AP - Democrat Barack Obama said Friday that Iran should promptly accept an international call to freeze its uranium enrichment program, which some nations see as a potential step toward obtaining nuclear weapons, and not wait for the next U.S. president.

AP - A hole the size of a small car in the underside of a Qantas jumbo jet carrying 346 passengers forced the pilot to make an emergency landing Friday after a rapid descent over the South China Sea.

AP - Oil prices sank to their lowest point in weeks Friday as investors questioned whether crude has cooled enough to reflect a serious deterioration in demand. Prices at the pump eased to nearly $4 a gallon and the AAA auto club said that could drop another quarter by Labor Day.

AP - The Senate cleared the last hurdle Friday to passing a housing rescue aimed at sparing hundreds of thousands of homeowners from foreclosure and bolstering troubled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

AP - The first of 200 ships idled by a massive oil spill began crawling down the Mississippi River Friday after the Coast Guard reopened the waterway to traffic, but it could be days before all of the ships are cleared.

AP - Republican presidential candidate John McCain said Friday that Barack Obama's policies would have led to defeat in both Iraq and Afghanistan and possibly pushed the entire Middle East into war, stepping up his criticism of his Democratic rival.

AP - Sales of new homes fell in June for the seventh time in the past eight months, but the decline was less than had been expected, raising faint hopes that the nation's severe housing recession could be approaching a bottom.

AP - It sounds like a scene from "Fight Club."

AP - Carlos Delgado hit a tiebreaking, two-run double in the eighth inning and Oliver Perez stifled the Philadelphia Phillies again, helping the New York Mets earn a 3-1 win Thursday that gave them sole possession of first place in the NL East.

AP - The WNBA punished so many players for their roles in this week's skirmish that the league is staggering the suspensions by alphabetical order.

AP - Ryan Braun had four hits for a second straight game, including a two-run homer in the ninth, and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the St. Louis Cardinals 4-3 on Thursday night, their eighth straight victory.

AP - Just two weeks before the start of the Olympics, Iraq was told Thursday it's not welcome in Beijing because of a political feud in Baghdad that angered the games' guardians and exiled a country that arrived to a roaring ovation at the opening ceremony four years ago.

AP - Peyton Manning's voice resonated through the Colts training camp Thursday — from 90 miles away. The NFL's two-time MVP spent reporting day at home in Indianapolis, his valuable left knee immobilized after having surgery to remove an infected bursa sac.

AP - No team in baseball is playing as well as the Milwaukee Brewers and no hitter is on a tear like Ryan Braun.

AFP - David Gill, Manchester United's chief executive, has admitted the club will seek the opinion of Sir Alex Ferguson before naming his successor when the Old Trafford manager finally retires.