Wall Street gains as economic outlook brightens (Reuters)

Reuters - The Dow and S&P 500 closed the week with their seventh gain in eight sessions in a turnaround period for stocks that has seen investors' worst fears about the economy start to dissipate.

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.

Special Report: Power struggles: charging tomorrow's cars (Reuters)

Reuters - Imagine driving across America using a fuel so new you have to carry your own supply wherever you go.

Enbridge stops major leak on Canada-U.S. oil pipeline (Reuters)

Reuters - Enbridge Inc said late Friday it had stopped an oil spill from its 6A pipeline, which delivers up to a third of Canada's crude oil exports to the United States, but gave no estimate on when the line might resume operations a day after it was shut down.

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.

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.

Toys R Us posts 2nd-quarter loss on higher costs (AP)

AP - Toys R Us Inc. posted a loss for its fiscal second quarter as its costs rose.

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.

Toys R Us posts quarterly loss (Reuters)

Reuters - Toys R Us Inc , which is looking to go public, reported a quarterly loss on higher costs and weakness in its international business.

Geoghegan replaces Feinberg as US pay czar (Reuters)

Reuters - The Treasury Department has selected Patricia Geoghegan to replace Kenneth Feinberg as the "pay czar" overseeing compensation at companies bailed out by the government.

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.

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.

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.

IMF to give Greece further 2.57 billion euro (AFP)

AFP - The International Monetary Fund on Friday announced it would provide Greece with a further 2.57 billion euro, the second installment of an economic rescue package.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.