Obama says Iraq trip could refine his policy (AP)
Thu, 03 Jul 2008 22:29:07 GMT
AP - Democrat Barack Obama struggled Thursday to explain how his upcoming trip to Iraq might refine, but not basically alter, his promise to quickly remove U.S. combat troops from the war.

Pentagon extends tour of Marines in Afghanistan (AP)
Thu, 03 Jul 2008 22:15:50 GMT
AP - The Pentagon has extended the tour of 2,200 Marines in Afghanistan, after insisting for months the unit would come home on time. The 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, which is doing combat operations in the volatile south, will stay an extra 30 days and come home in early November rather than October, Marine Col. David Lapan confirmed Thursday.

McCain: Staff shake-up part of 'natural evolution' (AP)
Thu, 03 Jul 2008 22:15:55 GMT
AP - Republican presidential candidate John McCain said Thursday that a shake-up in the leadership of his campaign was part of a "natural evolution" as the organization becomes more national in scope.

Report: Passport snooping likely rampant (AP)
Thu, 03 Jul 2008 22:16:33 GMT
AP - An internal State Department investigative report suggests that employees may have been snooping on the passport records of celebrities far more than previously disclosed. It urges new steps to secure the files.

Military: Freed American hostages in good shape (AP)
Thu, 03 Jul 2008 21:28:05 GMT
AP - Three U.S. hostages rescued from Colombian rebels after more than five years in captivity are in good condition and undergoing the transition back to normal life, military officials said Thursday.

Texas man freed by DNA after 15 years in prison (AP)
Thu, 03 Jul 2008 22:29:27 GMT
AP - A Texas man who spent more than 15 years in prison after being wrongly convicted of kidnapping and robbery raised both arms skyward and collapsed in his mother's embrace Thursday after being told he was a free man.

Haywire brain chemical linked to sudden baby death (AP)
Thu, 03 Jul 2008 21:09:43 GMT
AP - Scientists have new evidence that the brain chemical best known for regulating mood also plays a role in the mystifying killer of seemingly healthy babies — sudden infant death syndrome.

Larry Harmon, longtime Bozo the Clown, dead at 83 (AP)
Thu, 03 Jul 2008 22:14:01 GMT
AP - Larry Harmon, who turned the character Bozo the Clown into a show business staple that delighted children for more than a half-century, died Thursday of congestive heart failure. He was 83.

Man accused of robbing, then hugging Mo. victim (AP)
Thu, 03 Jul 2008 19:17:46 GMT
AP - Police in the southeast Missouri town of Poplar Bluff are looking for the gunman who robbed a man on Monday night, then gave him a hug before fleeing.

Selig: Drug program threatened by prosecutors (AP)
Thu, 03 Jul 2008 21:18:50 GMT
AP - Baseball's drug-testing program was threatened when federal prosecutors seized player records and samples four years ago, baseball commissioner Bud Selig and union head Donald Fehr said in letters to Congress released Thursday.