Hermine death toll climbs to 6 as 2 bodies found (AP)

AP - The bodies of two men found Friday in swollen Texas waterways pushed the death toll caused by remnants of Tropical Storm Hermine to six, while a scaled-back search resumed for another woman swept away in flooding caused by a record drenching.

Stocks edge higher, continue September rally (AP)

AP - Stocks inched higher Friday as investors held on to their newfound optimism about the economy.

NTSB: Duck boat calls unanswered before collision (AP)

AP - An idled tour boat and nearby vessels made repeated, unanswered calls to the tugboat guiding the massive barge that hit and sank the smaller craft in the Delaware River, killing two Hungarian students, according to a preliminary federal report released Friday.

Colo. fire evacuees cautiously allowed back home (AP)

AP - Crews held a wildfire near Boulder at bay Friday, allowing some 2,000 evacuees to return home with a warning to be prepared to flee again.

Army major honors fallen soldiers with run on 9/11 (AP)

AP - An Army major is hitting the pavement this weekend in a test of physical endurance to honor the 10 soldiers who died under his command in Iraq.

AP National News Calendar (AP)

AP - Eds: Major scheduled events for the week of Sept. 12-18, 2010. Note that many events, especially court appearances, are subject to change at the last minute.

Appeals court backs Chevron in Nigeria dispute (AP)

AP - A federal appeals court in San Francisco has upheld a jury verdict clearing the Chevron Corp. of alleged human rights abuses during a violent 1998 protest on a company oil platform in Nigeria.

9/11 politicized by mosque, Quran controversies (AP)

AP - For almost a decade, the anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks was marked by somber reflection and a call to unity, devoid of politics. Not this time.

CA crews try to reach smoldering homes after blast (AP)

AP - Fire crews tried to douse the remnants of an enormous blaze and account for the residents of dozens of homes Friday after a gas line ruptured and an explosion ripped through in a neighborhood near San Francisco, killing at least four people and likely more.

Ex-Detroit councilwoman Conyers reports to prison (AP)

AP - Former Detroit city councilwoman Monica Conyers has reported to a federal prison in West Virginia to begin a 37-month sentence for corruption.

Houllier made to wait for Villa bow (AFP)

AFP - Gerard Houllier was officially introduced as Aston Villa manager on Friday but the French coach does not expect to start working with the team for at least another week.

Metz hand pro contract to Chinese youngster (AFP)

AFP - French second division side Metz on Friday awarded a professional contract to defender Yi Teng, making him the first Chinese footballer to turn professional after being trained in Europe.

New GM CEO's pay package worth $9 million (AP)

AP - New General Motors Co. CEO Daniel Akerson (ACK-er-son) will get a pay package worth $9 million in salary and stock to run the automaker.

Google's Android to be world No. 2 in 2010: report (Reuters)

Reuters - Google Inc's Android software will become the world's second most popular operating system for cell phones this year, leapfrogging rival offerings from Microsoft Corp, Research in Motion and Apple Inc, according to a new report.

Genzyme begins round of layoffs: reports (Reuters)

Reuters - U.S. biotech company Genzyme Corp began laying off an unspecified number of employees on Friday but said the move was unrelated to Sanofi-Aventis SA's efforts to take over the company, local media reported.

Dems could lose 8 Empire State seats in US House (AP)

AP - For all the Democrats' strength and swagger in New York, the party could lose as many as eight U.S. House seats in the Empire State alone in November.

Obama says Republicans holding recovery hostage (Reuters)

Reuters - President Barack Obama accused Republicans on Friday of holding the middle class hostage as he defended his efforts to stimulate the sluggish economy and try to reverse Democrats' grim election prospects.

PR independence leader Juan Mari Bras dies at 82 (AP)

AP - Juan Mari Bras, an elder statesman of Puerto Rico's independence movement who gave up U.S. citizenship in an act that inspired hundreds of other activists, died Friday. He was 82.

Cyrus the Great artifact to be displayed in Iran (AP)

AP - A Babylonian artifact sometimes described as the world's first human rights charter is to go on display in Iran after the government threatened to cut ties with the British Museum if it did not loan the object.

Four dead in California gas blast inferno (AFP)

AFP - California firefighters were grimly searching smoldering ruins Friday after a huge gas pipeline explosion triggered an inferno killing four people, amid fears the toll will rise.

Castro says he was misinterpreted on Cuban economy (AP)

AP - Fidel Castro says his comments about Cuba's communist economic model were misinterpreted by a visiting American journalist.

Conductor's arm amputated after Calif. derailment (AP)

AP - A surgical team amputated the arm of a conductor Friday to free him from the wreckage of a locomotive that struck a slow-moving freight train on tracks 50 miles east of Los Angeles.

Advice for Widows and Older Couples, Too (U.S. News & World Report)

U.S. News & World Report - Kathleen Rehl shares an unwanted identity with 11.5 million other American women. She's a widow. Unlike most of them, she's a financial planner. And now, more than three years after the death of her husband, Tom, she is also an author. "Moving Forward on Your Own: A Financial Guidebook for Widows," is a short, 80-page journey through the stages of grief that she felt. It's also an emotional as well as financial guide to the types of adjustments faced by a sadly growing number of women who have outlived their husbands.

Pakistan's Floods: Through Hell and High Water (Time.com)

Time.com - Pakistan's Floods: Through Hell and High Water

Foreign Businesses Say China's Regulations Shut Them Out (Time.com)

Time.com - Foreign businesses in China are voicing growing frustration about the country's heavily regulated market -- a bureaucratic maze many say is designed deliberately to hamstring non-Chinese players to the advantage of their local competitors

US judge: 'Don't ask, don't tell' unconstitutional (AP)

AP - A federal judge said she will issue an order to halt the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy, after she declared the ban on openly gay service members unconstitutional.

Bell Canada parent to buy CTV for C$1.3 billion (Reuters)

Reuters - BCE Inc, Canada's largest telecom, will pay C$1.3 billion ($1.26 billion) for full ownership of the country's biggest private broadcaster, betting on explosive growth in video over the Internet and wireless devices.

Wall Street rises with energy, but techs lag (Reuters)

Reuters - The Dow and S&P 500 gained modestly on Friday, led higher as energy shares were boosted by a jump in oil prices, but weak tech stocks and light volume capped gains.

GOP rep. eyes government shutdown (Politico)

Politico - Rep. Westmoreland says Republicans will win control of the House and go toe-to-toe with Obama.

Iran's president intervened in American's release (AP)

AP - Iran's president intervened to secure the release of Sarah Shourd, one of three Americans jailed for more than 13 months, in part because of her gender, a news agency reported Friday.

Iran's president intervened in American's release (AP)

AP - Iran's president intervened to secure the release of Sarah Shourd, one of three Americans jailed for more than 13 months, in part because of her gender, a news agency reported Friday.

Spanish miners in Day 9 of underground protest (AP)

AP - Far, far away from a Chilean mine where 33 trapped men struggle to cope as they await rescue, 50 Spanish miners are also deep in the earth's bowels — but by their own choice.

Earnings schedule for week of 9/13/2010 (AP)

AP - Major companies tentatively scheduled to report quarterly earnings next week:

Report: US must deal with homegrown terror problem (AP)

AP - The U.S. was slow to take seriously the threat posed by homegrown radicals and the government has failed to put systems in place to deal with the growing phenomenon, according to a new report compiled by the former heads of the Sept. 11 Commission.

Obama: GOP's policies made a 'mess' of economy (McClatchy Newspapers)

McClatchy Newspapers - WASHINGTON — With his Democratic Party facing the prospect of huge congressional losses in November, President Barack Obama tried Friday to draw sharp distinctions between Republicans and Democrats, arguing that Republican plans "are the exact policies that got us into this mess."

Japan missing more than 230K listed centenarians (AP)

AP - More than 230,000 Japanese citizens listed in government records as at least 100 years old can't be found and may have died long ago, according to a government survey released Friday.

Regulators probe fund-of-funds firms in sweep (Reuters)

Reuters - Securities regulators are probing "fund-of-funds" firms that channel investors' money into hedge funds, looking at supervision of client assets and potential conflicts of interest, according to a person familiar with the matter.

(AP)

AP - Obama says 'we are not at war against Islam,' but against terrorist factions.

Priest sex abuse linked to 13 suicides in Belgium (AP)

AP - Hundreds of sex abuse victims have come forward in Belgium with harrowing accounts of molestation by Catholic clergy that reportedly led to at least 13 suicides and affected children as young as two, a special commission said Friday.

Treasury's Barr to testify on Fannie and Freddie (Reuters)

Reuters - Michael Barr, assistant treasury secretary for financial institutions, and Edward DeMarco, acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency will testify on Capitol Hill next week on the future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac .