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.

Reuters - The U.S. Treasury Department is close to finalizing a plan to buttress mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac , The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.

AP - Serena Williams wound up and smacked a shot directly at Dinara Safina early in the second set of their U.S. Open semifinal.

AP - The United States and Libya sealed a historic turnaround after decades of terrorist killings, American retaliation, suspicions and insults with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's peacemaking visit Friday with Moammar Gadhafi, Libya's mercurial strongman.

Reuters - U.S. and Libyan relations are "off to a good start," Condoleezza Rice said on Friday as she became the first U.S. secretary of state to visit the North African country in 55 years.

AP - John McCain said Friday the sagging economy has brought "tough times all over America" as he made a splashy debut with Sarah Palin in critical Midwestern states as the newly crowned Republican presidential ticket.