AP - Firefighters pushed back a blaze threatening this small coastal community just enough to allow hundreds of people to check on their homes Tuesday as a separate fire 300 miles north forced residents of another town to evacuate.

AP - President Bush's top defense advisers have recommended he maintain 15 combat brigades in Iraq until the end of the year, contrary to expectations that the improved security in Iraq would allow for quicker cuts, The Associated Press has learned.

Reuters - Condoleezza Rice travels to Libya on Friday, the first trip there by a U.S. secretary of state in 55 years, signaling improved ties between the two countries.

AFP - John McCain has a tough act to follow Thursday when he accepts the Republican White House nomination, a day after his running mate Sarah Palin swept the party convention off its feet.

AP - Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin on Thursday blamed supporters of the Democratic presidential ticket for spreading "misinformation and flat-out lies" about her and her family.

AP - John McCain, a Vietnam POW turned political rebel, launched his fall campaign for the White House on Thursday in the final act of a Republican National Convention marked by extraordinary attention on running mate Sarah Palin.