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McCain taps Alaska governor for VP

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin listens to a question during a press conference with victims of the Exxon Valdez oil spill at the National Press Club in February 2008 in Washington, DC. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's campaign on Friday blasted his Republican rival's choice of Palin as a running-mate, highlighting her "zero" foreign policy experience.(AFP/Getty Images/File/Win Mcnamee)
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AFP/Getty Images/File
AP - 14 minutes ago

DAYTON, Ohio - Republican John McCain introduced first-term Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his vice presidential running mate Friday, a stunning selection designed to get an edge in the increasingly competitive White House race.

  • Kathy Melkey poses at her home in Granby, Conn., Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2008. Melkey stands astride some of the fault lines between Barack Obama and John McCain. The 49-year-old substitute teacher from Granby, Conn., is a white woman, an independent and a suburbanite. Each of those groups is closely divided between the two presidential candidates. 'I'm waiting for somebody to wow me here,' said Melkey, who says she likes Obama but could change her mind. (AP Photo/Bob Child)
    Obama, McCain vie for suburbanites, white women AP - 2 hours, 48 minutes ago

    WASHINGTON - Kathy Melkey stands astride some of the fault lines between Barack Obama and John McCain.

  • A woman walks past posters with depictions of former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic along a main street in the Bosnian Serb capital Banja Luka, August 29, 2008. The posters read, 'Rise old Serbia and great Russia for an innocent man.' (Ranko Cukovic/Reuters)
    Karadzic makes defiant stand before UN court AP - Fri Aug 29, 1:09 PM ET

    THE HAGUE, Netherlands - Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic made a defiant stand before a U.N. court preparing to try him on genocide charges, refusing to enter pleas Friday and branding the tribunal a NATO proxy out to "liquidate" him.

  • In this Nov. 8, 2007 file photo, pop star Michael Jackson poses on the red carpet during the RainbowPUSH Coalition Los Angeles 10th annual awards dinner celebrating Jesse Jackson's 66th birthday, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Danny Moloshok, file)
    Michael Jackson at 50: `The best is yet to come' AP - Fri Aug 29, 2:24 PM ET

    NEW YORK - Michael Jackson marked a personal milestone Friday: his 50th birthday.

  • More than 1,500 Louisiana National Guard troops unload equipment at the convention center during preparations for Tropical Storm Gustav in New Orleans, Louisiana. Deadly Tropical Storm Gustav thrashed Jamaica Friday and was on track to crash into Cuba as a hurricane, after leaving up to 78 people dead in the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Jamaica.(AFP/Getty Images/Stephen Morton)
    Gustav headed for current that fuels big storms AP - 2 hours, 22 minutes ago

    WASHINGTON - The difference between a monster and a wimp for Gulf of Mexico hurricanes often comes down to a small patch of warm deep water that's easy to miss. It's called the Loop Current, and hurricane trackers say Gustav is headed right for it, reminiscent of Katrina.

  • Katarina Srebotnik of Slovenia, reacts during her match with Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia at the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York, Friday, Aug. 29, 2008. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
    Kuznetsova loses at US Open, Jankovic works OT AP - 6 minutes ago

    NEW YORK - Former champion Svetlana Kuznetsova became the last upset victim at the U.S. Open, beaten by 28th-ranked Katarina Srebotnik 6-3, 6-7 (1), 6-3 in the third round Friday.

  • Republican presidential candidate Senator John McCain looks on as his vice presidential running mate Alaska Governor Sarah Palin speaks at a campaign event in Dayton, Ohio August 28, 2008. (John Gress/Reuters)
    McCain picks Palin as surprise No. 2 Reuters - 2 hours, 48 minutes ago

    DAYTON, Ohio (Reuters) - Republican John McCain made a surprise choice of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate on Friday, adding a political unknown to the presidential ticket who could help him appeal to women voters.

  • Tropical Storm Gustav is seen in a NOAA satellite image taken August 28, 2008. (NOAA/Handout/Reuters)
    Gustav strengthens back into hurricane Reuters - 2 hours, 39 minutes ago

    GEORGE TOWN (Reuters) - Gustav strengthened back into a hurricane in the warm Caribbean on Friday as it left flooded Jamaica and churned toward the Cayman Islands, headed for the Gulf of Mexico on the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina's deadly strike on New Orleans.

  • A shopper walks past a store display in New York July 1, 2008. (Lucas Jackson/Reuters)
    Consumer spending flags, but confidence rises Reuters - Fri Aug 29, 3:00 PM ET

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Personal income tumbled unexpectedly in July and inflation-adjusted spending shrank as government economic stimulus waned, but consumer spirits rose this month, a hint the economy may muddle through its woes.

  • Soldiers carry the coffins of comrades, killed in the South Ossetia conflict, during a funeral in Tbilisi August 28, 2008. (David Mdzinarishvili/Reuters)
    Russia urges West to refrain from sanctions Reuters - Fri Aug 29, 11:22 AM ET

    PARIS/MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia and European powers took a step back from confrontation over Georgia on Friday, with Moscow urging the EU not to rush into punitive action and France saying now was not the time for sanctions.

  • Alabama governor in talks to avoid local bankruptcy Reuters - 2 hours, 25 minutes ago

    BIRMINGHAM, Alabama (Reuters) - Alabama's governor and Wall Street lenders bargained on Friday ahead of the expiration of a stand-still pact in a bid to avert a bankruptcy filing on $3.2 billion of debt by the state's most populous county.

  • The 2007 Cadillac Escalade ESV is seen on the show floor at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan January 8, 2006. (General Motors/Tom Pidgeon/Handout/Reuters)
    Electric fault spurs big GM recall Reuters - Fri Aug 29, 1:03 PM ET

    DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Corp is recalling 857,735 vehicles equipped with a heated windshield wiper fluid system for a potential short-circuit problem, according to federal safety regulators.

  • Riot police scuffle with supporters of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) outside the Government House in Bangkok August 29, 2008. (Chaiwat Subprasom/Reuters)
    Thai protesters attack Bangkok police HQ Reuters - Fri Aug 29, 12:06 PM ET

    BANGKOK (Reuters) - Protesters trying to overthrow Thailand's government attacked Bangkok's police headquarters on Friday as demonstrations against Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej spread from the capital, disrupting air and rail services.

  • Supporters hold signs as Democratic presidential nominee Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) speaks at the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado August 28, 2008. (Brian Snyder/Reuters)
    Obama vows to reverse Bush-McCain legacy Reuters - Fri Aug 29, 2:15 PM ET

    DENVER (Reuters) - Barack Obama launched a sharp assault on Republican presidential rival John McCain on Thursday with a promise to reverse the economic failures of the past eight years and restore America's global reputation.

  • Alaska Governor Sarah Palin (R) speaks as presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain looks on at a campaign rally in Dayton, Ohio. McCain unveiled a major surprise in the White House race Friday by picking a little known governor from the oil-rich state of Alaska as his running-mate.(AFP/Getty Images/Mario Tama)
    McCain's surprise VP pick is little-known woman governor AFP - 2 hours, 29 minutes ago

    DAYTON, Ohio (AFP) - John McCain tossed a huge but risky surprise into the US race for the White House Friday when he unveiled the little-known governor from Alaska, Sarah Palin, as his vice presidential running mate.

  • Poland hopes to convince the European Union to take a hard line on Russia's Russia military intervention in Georgia at a special summit on September 1.(AFPTV)
    Georgia breaks relations with Russia AFP - 1 hour, 59 minutes ago

    TBILISI (AFP) - Georgia on Friday broke diplomatic relations with Russia, heightening hostilities between the neighbours as Moscow also hit back at Western criticism.

  • Bolivian President Evo Morales sings the national anthem after signing on August 28, 2008 in La Paz the document decreeing a referendum to approve the new Constitution. A political crisis in Bolivia was Friday moving towards confrontation after Morales announced the referendum in the teeth of fierce opposition from rebel conservative governors.(AFP/File/Aizar Raldes)
    Bolivia heads for strife over new referendum AFP - 26 minutes ago

    LA PAZ (AFP) - A political crisis in Bolivia was Friday moving towards confrontation after President Evo Morales announced a referendum on a new, socialist constitution in the teeth of fierce opposition from rebel conservative governors.

  • This NOAA handout satellite image shows Tropical Storm Gustav located east-southeast of Grand Cayman. Gustav thrashed Jamaica Friday and was on track to crash into Cuba as a hurricane after leaving up to 78 people dead in the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Jamaica.(AFP/NOAA)
    Deadly Gustav lashes Jamaica, eyes Cuba, US AFP - 1 hour, 24 minutes ago

    KINGSTON (AFP) - Tropical Storm Gustav regained hurricane strength as it churned toward Cuba Friday, leaving 78 people dead in its wake, as New Orleans began voluntary evacuations ahead of the storm's projected arrival next week.

  • Professor Alexandre Carpentier speaks during a press conference at the Pitie-Salpetriere hospital in Paris. In a ground-breaking advance, French neurosurgeons on Friday said they had successfully treated brain tumours through ultra-keyhole surgery, using a tiny fibre-optic laser to destroy cancerous cells.(AFP/Stephane de Sakutin)
    World first: Lasers used in keyhole surgery for brain cancer AFP - Fri Aug 29, 1:38 PM ET

    PARIS (AFP) - In a ground-breaking advance, French neurosurgeons on Friday said they had successfully treated brain tumours through ultra-keyhole surgery, using a tiny fibre-optic laser to destroy cancerous cells.

  • Alitalia planes are pictured at Fiumicino airport, southwest of Rome. Alitalia said Friday that it has asked to be declared bankrupt and placed under special administration, the first step in a rescue plan that will see the struggling Italian flag carrier relaunched.(AFP/File/Tiziana Fabi)
    Alitalia seeks administration under rescue plan AFP - 1 hour, 46 minutes ago

    MILAN (AFP) - Alitalia said Friday that it has asked to be declared bankrupt and placed under special administration, the first step in a rescue plan that will see the struggling Italian flag carrier relaunched.

  • A customer picks up a chicken from a supermarket in Barcelona in June 2008. Inflation in the 15 countries sharing the euro pulled back in August from a record high, offering an increasingly rare ray of light as the threat of recession looms, official EU figures have shown.(AFP/File/Lluis Gene)
    Eurozone inflation pulls back from record high AFP - Fri Aug 29, 11:10 AM ET

    BRUSSELS (AFP) - Inflation in the 15 countries sharing the euro came off record highs in August, offering an increasingly rare ray of light as the threat of recession looms, official EU data showed on Friday.

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