AP - President Barack Obama is exhorting a Florida minister to "listen to those better angels" and call off his plan to engage in a Quran-burning protest this weekend.

AP - The number of people signing up for unemployment benefits dropped to the lowest level in two months, an encouraging sign that companies aren't resorting to deeper layoffs even as the economy has lost momentum.

AP - Iran said it will free one of three Americans jailed for more than a year on Saturday in a clemency to mark the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

AP - Hundreds of residents evacuated by a wildfire that has destroyed at least 169 houses in the Colorado foothills were being temporarily allowed back to their homes Thursday.

AP - Authorities in the San Antonio area searched Thursday for a man who drove into a flooded road, making him the fourth person swept away by floodwaters from the remnants of Tropical Storm Hermine.

AP - Traffic deaths have plummeted across the United States to levels not seen in more than a half century, spurred by technology, more safety-conscious drivers and tougher enforcement of drunken driving laws.

AP - A suicide car bomber hit a central market in southern Russia on Thursday, killing at least 17 people and wounding more than 130 in one of the North Caucasus region's worst attacks in years, officials said.

AP - Apple Inc. gave software developers on Thursday the guidelines it uses to determine which programs can be sold in its App Store, yet it reserved for itself broad leeway in deciding what makes the cut.

AP - John Travolta was onto something. Women are most attracted to male dancers who have big, flamboyant moves similar to the actor's trademark style, British scientists say in a new study.

AP - Britney Spears denied a bodyguard's accusations that she sexually harassed him and abused her children, saying Thursday in a statement on her website that authorities looked into his claims but found no reason to act.

Reuters - New U.S. claims for unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week to a two-month low, while the trade deficit narrowed sharply in July, hopeful signs for the stuttering economic recovery.

Reuters - President Barack Obama warned Thursday that an obscure U.S. Christian pastor's plan to burn the Koran on September 11 could provoke al Qaeda suicide bombings, and Asian countries urged Washington to prevent the act.

Reuters - U.S. Marines boarded and seized a commercial German vessel in the Gulf of Aden that had been attacked and boarded by pirates a day earlier, the U.S. Fifth Fleet said in a statement on Thursday.

Reuters - Iran will release on Saturday one of three detained American citizens accused of espionage, an official told Reuters on Thursday.

AFP - President Barack Obama warned Thursday that a Florida church's plan to burn Korans would swell the ranks of Al-Qaeda militants amid mounting fears it will trigger a wave of violence.

AFP - Iran will free an American on Saturday, believed to be one of three hikers detained over a year ago, an official told AFP.