AP - Days from his first Moscow summit, President Barack Obama declared Thursday that former Russian President Vladimir Putin "still has a lot of sway"in his nation and needs an in-person reminder the Cold War is over.

AP - U.S. Marines suffered their first casualties of a massive new military campaign Thursday as they engaged in sporadic gunbattles along 55 miles of Taliban-controlled heartland in southern Afghanistan.

AP - The investigation of Michael Jackson's death is widening as questions intensify about the drugs he took, the doctors who provided them and the actions of police.

AP - Federal marshals seized disgraced financier Bernard Madoff's $7 million Manhattan penthouse on Thursday and forced his wife to move out and leave her possessions behind, including a fur coat she had asked to take with her, an official told The Associated Press.

AP - Deborah Rowe, the ex-wife of Michael Jackson and the mother of two of his children, has not reached a final decision on whether to seek custody of the children, a lawyer said Thursday.

AP - After the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Saddam Hussein stayed in Baghdad until he saw "the city was about to fall."Months later, he was caught hiding at the same farm where he had fled in 1959 after taking part in an attempt to kill the country's prime minister.

AP - Air France Flight 447 slammed into the Atlantic Ocean, intact and belly first, at such a high speed that the 228 people aboard probably had no time to even inflate their life jackets, French investigators said Thursday in their first report into the June 1 accident.

AP - Talk about adding a late-inning buzz to a ballgame. The Houston Astros В—who once had the "Killer Bs"В—beat the San Diego Padres 7-2 on Thursday, but only after waiting out a 52-minute delay in the top of the ninth inning caused when a swarm of bees took over part of left field at Petco Park.

Reuters - Thousands of U.S. Marines stormed deep into Taliban territory in an Afghan valley on Thursday, marking the start of a major new effort by the Obama administration to regain the initiative in the war.

Reuters - U.S. employers cut far more jobs than expected last month and the unemployment rate hit 9.5 percent, the highest in nearly 26 years, underscoring the likelihood of a long, slow recovery from recession.

Reuters - U.S. Vice President Joe Biden made a previously unannounced visit to Baghdad on Thursday to meet Iraqi leaders and U.S. military commanders just days after American troops withdrew from Iraqi towns and city centers.

Reuters - As California marked its second day of a new fiscal year without a budget agreement, the state government moved ahead on Thursday to issue billions of dollars in "IOUs"in order to avoid a cash crisis.

Reuters - Honduras'interim government said on Thursday it was open to holding early elections to resolve the impasse over ousted President Manuel Zelaya, as the Organization of American States readied a mission to Honduras to push for his reinstatement.

Reuters - South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford, who faces growing calls to quit over his affair with an Argentine woman, did not misuse public funds in trips he made to see his mistress, the state's top police official said on Thursday.

Reuters - Iranian hardliners pressed on Thursday for legal action against moderate leaders accused of inciting post-election turmoil that has dimmed Western hopes of engaging Tehran on its disputed nuclear program.

AFP - US Marines have established bridgeheads in Taliban strongholds after suffering the first fatality of their massive offensive against Afghanistan's hardline Islamist militia.

AFP - North Korea on Thursday test-fired four short-range missiles, South Korean military officials said, further fuelling tension sparked by its nuclear standoff with the international community.