of out-of-control wildfires that roared along California's central coast, chewing through opposite ends of an arid forest in the Los Padres National Forest.

Former Republican Sen. Jesse Helms dies at 86 (AP)
Sat, 05 Jul 2008 09:56:33 GMT
AP - Former Sen. Jesse Helms, an unyielding champion of the conservative movement who spent three combative and sometimes caustic decades in Congress, where he relished his battles against liberals, Communists and occasionally a fellow Republican, died on the Fourth of July. He was 86.

Companies begin quest for oil, gas off Florida (AP)
Sat, 05 Jul 2008 10:03:22 GMT
AP - Oil companies once viewed drilling in the deep waters off Florida as cost prohibitive. Politicians feared even the slightest sign of support would be career suicide.

NJ party town relaxes rules on kegs, rude gestures (AP)
Sat, 05 Jul 2008 09:53:43 GMT
AP - After battling rowdy renters and out-of-control keggers for decades, this Jersey shore party town has finally decided to lighten up a little.

Franken tries the switch from comic to Congress (AP)
Sat, 05 Jul 2008 09:58:33 GMT
AP - Moving from celebrity to senator isn't exactly an untraveled path. But that doesn't mean comedian Al Franken, who is vying for a Senate seat in Minnesota, will coast to Capitol Hill on a wide, smooth road.

FBI probe latest setback for beleaguered Detroit (AP)
Sat, 05 Jul 2008 10:15:07 GMT
AP - Auto industry cutbacks, double-digit unemployment and one of the nation's highest home foreclosure rates have left Detroit with a dreary economic future.

Rescue video shows duped rebels, elated hostages (AP)
Sat, 05 Jul 2008 10:04:50 GMT
AP - Colombian military intelligence agents posing as aid workers and a media 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.

Study: Orangutan populations declining sharply (AP)
Sat, 05 Jul 2008 10:05:35 GMT
AP - Orangutan numbers have declined sharply on the only two islands where they still live in the wild and they could become the first great ape species to go extinct if urgent action isn't taken, a new study says.

Spitzer call girl drops 'Girls Gone Wild' lawsuit (AP)
Sat, 05 Jul 2008 10:34:33 GMT
AP - The call girl involved in a scandal that brought down New York's former governor has dropped a lawsuit claiming "Girls Gone Wild" founder Joe Francis exploited her image and name on the Internet.

Williams sisters await another Wimbledon showdown (AP)
Sat, 05 Jul 2008 11:48:12 GMT
AP - Venus and Serena Williams have a busy schedule Saturday. First they'll be on opposite sides of the Centre Court net, each trying to beat the other for the Wimbledon singles title — their seventh all-in-the-family final at a Grand Slam tournament, but first since 2003.