AFP - Wall Street heads into next week with strong tailwind from recent days' rally and brighter outlook as traders keenly await President Barack Obama to unveil new plans for boosting the shaky US economy.

AP - In the end, Hurricane Earl wasn't even as bad as some of the no-name nor'easters that pound New England from time to time.

AP - Despite the smells of fried dough and roasted meat wafting from the Minnesota State Fair, Salim and Zuleyha Ozonder were focused on the people who were leaving, not the food or festivities beckoning from across the street.

AP - BP crews worked Saturday to slowly raise the 300-ton blowout preventer that failed to stop oil from spewing into the Gulf of Mexico, careful not to damage or drop a key piece of evidence in the spill investigation.

AP - A healthy economy needs bustling Main Streets and a thriving middle class even more than a healthy stock market, President Barack Obama said as he reaffirmed his commitment to work hard for America's hardworking men and women.

AP - Kara DioGuardi is following Ellen DeGeneres and Simon Cowell out the door at "American Idol."

Reuters - President Barack Obama, previewing a big push on the U.S. economy next week, on Saturday defended policies that he said "have stopped the bleeding" and put the middle class on the road to recovery.

AP - A claim by Arizona's governor that rising violence along the U.S.-Mexico border has led to headless bodies turning up in the desert came back to haunt her during a stammering debate performance in which she failed to back it up.

AP - Authorities searched a Northern California landfill Friday for signs of a missing man authorities said might be a fifth murder victim linked to a suspect who was shot and killed by police after a high-speed chase.

AP - What now for the Gulf? News of another oil rig fire in the Gulf of Mexico, so soon after the BP oil spill, has set off a wave of anxiety along the Gulf Coast and prompted calls for the government to extend its six-month ban on deepwater drilling.

AP - One of the investors in a proposed Islamic center near ground zero is a Long Island medical clinic owner whose expressions of sympathy for Palestinians included a donation to a charity later shut down for links to Hamas.

AP - Unemployment is stuck at high levels even though some companies are hiring. The problem, government data show, is that too few jobs are being created for the growing number of people looking for work.

AP - Authorities say a wildfire burning in rural San Diego County was sparked by two illegal immigrants who set a signal fire after they got lost.

AP - Federal investigators said Friday that a suspicious fire that damaged construction equipment at the site of a future mosque in Tennessee was arson and offered a $20,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.

AP - The suspicions airport security officials had when they saw the metal canister grew when they learned about the man who brought it in from the Middle East: a scientist who sparked a bioterrorism scare after he reported missing vials of plague samples seven years ago.

Reuters - U.S. employment fell for a third straight month in August, but the drop was far less than expected and private hiring was a positive surprise, relieving concerns about a stalling economic recovery.

AP - Hurricane Earl played havoc with travelers' Labor Day weekend plans even as it weakened Friday on its path up the East Coast toward New England.

Reuters - President Barack Obama said on Friday he would outline new measures next week to boost the U.S. economy, but analysts were skeptical he would be able to deliver a big enough package to lift growth significantly.

AFP - President Barack Obama promised a fresh slew of measures to boost the ailing US economy Friday after fresh data showed unemployment was again on the rise.

AP - Eager to jumpstart the economy ahead of crucial midterm elections, President Barack Obama said Friday he intends to unveil a new package of proposals, likely including tax cuts and targeted spending, to spark job growth.