AP - Surrounded by an enormous, adoring crowd, Barack Obama promised a clean break from the "broken politics in Washington and the failed policies of George W. Bush" Thursday night as he embarked on the final lap of his audacious bid to become the nation's first black president.

AP - More than 84,000 people have jammed into Invesco Field at Mile High stadium to hear Barack Obama's historic acceptance speech, city officials say.

AP - With Gustav approaching hurricane strength and showing no signs of veering off a track to slam into the Gulf Coast, authorities across the region began laying the groundwork Thursday to get the sick, elderly and poor away from the shoreline.

AP - Air safety investigators confirmed Friday that an exploding oxygen cylinder ripped a gaping hole in a Qantas jet's fuselage midflight last month, but said they were no closer to solving the mystery of why the tank failed.

AP - A former Marine accused of killing unarmed Iraqi detainees was acquitted of voluntary manslaughter Thursday in a first-of-its-kind federal trial that ended with some of the jurors shaking hands and hugging the defendant and his sobbing mother.

AP - Computer maker Dell Inc. said Thursday its fiscal second-quarter profit fell 17 percent, hurt in part by PC price cuts. Both earnings and margins fell short of Wall Street estimates, and Dell shares plunged.