Obama calls on Americans to unite, not divide, over Islam (AFP)

AFP - An impassioned President Barack Obama Friday warned Americans must not turn on one another over religion, after rows over Islam sparked global fury, nine years after the September 11 attacks.

Obama: Voter anger could hurt Dems in elections (AP)

AP - Facing big Democratic losses in November, President Barack Obama blamed Republicans and election-year politics Friday for thwarting his efforts to do more to spur a listless national economy. He challenged Congress to quit squabbling and quickly approve "what we all agree on" — a reprieve for expiring tax cuts for the middle class.

Report: Iran cancels American's release (AP)

AP - An Iranian news agency says Tehran has canceled the planned release of a jailed American woman because the necessary legal procedures have not been completed.

Bell Canada parent to buy CTV for C$1.3 billion (Reuters)

Reuters - BCE Inc, Canada's largest telecommunications company, will pay C$1.3 billion ($1.26 billion) for the country's biggest private broadcaster, in a bold gamble on the future of video over the Internet.

If taxes on rich go up, would small business suffer? (McClatchy Newspapers)

McClatchy Newspapers - WASHINGTON — Lonny and Robin Kocina started their business in the laundry room of their house more than 20 years ago, and they now employ about 45 people. However, they worry that Washington lawmakers are about to stifle their effort to keep their business growing.

Oil still gushing from shut-down Canada-U.S. pipeline (Reuters)

Reuters - Enbridge Inc's 6A pipeline, the biggest of three key arteries that deliver most of Canada's crude oil exports to the United States, is still leaking oil in Illinois more than 24 hours after the spill that forced its closure was reported.

Afghan president calls on Taliban leader to join peace talks (AFP)

AFP - Afghan President Hamid Karzai Friday used his traditional message marking the Eid Muslim holiday to call on the leader of the Taliban to stop fighting and join peace talks to end Afghanistan's long war.

Man held in Denmark after trying to blow himself up (Reuters)

Reuters - Danish police have detained a man after he tried to blow himself up in a hotel in central Copenhagen, Danish media reported Friday.

Colombian rebels kill 6 police in mortar attack (AP)

AP - Colombian authorities say leftist rebels firing home-made mortars killed at least six police and wounded four in a pre-dawn attack at the country's border with Ecuador.

The E.U. Tries to Stop France's Crackdown on Gypsies (Time.com)

Time.com - After weeks of watching from the sidelines, the European Union has finally condemned France's mass expulsion of Roma migrants. But does France care?

Foreign Businesses Say China's Regulations Shut Them Out (Time.com)

Time.com - Foreign businesses in China are voicing growing frustration about the country's heavily regulated market -- a bureaucratic maze many say is designed deliberately to hamstring non-Chinese players to the advantage of their local competitors

Ohio man guilty in income tax return fraud (AP)

AP - An Ohio man has pleaded guilty in a $400,000 fraud that used stolen identities to file more than 100 false federal income tax returns.

Ohio man guilty in income tax return fraud (AP)

AP - An Ohio man has pleaded guilty in a $400,000 fraud that used stolen identities to file more than 100 false federal income tax returns.

War story: US vet who caught Japan's Tojo speaks (AP)

AP - A former U.S. Army intelligence officer credited with thwarting a suicide attempt by World War II Japanese leader Hideki Tojo is talking publicly about his exploits for the first time in 65 years.

CA crews try to reach smoldering homes after blast (AP)

AP - Fire crews tried to douse the remnants of an enormous blaze and account for the residents of dozens of homes Friday after a gas line ruptured and an explosion ripped through in a neighborhood near San Francisco, killing at least four people.

US troops brave grenade attacks in key Afghan town (AP)

AP - Pfc. Sean Provenzano saw it whiz by out of the corner of his eye: a dark object hurled from a rooftop as he patrolled the medieval maze of alleyways in this fort-like walled village at the center of America's Afghan surge.

Rare vivid blue diamond up for sale at NYC auction (AP)

AP - A two-stone ring with a rare triangular blue diamond the size of a quarter on a gold band with baguette-cut diamonds could bring at least $15 million when it is offered at auction in New York next month.

New GM CEO's pay package worth $9 million (AP)

AP - New General Motors Co. CEO Daniel Akerson will get the same $9 million pay package as the man he replaced, Ed Whitacre.

9/11 politicized by mosque, Quran controversies (AP)

AP - For almost a decade, the anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks was marked by somber reflection and a call to unity, devoid of politics. Not this time.

Wall Street gains as economic outlook brightens (Reuters)

Reuters - The Dow and S&P 500 were on track on Friday to close the week with a seventh gain in the last eight sessions, a period that has seen investors worst fears about the economy start to dissipate.

Genzyme begins layoffs to cut costs (Reuters)

Reuters - U.S. biotech company Genzyme Corp has begun laying off an unspecified number of employees, a move it said was unrelated to Sanofi-Aventis SA's takeover bid.

U.S. banking group wants part of Basel plan dropped (Reuters)

Reuters - A leading U.S. banking group is urging Basel Committee negotiators working on new international capital standards to ditch part of their proposal.

Earnings Preview: Best Buy Inc. (AP)

AP - Electronics seller Best Buy Inc. reports its second-quarter results before the market opens on Tuesday.

Lions upset Tendulkar's Mumbai in opener (AFP)

AFP - The Champions League Twenty20 tournament got off to a thrilling and surprise start Friday with local outfit Highveld Lions of South Africa defeating star-studded Mumbai Indians by nine runs.

Burris asks high court to reopen Senate ballot (AP)

AP - Sen. Roland Burris has turned to the U.S. Supreme Court in his battle to avoid being pushed out of office in November, his attorney said Friday.

US, Iraq sign deal to settle Saddam-era claims (AP)

AP - Iraq has agreed to pay $400 million to Americans who say they were abused by Saddam Hussein's regime, U.S. and Iraqi officials said Friday.

House may adjourn a week early (Politico)

Politico - Leaders consider move that would allow for just 11 days in session before the midterms.

Hermine death toll climbs to 6 as 2 bodies found (AP)

AP - The bodies of two men found Friday in swollen Texas waterways pushed the death toll caused by remnants of Tropical Storm Hermine to six, while a scaled-back search resumed for another woman swept away in flooding caused by a record drenching.

NTSB: Duck boat calls unanswered before collision (AP)

AP - An idled tour boat and nearby vessels made repeated, unanswered calls to the tugboat guiding the massive barge that hit and sank the smaller craft in the Delaware River, killing two Hungarian students, according to a preliminary federal report released Friday.

Where to Buy a Home for Less Than $800 a Month (U.S. News & World Report)

U.S. News & World Report - While the nation's real estate crash has been a nightmare for homeowners, it has created some outstanding opportunities for would-be buyers. Home prices in 20 major cities dropped 33 percent from the summer of 2006 to the spring of 2009--and in certain markets, the plunge was even steeper. At the same time, the federal government's efforts to revive the housing market have helped drive financing costs to record lows. Thirty-year fixed mortgage rates fell to an average of 4.32 percent for the week ending September 2. That's the lowest level in nearly 40 years of record-keeping. ...

Colo. fire evacuees cautiously allowed back home (AP)

AP - Crews held a wildfire near Boulder at bay Friday, allowing some 2,000 evacuees to return home with a warning to be prepared to flee again.

Obama taps Goolsbee as top White House economist (Reuters)

Reuters - President Barack Obama on Friday named a member of his inner circle as top White House economist and gave a strong personal endorsement to a leading candidate to run his new consumer protection bureau.

Google's Android to be world No. 2 in 2010: report (Reuters)

Reuters - Google Inc's Android software will become the world's second most popular operating system for cell phones this year, leapfrogging rival offerings from Microsoft Corp, Research in Motion and Apple Inc, according to a new report.

Cyrus the Great artifact to be displayed in Iran (AP)

AP - A Babylonian artifact sometimes described as the world's first human rights charter is to go on display in Iran after the government threatened to cut ties with the British Museum if it did not loan the object.

Castro says he was misinterpreted on Cuban economy (AP)

AP - Fidel Castro says his comments about Cuba's communist economic model were misinterpreted by a visiting American journalist.

Conductor's arm amputated after Calif. derailment (AP)

AP - A surgical team amputated the arm of a conductor Friday to free him from the wreckage of a locomotive that struck a slow-moving freight train on tracks 50 miles east of Los Angeles.

US judge: 'Don't ask, don't tell' unconstitutional (AP)

AP - A federal judge said she will issue an order to halt the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy, after she declared the ban on openly gay service members unconstitutional.

Iran's president intervened in American's release (AP)

AP - Iran's president intervened to secure the release of Sarah Shourd, one of three Americans jailed for more than 13 months, in part because of her gender, a news agency reported Friday.

Some see Turkey's secularism at stake in Sept. 12 referendum (The Christian Science Monitor)

The Christian Science Monitor - Turks are preparing to vote on a package of far-reaching constitutional changes Sunday, in what has turned into a referendum on the countryâs Islamic-leaning ruling party.

Spanish miners in Day 9 of underground protest (AP)

AP - Far, far away from a Chilean mine where 33 trapped men struggle to cope as they await rescue, 50 Spanish miners are also deep in the earth's bowels — but by their own choice.