AP - John McCain and Sarah Palin on Friday cast the new Republican presidential ticket as a team of determined reformers eager to challenge Washington's political establishment. "John McCain doesn't run with the Washington herd," said Palin, the 44-year-old Alaska governor and surprise pick as McCain's running mate.

AP - Tropical Storm Hanna picked up speed Friday as it cruised toward the Carolinas, 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 - The Iraqi government reacted sharply Friday to published allegations that the U.S. spied on Iraq's prime minister, warning that future ties with the United States could be in jeopardy if the report were true.

AP - Democrat Barack Obama called Republican rival John McCain's acceptance speech the final piece of an out-of-touch convention that focused on its nominee's biography instead of the struggles of the middle class.

AP - The bearded, turbaned men gather beneath a large, leafy tree in rural eastern Nangarhar province. When Malik Mohammed speaks on their behalf, his voice is soft but his words are harsh. Mohammed makes it clear that the tribal chiefs have lost all faith in both their own government and the foreign soldiers in their country.

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 - Scientists at the European Space Agency's Operations Center say the deep space Rosetta satellite has stopped sending its signal. It's an important and welcome step as the satellite begins a flyby of an asteroid millions of miles from earth.

AP - Hulk Hogan and his estranged wife are wrangling over how much money the celebrity wrestler is worth.

AP - American League home run leader Carlos Quentin has a broken wrist, and the Chicago White Sox left fielder will have surgery Monday that could sideline him for the rest of the season.

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 - Hurricane Ike may be on course toward a potentially dangerous route into the oil-producing Gulf of Mexico, a U.S. emergency official said on Friday.

Reuters - Boeing Co's machinists prepared for a strike on Friday as the plane maker and its largest union tried to hammer out a last-ditch deal on their latest three-year contract.

Reuters - Republican presidential candidate John McCain beat Democratic rival Barack Obama in the crucial battle to attract U.S. television viewers during their race to the White House, according to figures released on Friday.

Reuters - An unexpectedly steep 84,000 U.S. jobs were lost in August and the unemployment rate hit a five-year high of 6.1 percent, fanning worry ahead of November's presidential vote that the economy was near recession.

Reuters - Trudy Tucker doesn't know if the back-to-back U.S. political conventions addressed the financial worries she has raising four children -- she was too busy to watch.

Reuters - House Rep. Charles Rangel, chairman of the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee, failed to report $75,000 of income from a villa he owns in the Dominican Republic, his attorney said on Friday.

Reuters - Top U.S. diplomat Condoleezza Rice met Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi on Friday on a historic trip to the north African country she said was proof that Washington had no "permanent enemies."

AFP - US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi on a landmark visit to Tripoli Friday, heralding a new chapter in Washington's reconciliation with the former enemy state.

AFP - Tropical Storm Hanna closed in on the US east coast Friday after leaving 136 dead in Haiti, as powerful Hurricane Ike threatened Caribbean islands and the United States.