AP - A hurricane warning is out for part of the Massachusetts coast including Nantucket as Earl bears down on the Eastern Seaboard.

AP - The number of people requesting unemployment benefits declined for the second straight week, suggesting that the slowing economy isn't prompting widespread job cuts.

AP - The top US military commander in Afghanistan says the sometimes strained relationship between the US and Afghan President Hamid Karzai is solid.

AP - Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton formally opened the first direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians in nearly two years on Thursday, imploring the parties to ignore the long history of failed negotiations and make needed compromises to forge an agreement.

AP - A gunman police shot to death after he took hostages at Discovery Channel's headquarters said he hated the company's shows such as "Kate Plus 8" because they promote population growth and its environmental programming because it did little to save the planet.

AP - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told a panel investigating the financial crisis that regulators must be ready to shutter the largest institutions if they threaten to bring down the financial system.

AP - India has widened its security crackdown, asking all companies that provide encrypted communications — not just BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion — to install servers in the country to make it easier for the government to obtain users' data. That would likely affect digital giants like Google and Skype.

AP - Authorities say Grammy-winning rapper T.I. and his wife have been arrested on suspicion of possessing methamphetamines after sheriff's deputies stopped their car in West Hollywood and smelled marijuana smoke.

AP - One woman's exit from the U.S. Open was jarring and sudden. Another's came off as sad and not all that surprising.