AP - Tropical Storm Hanna cruised toward the Carolinas on Friday, forecast to hit land overnight and promising to deliver gusty winds and heavy rain during a dash up the Eastern Seaboard that could wash out the weekend for millions of people.

AP - So much for the full-on 50-state strategy. Call Barack Obama's implementation of national Democrats' coast-to-coast plan "Fifty-State Lite." Barack Obama's strategists say they will pick and choose where to spend time and money.

AP - John McCain and Sarah Palin got a rousing welcome Friday to the final two months of the presidential campaign, stressing themes of a strong America and concern about the sinking economy. "Tough times all over America," McCain said.

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.

AP - The White House on Friday disputed an assertion in a new book by Bob Woodward that President Bush was slow to react to escalating attacks in Iraq, forcefully arguing that Bush's military buildup was responsible for a sharp drop in the violence.

AP - "I kill for God. I listen to God," a man accused of a northwest Washington shooting rampage said Friday at a hearing where six charges of first-degree murder and four of first-degree assault were filed against him.

AP - The oldest gorilla in captivity, a 55-year-old female named Jenny, has died at the Dallas Zoo — her home for more than half a century, a spokesman said Friday.

AP - Skateboarder Tony Hawk, actor Shemar Moore and other celebrities said they joined in a three-network cancer telethon on Friday because the disease had touched or taken the lives of loved ones.

AP - Cries for help inside a Trenton, N.J., home turned out to be for the birds. Neighbors called police Wednesday morning after hearing a woman's persistent cry of "Help me! Help me!" coming from a house. Officers arrived and when no one answered the door, they kicked it in to make a rescue.

AP - American League home run leader Carlos Quentin has a broken right wrist stemming from his own temper, and the Chicago White Sox left fielder will have surgery Monday that could sideline him for the rest of the season. Quentin was injured Monday night in Cleveland. After fouling off a pitch while batting against Cliff Lee, Quentin hit his right hand on the bat as he was holding it with his left.

Reuters - Presidential rivals John McCain and Barack Obama, back on the campaign trail after their party conventions, clashed over the ailing U.S. economy on Friday as unemployment hit its highest monthly rate in nearly five years.

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.

Reuters - Boeing Co's 27,000-strong machinists' union declared it will strike at midnight Pacific time on Friday, as the plane maker failed to improve its contract offer after two days of emergency talks.

Reuters - Fierce Hurricane Ike weakened as it charged across the Atlantic on Friday and took aim at south Florida and the oil fields of the Gulf of Mexico, while Tropical Storm Hanna buffeted the Carolinas after killing at least 529 people in Haiti.

Reuters - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi -- once reviled as a "mad dog" by a U.S. president -- on Friday on a historic visit which she said proved that Washington had no permanent enemies.

Reuters - Asif Ali Zardari, the widower of former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto, was poised on Saturday to win an election to become president.

Reuters - Jelena Jankovic and Serena Williams each had one eye on brewing thunderstorms as they booked their places in the U.S. Open women's final with efficient victories in blustery conditions on Friday.

AFP - US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in Tunis early Saturday to pursue a North Africa tour after a landmark meeting in Libya with its leader Moamer Kadhafi.

AFP - Tropical Storm Hanna closed in on the US east coast on the verge of hurricane strength after leaving 163 dead in Haiti, as a more powerful Hurricane Ike threatened Caribbean islands and the United States.