Florida pastor calls off Koran burning, claims mosque deal (AFP)

AFP - A Florida pastor called off Thursday a Koran-burning ceremony scheduled for this weekend, claiming he had secured a deal to move a planned mosque in New York away from Ground Zero.

Fla. minister cancels burning of Qurans on 9/11 (AP)

AP - The minister of a Florida church said he has canceled plans to burn copies of the Quran because the leader of a much-opposed plan to build an Islamic Center near ground zero has agreed to move its location. The agreement couldn't be immediately confirmed.

EPA seeks chemical info on hydraulic fracturing (AP)

AP - The Environmental Protection Agency is asking nine natural gas companies to voluntarily disclose the chemical components used in a drilling technique called hydraulic fracturing.

Mortgage rates edge up; Housing market still slow (AP)

AP - Record-low mortgage rates failed to pull the housing market out of its funk. Now rates are inching higher, but don't blame them if home sales stay sluggish.

Iran to free female American for holiday clemency (AP)

AP - Iran said Thursday it will free Sarah Shourd, one of three Americans jailed for more than 13 months, as an act of clemency to mark the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

Shoe seller DSW's operator says 2Q profit jumps (AP)

AP - Retail Ventures Inc., which operates the DSW shoe store chain, posted a 67 percent jump in second-quarter net income as a key revenue figure improved.

Residents assess damage caused by Detroit fires (AP)

AP - Toni Booker considered herself fortunate on Thursday as she inspected the damage to her wooden bungalow caused by urban wildfires that swept through Detroit this week, destroying dozens of homes.

UN soldier shot and robbed outside Haitian bank (AP)

AP - The United Nations mission in Haiti says one of its peacekeepers and a civilian woman have been shot by robbers outside a bank in the capital.

Fla. minister cancels burning of Qurans on 9/11 (AP)

AP - A Christian minister in Florida is canceling plans to burn Qurans on Sept. 11, heeding an international outcry that drew criticism from President Barack Obama and religious and political leaders across the Muslim world.

Trump offers to buy out investor in NY mosque site (AP)

AP - Donald Trump is offering to buy out one of the major investors in the real estate partnership that controls the site near ground zero where a Muslim group wants to build a 13-story Islamic center and mosque.

Suicide car bombing in southern Russia kills 17 (AP)

AP - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin blamed extremists "without souls, without hearts" for a suicide car bombing that killed 17 people Thursday in the crowded central market of a city in the North Caucasus.

APNewsBreak: NY to seek info on cleanser contents (AP)

AP - Consumers curious — or concerned — about the chemicals in household cleaning products will get detailed rundowns under state plans to require manufacturers to detail their products' contents.

Jail sentence extended for Austrian right-winger (AP)

AP - A jailed right-wing Austrian author has been found guilty of violating a prohibition on glorifying Nazi ideology and sentenced to an additional two years in prison.

Swimmers, motorists missing after Texas flooding (AP)

AP - The death toll from flooding caused by the remnants of Tropical Storm Hermine could increase after authorities near San Antonio acknowledged Thursday that hopes were dim of finding alive two missing swimmers swept away by floodwaters.

Analysis: Obama has tenuous grip on Democrats over taxes (Reuters)

Reuters - Democrats in Congress are distancing themselves from President Barack Obama's push to let taxes rise for the wealthiest Americans, fearing it will further harm them in November's mid-term elections.

U.S. Marines take back pirate-held ship off Somalia (AP)

AP - U.S. Marine commandos stormed a pirate-held cargo ship off the Somalia coast Thursday, reclaiming control and taking nine prisoners without firing a shot in the first such boarding raid by the international anti-piracy flotilla, U.S. Navy officials said.

Wall Street buoyed by upbeat economic data (Reuters)

Reuters - Stocks rose on Thursday as stronger-than-expected jobs and trade data helped lift optimism about the economic recovery, although sentiment was fragile as investors fretted over European banks.

CA-CANADA Summary (Reuters)

Reuters - A Canadian man's own actions will prove he lied to a court about having no knowledge of the conspiracy that led to the deadly bombing of Air India Flight 182 in 1985, prosecutors said at the start of a perjury trial on Thursday.

Air India bomb perjury trial starts in Canada (Reuters)

Reuters - A Canadian man's own actions will prove he lied to a court about having no knowledge of the conspiracy that led to the deadly bombing of Air India Flight 182 in 1985, prosecutors said at the start of a perjury trial on Thursday.

High winds mean Colo. fire evacuees can't return (AP)

AP - Winds expected to reach 60 mph Thursday are forcing authorities to call off plans for residents to return to their homes after they fled a wildfire that has destroyed at least 169 houses near Boulder.

Defense: Deal discussed in Detroit plane attack (AP)

AP - Lawyers for a Nigerian man charged with trying to blow up a plane near Detroit on Christmas said Thursday they've talked to prosecutors about resolving the case with a deal.

SC had tax liens against gov hopeful's family biz (AP)

AP - A business owned by the family of South Carolina Republican gubernatorial candidate Nikki Haley has been penalized for failing to pay taxes three times since 2003, according to records obtained by The Associated Press.

Nigerian forces free two Russian hostages in delta (Reuters)

Reuters - Nigerian security forces have freed two Russian sailors who were abducted from their vessel in the oil-producing Niger Delta a month ago, a senior security officer said on Thursday.

Wal-Mart US merchandising now headed by four execs (Reuters)

Reuters - Wal-Mart Stores Inc will remain without a chief merchandising officer for its U.S. stores for now, instead naming four new product heads to take over that responsibility, the retailer said on Thursday.

Who Wants to Be Next Mayor of Chicago? (Time.com)

Time.com - The floodgates have opened with Richard Daley's surprise decision not to run for a seventh term. But the wannabes don't have much time.

Gulf compensation chief retreats from promises to speed claims process (Exclusive to Yahoo! News)

Exclusive to Yahoo! News - Just over two weeks ago, Kenneth Feinberg took over the process for handling damage claims from the Gulf oil spill, pledging to cut down the response time from BP’s widely criticized system to two days for individuals and seven days for businesses that file fully documented claims.

Clinton vets say 2010 is no 1994 (Politico)

Politico - Even as they worry about an enthusiasm gap, they say it won’t be as big a disaster as 16 years ago.

Vt.: Log Cabin All Natural Syrup not the real deal (AP)

AP - A new Log Cabin syrup touted as "all natural" looks a lot like the pure, 100 percent maple product that's the pride of Vermont, right down to its packaging in a plastic beige jug.

Fears of a second recession ease, at least for now (AP)

AP - No, the economy isn't roaring ahead. And no, companies aren't making lots of job offers. But a fresh batch of economic data Thursday at least eased summertime fears that the economy might be on the brink of another recession.

Israel's Military on the Spot in Hearing Over Activist Rachel Corrie's Death (Time.com)

Time.com - The family of a young American activist killed by an Israeli army bulldozer she was trying to block from demolishing a Palestinian home are fighting a civil suit in Israel's courts, forcing the authorities reveal details of her death

Has Pakistan's Military Lost Ground to the Floods? (Time.com)

Time.com - For Pakistan's powerful military, the unprecedented floods have been a mixed blessing

Patriots QB Brady unhurt in wreck near Boston home (AP)

AP - New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was in a two-car accident near his home Thursday morning, but was unhurt and hours later practiced as usual with his team just days before the season opener.

Somali refugees tell of hellish scene in Mogadishu (AP)

AP - Terrified Somalis fleeing an offensive by Islamist insurgents in their capital described a hellish scene of putrefying corpses, graves hastily dug in gardens and neighborhoods flattened by mortars.

(AP)

AP - Iran says female American held for more than year will be released.

Haley Barbour, race, Ole Miss _ from black perspective (McClatchy Newspapers)

McClatchy Newspapers - WASHINGTON — It's hard to believe that Haley Barbour and Verna Bailey attended the same University of Mississippi in 1965, and even sat next to each other in a class.

Gulf oil dilemma: accept payout from BP or sue (AP)

AP - Alabama seafood market owner David Scott faces a difficult decision as he tries to rejuvenate his business after the Gulf oil spill: He can accept a piece of BP's $20 billion claims fund — relatively fast, easy money — or sue the oil giant for a bigger payday, wait years and risk ending up with nothing.

Obama admonishes pastor to call off Quran 'stunt' (AP)

AP - President Barack Obama sternly admonished a Florida pastor Thursday and appealed to him to call off plans to torch the Quran, saying Saturday's planned protest on the anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks was a dangerous "stunt" that could imperil U.S. troops abroad and incite suicide bombers on American soil.

Appeals court blocks Pa. town's immigration law (AP)

AP - A federal appeals court ruled Thursday that Hazleton, Pa., may not enforce its crackdown on illegal immigrants, dealing another blow to 4-year-old regulations that inspired similar measures around the country.

Four escape U.S. custody at Iraq prison that held Saddam (McClatchy Newspapers)

McClatchy Newspapers - BAGHDAD — Four prisoners escaped a maximum-security U.S. military facility housing al Qaida in Iraq suspects and former members of Saddam Hussein's regime, officials said Thursday, in an embarrassing development for American forces as they hand over security operations in Iraq.

Wis. reaches deal on military, overseas voting (AP)

AP - Wisconsin election officials and the U.S. Department of Justice have reached an agreement on how the state will comply with a new law designed to ensure all military and overseas voters have their ballots counted.