Senate urged to repeal 'don't ask, don't tell' (AP)

AP - Elated by a major court victory, gay-rights activists are stepping up pressure on Congress to repeal the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy this month. They want to avoid potentially lengthy appeals and fear their chances for a legislative fix will fade after Election Day.

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.

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.

First Medal of Honor for a living Afghan war vet (AP)

AP - A 25-year-old soldier from Iowa who exposed himself to enemy gunfire to try to save two fellow soldiers will become the first living service member from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq to receive the Medal of Honor, the White House announced Friday.

Fla. pastor's son: no Quran burning on 9/11 (AP)

AP - The son of a pastor who suspended plans to burn copies of the Quran to mark the 9/11 anniversary says Islam's holiest text will not be torched at their Florida church Saturday.

Obama promotes Goolsbee to top economic post (AP)

AP - President Barack Obama elevated his longtime adviser Austan Goolsbee to chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers on Friday, signaling his determination to stand by an economic team that has faced criticism for the slow pace of the recovery.

New federal probe targets scandal-ridden LA suburb (AP)

AP - The blue-collar suburb of Bell, already under investigation for possible misuse of funds and voter fraud, is also facing a federal probe into whether it violated the civil rights of Hispanics by deliberately targeting their cars for towing, officials said Friday.

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

AP - Fire crews sifted through dozens of burned-out houses and tried to account for the residents Friday after a gas line ruptured and a massive fireball exploded through a neighborhood near San Francisco, killing at least four people.

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.

Atheist billboard provokes Oklahoman Christians (AP)

AP - Atheists in Oklahoma City have erected a billboard seeking fellow non-believers, and Satanists have scheduled a conference in a city-owned building, drawing criticism from ministers in a state where more than eight out of 10 people say they are Christians.

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.

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.

Texas mom says she waived finger, not gun, at team (AP)

AP - A Texas mother who witnesses said pulled a gun on a seventh-grade volleyball team says she merely waived her finger and never threatened the players.

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

AP - John J. Wilpers Jr. went decades without publicly revealing details about his international headline-making exploits at the end of World War II, a string of silence befitting a former Army intelligence officer-turned-career CIA employee.

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.

Castro says comment on Cuban economy misunderstood (Reuters)

Reuters - Fidel Castro said on Friday his recent comment that communist-led Cuba's economic model does not work was badly understood and that what he really meant was that capitalism does not work.

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.

The states strike back

States are intensifying theirefforts to confront the challenge of winnowing down budget shortfalls by raising sales tax rates, increasing the number of items taxed, and more aggressively asserting nexus.

Obama says Republicans holding recovery hostage (Reuters)

Reuters - President Barack Obama accused Republicans on Friday of holding the middle class hostage and defended his efforts to stimulate the sluggish economy as he tries to reverse grim election prospects for his fellow Democrats in November.

House may adjourn a week early (Politico)

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

Recession has left huge hole: Obama (AFP)

AFP - US President Barack Obama said Friday the "hole" left by the worst recession in decades was "huge" and admitted the recovery had been "painfully slow," but vowed his policies were working.

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.

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.

STATES

GUJARAT: Gujarat to permit landlocked States to own ports on its coasts State to be rebranded as ‘Global Business Hub' at investment meet.

UBS downgrades Intuit on stock price rise (AP)

AP - Financial software maker Intuit Inc. remains an "attractive story," with strong results despite a difficult economy, a UBS analyst said Friday.

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.

Would-be Wall Street sheriffs strike cautious tone (Reuters)

Reuters - All candidates vying to be the next so-called Sheriff of Wall Street say they will find the bad apples without overturning the applecart in the financial capital's fragile economic recovery.

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.

July wholesale inventories jump 1.3 percent (Reuters)

Reuters - Wholesale inventories surged the most in two years in July, adding to signs that economic growth in the third quarter of the year may prove a bit stronger than many forecasters had expected.

Report: US must deal with homegrown terror problem (AP)

AP - The U.S. was slow to take seriously the threat posed by homegrown radicals and the government has failed to put systems in place to deal with the growing phenomenon, according to a new report compiled by the former heads of the Sept. 11 Commission.

Obama: GOP's policies made a 'mess' of economy (McClatchy Newspapers)

McClatchy Newspapers - WASHINGTON — With his Democratic Party facing the prospect of huge congressional losses in November, President Barack Obama tried Friday to draw sharp distinctions between Republicans and Democrats, arguing that Republican plans "are the exact policies that got us into this mess."

NYC imam says no meeting planned with Fla. pastor (AP)

AP - The imam leading an effort to build an Islamic center near the World Trade Center site says he has no plans to meet with a Florida pastor who had threatened to burn copies of the Quran.

(AP)

AP - Obama says 'we are not at war against Islam,' but against terrorist factions.

Treasury's Barr to testify on Fannie and Freddie (Reuters)

Reuters - Michael Barr, assistant treasury secretary for financial institutions, and Edward DeMarco, acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency will testify on Capitol Hill next week on the future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac .

Greece pledges to overhaul loss-making state rail (AP)

AP - The Greek government pledged Friday to radically overhaul loss-making state rail company OSE, as official data showed efforts to cut the country's bloated budget deficit remained on track, if slightly asthmatic.

Obama says growing economy will ease poverty (AP)

AP - When it comes to fighting poverty, President Barack Obama says the most important thing he can do is to make the economy grow more quickly so that there are more jobs for everyone.

Obama to voters: Our economic policies better (AP)

AP - President Barack Obama says that if voters weigh his economic policies against those of Republicans, then "the Democrats will do very well" in November.

What is next for the military ban on gays? (The Upshot)

The Upshot - On Thursday, a U.S. District Court judge in California struck down the military's ban on openly gay service members, ruling that the policy violates their First and Fifth Amendment rights guaranteeing free speech and due process under the law. (You can read the full decision here.) Awkwardly enough, the defendant in the case is the [...]

Obama picks new top economist (AFP)

AFP - US President Barack Obama on Friday named Austan Goolsbee, an economics professor currently working in his administration, to chair the Council of Economic Advisors (CEA).

Obama picks new top economist (AFP)

AFP - US President Barack Obama on Friday named Austan Goolsbee, an economics professor currently working in his administration, to chair the Council of Economic Advisors (CEA).