AP - Mayor Cheye Calvo got home from work, saw a package addressed to his wife on the front porch and brought it inside, putting it on a table.

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 - 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.

Reuters - August 8 promises to be a lucky day for Liu Chuan who is getting married and has a ticket for the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games.

AP - Eric Dowling, who helped plan the mass wartime breakout from a German prison camp that inspired the movie "The Great Escape," has died at 92.

AP - A U.S. military jury sentenced Osama bin Laden's driver Thursday to just 5 1/2 years in prison, a surprise rebuke to Pentagon prosecutors who portrayed him as a member of the al-Qaida leader's inner circle worthy of a life sentence.

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 key corporate merger in 2003.

AP - Former President Clinton will have a role at the Democratic convention in Denver later this month.

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 - 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 - Acid-tongued fashion critic Mr. Blackwell regained consciousness in a hospital Thursday as he battled a serious infection, his publicist said.

AP - Brett Favre held up his new green jersey, 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 after 16 seasons to the New York Jets, who haven't had a star of No. 4's stature since the days Joe Namath was slinging passes.

AP - Morgan Freeman was discharged Thursday from a Tennessee hospital after the Oscar-winning actor was treated for broken bones and other injuries sustained in a weekend car crash in Mississippi.

Reuters - Los Angeles residents are notorious for worrying about their waistlines and if two Los Angeles County Supervisors have it their way, calorie counting while dining out in the city may get easier.

Reuters - Georgian warplanes attacked separatist positions in the breakaway region of South Ossetia on Friday, Interfax news agency quoted the head of Russian peacekeepers in the region as saying.

AP - Chad Pennington quickly became the odd man out once Brett Favre joined the New York Jets. Pennington was released Thursday, ending the quarterback's eight-year, injury-plagued career with the Jets. He was expected to find a new home soon: Minnesota and Miami were mentioned as possible destinations.