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U.S., Iraq near key security deal

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, left, meets with Iraq's Prime minister Nouri al-Maliki, right, aided by a translator, center, in the heavily fortified Green Zone in Baghdad, Iraq Thursday, Aug. 21, 2008. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice flew into Baghdad on Thursday for discussions with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and other top Iraqi officials, hoping to iron out remaining differences in a U.S.-Iraq security deal that envisions the withdrawal of American troops. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed, Pool)
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AP - 1 hour, 16 minutes ago

BAGHDAD - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said Thursday that U.S. and Iraqi officials agree that timetables should be set for a U.S. troop withdrawal, but conceded that nailing down a broader pact on future relations is difficult.

  • Jamaica's Veronica Campbell-Brown, right, and United States' Allyson Felix compete in the women's 200-meter final during the athletics competitions in the National Stadium at the Beijing 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Thursday, Aug. 21, 2008. Campbell-Brown won the gold medal. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)
    Butterfingers drop US men, women out of 400 relays AP - 1 hour, 6 minutes ago

    BEIJING - Tyson Gay reached back to grab the baton "and there was nothing." He's not the only American track favorite who will leave Beijing empty-handed. The American men's and women's 400-meter relay teams both misconnected on the final handoffs in their preliminaries Thursday, a pair of stunning setbacks that made it that much easier for the Jamaicans to say the Bird's Nest is really their house.

  • Leading economic indicators fell sharply in July AP - 1 hour, 40 minutes ago

    NEW YORK - A private business group's measure of the economy's health showed the largest drop in one year as stocks fell, new building permits declined and unemployment rose.

  • In this March 3, 2006 file photo, former British rocker Gary Glitter smiles at journalists prior to his verdict and sentencing at Ba Ria-Vung, Vung Tau province People's Court in Vietnam. Authorities freed Glitter from prison in southern Vietnam on Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2008, sending the convicted child molester into an uncertain future after nearly three years of confinement. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel, File)
    Rejected by Hong Kong, Glitter arrives in Thailand AP - Thu Aug 21, 9:06 AM ET

    BANGKOK, Thailand - Thai police said disgraced rocker Gary Glitter agreed Thursday to leave Thailand for London, possibly ending a two-day odyssey that began when he was released from a Vietnamese prison after serving time for molesting children.

  • This photo provided by Hallmark shows a same-sex wedding greeting card. Hallmark added the cards after California joined Massachusetts as the only U.S. states with legal gay marriage. (AP Photo/Hallmark)
    Now on the Hallmark aisle: Gay marriage cards AP - Thu Aug 21, 8:17 AM ET

    PORTLAND, Ore. - Most states don't recognize gay marriage — but now Hallmark does.

  • In this Thursday, Jan. 31, 2008 file photo, Gene Upshaw, executive director of the National Football League Players Association, is seen during a news conference, in Phoenix. The Hall of Fame football player and longtime NFL Players Association executive director died according to The NFL players' union. He was 63. The former offensive lineman had been fighting pancreatic cancer. He was 63. Upshaw played with the Oakland and Los Angeles Raiders from 1967 until 1981. He was a seven-time Pro Bowl selection and an 11-time All-Pro. (AP Photo/Morry Gash, FILE)
    NFLPA head Gene Upshaw dies of cancer at age 63 AP - 8 minutes ago

    NEW YORK - Gene Upshaw, the Hall of Fame guard who during a quarter century as union head helped get NFL players free agency and the riches that came with it, has died. He was 63.

  • Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki (R) meets visiting Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in Baghdad August 21, 2008. (Handout/Iraqi Government/Reuters)
    Rice says Iraq troops deal close Reuters - 2 hours, 26 minutes ago

    BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The United States and Iraq are close to a deal extending the presence of U.S. troops beyond 2008, but any timetable for their withdrawal must be "feasible," Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Thursday.

  • Russian soldiers travel on an armoured personnel carrier towards the Roki tunnel that leads into Russia near the village of Vekhny Ruk August 21, 2008. (Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters)
    Russian tanks pull back from Georgia Reuters - 2 hours, 23 minutes ago

    MOSCOW/TBILISI (Reuters) - Russia began pulling tanks and armor back over its frontier, pledging all forces would quit Georgia's heartland by Friday night, but Tbilisi said Moscow was determined to keep a grip on the country.

  • People walk past the world headquarters for Morgan Stanley and Co. Incorporated in New York May 19, 2008. (Lucas Jackson/Reuters)
    Analysts see tough quarter for U.S. investment banks Reuters - 1 hour, 58 minutes ago

    BANGALORE (Reuters) - Wall Street research analysts are projecting yet another tough quarter for U.S. investment banks marked by additional writedowns across a series of fixed-income assets amid an already weak operating environment.

  • Jamaica's Usain Bolt celebrates winning the men's 200m final at the "Bird's Nest" National Stadium during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Bolt won the men's 200 metres gold medal at the Olympics on Wednesday to complete the sprint double in a new world record time of 19.30 seconds.(AFP/Olivier Morin)
    Jamaica sweeps the sprint golds in Beijing Reuters - 2 hours, 11 minutes ago

    BEIJING (Reuters) - Jamaica made a clean sweep of Olympic sprint golds on Thursday with victory in the women's 200 meters humbling the United States, the traditional track and field superpower.

  • Pakistani police and bomb disposal officials examine the site of a suicide bombing at a gate of Pakistan's ordinance factory in Wah, a garrison city about, 30 km (20 miles) northwest of Islamabad August 21, 2008. Two suicide bombers blew themselves up outside Pakistan's main defence industry complex on Thursday as workers were leaving at the end of their shift, killing nearly 40 people, police said. REUTERS/Faisal Mahmood (PAKISTAN)
    Blasts near Pakistan arms plant kill 59 Reuters - 2 hours, 43 minutes ago

    ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Two suicide bombers blew themselves up outside Pakistan's main defence industry complex on Thursday as workers were leaving at the end of their shift, killing 59 people, officials said.

  • The tail of the Spanair jet that crashed on take off at Madrid airport is seen on Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2008. A Spanair airliner bound for the Canary Islands at the height of the vacation season crashed, burned and broke into pieces Wednesday while trying to take off from Madrid, killing 149 people on board, officials said. There were only 26 survivors in the mid-afternoon crash, said Spanish Development Minister Magdalena Alvarez, whose department is in charge of civil aviation. It was Spain's most deadly air disaster in more than 20 years. (AP Photo/EFE)
    Spanair jet had problems before deadly crash Reuters - 49 minutes ago

    MADRID (Reuters) - Grieving relatives on Thursday tried to identify charred bodies from the wreckage of a Spanish jet, which officials said had been forced to abort a take-off earlier in the day at Madrid airport due to mechanical problems.

  • The exterior of the world headquarters for Lehman Brothers is seen in New York June 4, 2008. (Brendan McDermid/Reuters)
    Lehman shares fall after report of failed sale Reuters - 34 minutes ago

    NEW YORK (Reuters) - Lehman Brothers shares fell 4.3 percent on Thursday after a newspaper reported the bank had tried to sell a stake of itself to South Korean or Chinese parties and failed, and a Citigroup analyst reduced his estimates for the sector.

  • Vaccine refusals fuel measles outbreak Reuters - 24 minutes ago

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Parents refusing to have their children vaccinated against measles have helped drive cases of the illness to their worst levels in a dozen years in the United States, health officials reported on Thursday.

  • Map locating the double suicide attacks in Wah, Pakistan. Two suicide bombers blew themselves up outside Pakistan's main army munitions factory, killing 64 workers in the deadliest attack on a military installation in the country's history.(AFP Graphic/null)
    Suicide blasts kill 64 at Pakistan arms factory AFP - 8 minutes ago

    WAH, Pakistan (AFP) - Two suicide bombers blew themselves up outside Pakistan's main army munitions factory Thursday, killing 64 workers in the deadliest attack on a military installation in the country's history.

  • The plane crashed shortly after taking off from Barajas airport on August 20. Distraught relatives of the 153 victims of the Madrid holiday jet disaster struggled to identify burned body parts as investigators scoured the wreckage for clues.(AFP/Graphic)
    Relatives face grim mission to identify Madrid crash victims AFP - Thu Aug 21, 8:04 AM ET

    MADRID, Aug 21, 2008 (AFP) - Distraught relatives of the 153 victims of the Madrid holiday jet disaster struggled Thursday to identify burned body parts as investigators scoured the wreckage for clues.

  • Georgian women from villages outside Tskhinvali prepare for evacuation to Gori. Georgia faces the growing likelihood of dismemberment as Moscow-backed separatists hardened demands for independence and Russian troops retained an iron grip on the country.(AFP/Dmitry Kostyukov)
    Georgia separatists rise up under Russian protection AFP - Thu Aug 21, 7:41 AM ET

    TSKHINVALI, Georgia (AFP) - Georgia faced the growing likelihood of dismemberment Thursday as Moscow-backed separatists hardened demands for independence and Russian troops retained an iron grip.

  • A woman stands outside a sandwich shop. A medicine seen as a promising treatment for cocaine and methamphetamine addiction has also been shown to shed weight in laboratory rats, US researchers said here.(AFP/File/Paul Ellis)
    Anti-addiction medicine leads to weight loss in rats: study AFP - 34 minutes ago

    WASHINGTON (AFP) - A medicine seen as a promising treatment for cocaine and methamphetamine addiction has also been shown to shed weight in laboratory rats, US researchers said here.

  • Children file to go to the toilets in the Center of Community Action for Children (CACE) in Koumassi near Abidjan, Ivory Coast, in 2001. Some 1.2 billion people have no toilets and defecate outside, while aid workers find shame effective in getting them to use facilities once provided, experts meeting in Stockholm heard this week.(AFP/File/Georges Gobet)
    Getting poor to use toilets 'a major health conundrum' AFP - 14 minutes ago

    STOCKHOLM (AFP) - More than one billion people worldwide have no toilet and defecate outside, while some have to be shamed into changing their habits when presented with conveniences, a conference was told.

  • US private equity group Lone Star is to take over IKB, the German bank rescued by the state development bank KfW after collapsing because of the subprime mortgage crisis, KfW said.(AFP/File/Barbara Sax)
    US group buys German subprime casualty AFP - Thu Aug 21, 8:25 AM ET

    BERLIN (AFP) - US private equity group Lone Star is to take over IKB, the German bank rescued by state development bank KfW after falling victim to the subprime mortgage meltdown, KfW said Thursday.

  • An oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico. Oil prices have jumped back above 122 dollars as traders tracked geopolitical tensions between the United States and Russia, a weak dollar and a large drop in US motor fuel reserves.(AFP/HO/File)
    Oil price rockets back above $122 AFP - 20 minutes ago

    LONDON (AFP) - Oil prices jumped back above 122 dollars on Thursday as traders tracked geopolitical tensions between the United States and Russia, a weak dollar and a large drop in US motor fuel reserves.

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  • A keeper takes a break besides horses grazing at the stadium in Hong Kong on August 1. The International Equestrian Federation (FEI) announced that four horses have been banned from competing in the Olympic Games jumping competition for doping.(DDP/AFP/File/David Hecker)
    Four horses banned from jumping Olympic final for doping - FEI AFP - Thu Aug 21, 6:41 AM ET

    HONG KONG, Aug 21, 2008 (AFP) - Four horses have been banned from competing in Thursday's Olympic Games jumping competition for doping, the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) announced here Thursday.

  • Reuters journalist Ali al-Mashhadani (R), a television cameraman, embraces a colleague shortly after his release from Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad January 15, 2006. (Thaier al-Sudani/Reuters)
    U.S. military frees Reuters cameraman in Iraq Reuters - 1 hour, 38 minutes ago

    BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The U.S. military freed a Reuters television cameraman on Thursday after holding him for three weeks in Iraq without charges.

  • The house of a missing Bavarian family, believed to be victims of yesterday's Spainair jet crash, is pictured in Pullach south of Munich August 21, 2008. A Spainair jet, heading for the Canary Islands crashed on takeoff and burst into flames at Madrid airport on Wednesday, killing 153 of the people on board, the government said. Spanair, is owned by Scandinavian Airlines Systems. REUTERS/Michaela Rehle (GERMANY)
    Spanair jet had problems before deadly crash Reuters - 49 minutes ago

    MADRID (Reuters) - Grieving relatives on Thursday tried to identify charred bodies from the wreckage of a Spanish jet, which officials said had been forced to abort a take-off earlier in the day at Madrid airport due to mechanical problems.

  • Cindy McCain, left, applauds as her husband, Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. is introduced at the Annual Veterans of Foreign War Convention, Monday, Aug. 18, 2008, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
    McCain takes lead over Obama: poll Reuters - Wed Aug 20, 2:56 PM ET

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In a sharp turnaround, Republican John McCain has opened a 5-point lead on Democrat Barack Obama in the U.S. presidential race and is seen as a stronger manager of the economy, according to a Reuters/Zogby poll released on Wednesday.

  • Janet Jackson attends the third annual Cartier Loveday reception in Los Angeles June 18, 2008. (Mario Anzuoni/Reuters)
    Janet Jackson creates lingerie with Aussie designer Reuters - Thu Aug 21, 1:44 AM ET

    SYDNEY (Reuters) - Singer Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction" at the Superbowl made headlines four years ago when her bustier ripped. Now, she really wants people to see her underwear, and is launching her own lingerie line.