AP - Arizona is preparing to ask an appeals court to lift a judge's ruling that put most of the state's immigration law on hold in a key first-round victory for the federal government in a fight that may go to the U.S. Supreme Court.

AP - A second U.S. Navy sailor who went missing in a dangerous part of eastern Afghanistan was found dead and his body recovered, a senior U.S. military official and Afghan officials said Thursday.

AP - President Barack Obama said Thursday that the racial firestorm that led to the ouster of a black Agriculture Department official was a "phony controversy" generated by the media. He said his administration overreacted by forcing her out.

AP - Four airmen were killed when a cargo plane crashed during a training run at an Alaska Air Force base, sending a fireball hundreds of feet into the air, military authorities and witnesses said.

AP - New York Rep. Charles Rangel steeled himself for a bad day Thursday as a jury of his congressional peers prepared to publicly discuss ethical charges against the former committee chairman clinging to a job he's held in the House for 40 years.

AP - The government's point man for the Gulf spill plans to meet with coastal parish officials Thursday to talk about what's next now that the oil has stopped flowing.

AP - New jobless claims fell last week for the third time in four weeks but remain elevated. The decline is a sign that the economy likely added jobs in July, although not enough to lower the nation's high unemployment rate.

AP - Calm, cool weather Thursday morning dampened a wildfire that destroyed 25 buildings north of Los Angeles, and crews were prepared for afternoon winds that could kick up the flames again, a fire spokesman said.

Reuters - New U.S. claims for unemployment benefits fell slightly more than expected last week, offering a ray of hope for the anemic labor market recovery.

Reuters - The tide of lawsuits unleashed by BP's oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico breaks into an Idaho courtroom on Thursday, just as the company's rivals are counting the cost of a ban on offshore drilling.

Reuters - The United States should alter policy to take account of China's role as a major player on the world stage if it wants to avoid friction and instability, a major state newspaper said on Thursday.

Reuters - Afghan President Hamid Karzai questioned on Thursday the willingness of his Western allies to strike insurgent bases in Pakistan given the strong evidence of Islamabad's support for the Taliban.

Reuters - A U.S. judge on Wednesday blocked key parts of Arizona's tough new immigration law hours before it was to take effect, handing a victory to the Obama administration as it tries to take control of the issue.

Reuters - Foreclosures rose in 3 of every four large U.S. metro areas in this year's first half, likely ruling out sustained home price gains until 2013, real estate data company RealtyTrac said on Thursday.

Reuters - Prosecutors in Germany have charged a suspected Nazi camp guard with helping to kill 430,000 Jews in the Holocaust and personally shooting 10 others.

AFP - A French mother admitted killing eight newborn babies Thursday, investigators said, as a shocked nation struggled to digest the latest grisly tragedy of village life.

AFP - Arizona's new immigration law went into effect on Thursday, stripped of a controversial provision that would have given police the power to check the immigration status of suspected criminals.