Reuters - Vice President Dick Cheney will reassure Ukrainian leaders of U.S. backing on Friday as they grapple with a domestic political crisis and face up to the fallout from Russia's conflict with Georgia.

AP - Some Southeastern states declared emergencies and officials urged residents to head inland Thursday as Tropical Storm Hanna headed toward the Atlantic coast, where it could bring high winds and rain from South Carolina all the way to Maine.

AP - Jack Abramoff, the once powerful lobbyist at the heart of a far-reaching political corruption scandal, was sentenced to four years in prison Thursday by a judge who said the case had shattered the public's confidence in government.

Reuters - Disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff was sentenced on Thursday to serve four more years in prison in a corruption scandal that rocked Washington's power elite and helped Republicans lose control of Congress.

Reuters - Powerful Hurricane Ike weakened slightly as it charged across the Atlantic toward the Bahamas and the United States on Thursday while Tropical Storm Hanna's death toll from floods in Haiti grew to 90.

AP - Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was bounced from office Thursday in a deal with prosecutors that will send him to jail and put an end to the sex scandal that embarrassed this chronically struggling city and preoccupied its government for months.

AP - Chattanooga firefighters rescued several cats during a house fire that investigators say was probably caused by the cats themselves.

AP - Roger Federer edged 130th-ranked qualifier Gilles Muller 7-6 (5), 6-4, 7-6 (5) at the U.S. Open on Thursday to reach the semifinals for the 18th consecutive Grand Slam tournament

AFP - US Vice President Dick Cheney accused Russia Thursday of an "illegitimate" invasion to redraw the map of Georgia and cast doubt on whether Russia could be trusted as an international partner.

AP - Inspired by Neil Young and Radiohead, Michael Moore will release his new film online and for free.

Reuters - Republican John McCain takes his turn at his big St. Paul party on Thursday to lay out why he should be elected U.S. president, after his No. 2, Sarah Palin, excited Republican loyalists with a speech that drew 37 million viewers.

Reuters - Top U.S. defense officials gave President George W. Bush their views this week on the pace and size of future U.S. troop cuts in Iraq after a substantial drop in violence there, officials said on Thursday.

Reuters - Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick pleaded guilty on Thursday to obstruction of justice in a plea agreement that forces him from office and caps a scandal that had threatened to spill over into the U.S. presidential campaign in a key battleground state.