US to buy ownership stake in a broad array of banks for the first time since Depression
AP - 31 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (AP) - The government will buy an ownership stake in a broad array of American banks for the first time since the Great Depression, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said late Friday, announcing the historic step after stock markets jolted still lower around the world despite all efforts to slow the selling stampede.

McCain booed by supporters after trying to calm angry anti-Obama chants at Minnesota rally
AP - 13 minutes ago

LAKEVILLE, Minn. (AP) - The anger is getting raw at Republican rallies and John McCain is acting to tamp it down. McCain was booed by his own supporters Friday when, in an abrupt switch from raising questions about Barack Obama's character, he described the Democrat as a "decent person and a person that you do not have to be scared of as president of the United States."

Obama proposes tax breaks, loans for small business; McCain wants to halt retiree stock sales
AP - 13 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (AP) - John McCain and Barack Obama outlined steps to counter the faltering economy and plummeting stock market on Friday, fresh evidence of the dominant role of pocketbook issues in their race for the White House.

Connecticut's high court gives gay couples the right to marry, says civil unions aren't enough
AP - 52 minutes ago

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - A sharply divided Connecticut Supreme Court ruled Friday that gay couples have the right to get married, saying legislators did not go far enough when they approved same-sex civil unions that were identical to marriages in virtually every respect except the name.

Colin Powell testifies at Sen. Ted Stevens' corruption trial, saying his word is 'sterling'
AP - 46 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (AP) - Former Secretary of State Colin Powell on Friday praised Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens' sense of honor at his trial on corruption charges, calling his reputation for honesty and integrity "sterling" in the quarter-century they've known each other. "As we say in the infantry, this is a guy you take on a long patrol," said the retired four-star Army general and former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Balloon crashes in flames at New Mexico festival, killing man and critically injuring another
AP - 1 hour ago

BERNALILLO, N.M. (AP) - A hot air balloon crashed into power lines and burst into flames Friday during Albuquerque's annual balloon fiesta, throwing both men on board to the ground and killing one of them. Witnesses said that winds had picked up a bit and that many of the balloons were flying low right before the Wings of Wind balloon crashed in Bernalillo, just north of Albuquerque.

Florida judge says mom of missing 3-year-old can access evidence from car, forensic tests
AP - 1 hour ago

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - The mother of a missing 3-year-old Florida girl will have access to her car and forensic tests completed by authorities trying to figure out what happened to the child, a judge ruled Friday. But she'll have to wait to find out whether she can leave her home while on house arrest to help explain her version of events to her attorneys, because Ninth Circuit Judge Stan Strickland delayed ruling on that request.

Angelina Jolie says she never planned on getting pregnant until Brad Pitt entered her life
AP - 3 hours ago

NEW YORK (AP) - Angelina Jolie, an advocate of adoption, credits partner Brad Pitt with her decision to have biological children. In an interview with W magazine, Jolie says: "One of the life-changing things that he did, one of many, is that I was absolutely never going to get pregnant. I never felt that it was the right thing to do."

A change you can't believe: 'Barack Osama' on absentee ballots in upstate NY county
AP - 1 hour ago

TROY, N.Y. (AP) - Who is running for president? In an upstate New York county, hundreds of voters have been sent absentee ballots in which they could vote for "Barack Osama."

Magic Johnson critical of Minneapolis radio station hosts accusing him of faking AIDS
AP - 57 minutes ago

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Magic Johnson criticized a pair of talk show hosts Friday for accusing him of faking AIDS but said he didn't want them to be fired. Chris Baker and Langdon Perry of KTLK in Minneapolis made the remarks during Baker's conservative radio show on Wednesday. After Johnson condemned the statements, the station said it regretted "some offhand remarks" by the pair.