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AP - A man who authorities said was keeping weapons and military-style gear in his hotel room and car appeared in court Thursday on charges he threatened to assassinate Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.

AP - Iraq and the U.S. are near an agreement on all American combat troops leaving Iraq by October 2010, with the last soldiers out three years after that, two Iraqi officials told The Associated Press on Thursday. U.S. officials, however, insisted no dates had been agreed.

AP - A U.S. military jury gave Osama bin Laden's driver a surprisingly light sentence on Thursday, making him eligible for release in just five months despite the prosecutors' request for at least a 30-year sentence to deter would-be terrorists.

AP - The wife of evangelical pastor Joel Osteen got physical when her demands that a small spill on her seat be cleaned up were not immediately met, a flight attendant testified Thursday at a civil trial over the incident.

AP - Republican John McCain called Thursday for a federal investigation into plans by the DHL shipping company that could cost 10,000 jobs here, as he and his campaign manager took criticism for helping DHL complete a merger in 2003 that led to its current plans.

AP - Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was jailed Thursday for a bond violation in his perjury case, his pleas for leniency rejected by a judge who made it clear the mayor would get no special treatment.

AP - A spokeswoman for Bernie Mac says the actor is responding well to treatment for pneumonia and hopes to be released in the next few weeks. Publicist Danica Smith said Thursday in a statement that Mac's condition is "stable." Smith first announced on August 1st that Mac was hospitalized in Chicago.

AP - Brett Favre held up his new green jersey Thursday evening, hoping he made the right decision. "To a certain degree, I don't know what I'm getting into," he said. Favre's summertime soap opera ended Wednesday night when the Green Bay Packers traded their iconic quarterback to the New York Jets, who haven't had a star of No. 4's stature since the days Joe Namath was slinging passes.

Reuters - A jury of U.S. military officers sentenced Osama bin Laden's driver on Thursday to just 5 1/2 years in prison -- most of which he has already served - in the first U.S. war crimes tribunal since World War Two.

Reuters - Georgia pounded the capital of its breakaway South Ossetia province with heavy weapons on Thursday after a ceasefire broke down within hours and separatists said they were under siege.

Reuters - China stages the most expensive opening ceremony in Olympic history on Friday, keen to put the world spotlight on its modern face and the sports action after a build-up that fired up the Communist government's critics.

Reuters - The U.S. Defense Department plans to spend $2.2 billion on a new fleet of spy planes and unmanned drones for Iraq and Afghanistan that would greatly enhance the ability of U.S. forces to track militants, officials said on Thursday.

Reuters - A judge on Thursday jailed indicted Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick for violating the conditions of his bond by crossing the Canadian border without permission.

Reuters - Republican presidential candidate John McCain poured scorn on his Democratic rival Barack Obama on Thursday for failing to match his commitment to drilling off U.S. coasts for oil and natural gas.

Reuters - Retailers, including Wal-Mart Stores Inc and Target Corp, posted disappointing July sales results on Thursday as shoppers ran out of extra tax rebate cash, diminishing the outlook for the current back-to-school shopping season.

Reuters - Pakistan's ruling coalition will move to impeach President Pervez Musharraf on charges of plunging the country into a political and economic crisis, party leaders said on Thursday.

AFP - Police banned demonstrations outside the Chinese embassy in Paris on Thursday but critics of China's human rights record stepped up protests elsewhere in the world to mark the start of the Beijing Olympics.

AFP - Pakistan's ruling coalition said Thursday that it would seek the impeachment of President Pervez Musharraf, posing the biggest threat to the key US ally since he seized power in a 1999 coup.