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.