HOUSTON (Reuters) - Texas billionaire Allen Stanford will appear in a federal court in Virginia on Friday over allegations of massive fraud involving his Antigua bank, U.S. officials said after he surrendered to the FBI.

(Reuters) - Chief executives of some banks that received federal money, including Bank of America Corp, Morgan Stanley and Regions Financial Corp, used company jets for their personal use, the Wall Street Journal reported on its website.

AP - Texas billionaire R. Allen Stanford, chairman of the troubled Stanford Financial Group, is scheduled to appear in federal court Friday on fraud charges after surrendering to FBI agents in Virginia the day before, officials said.

Reuters - Chief executives of some banks that received federal money, including Bank of America Corp, Morgan Stanley and Regions Financial Corp, used company jets for their personal use, the Wall Street Journal reported on its website.

AFP - Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was due to lead weekly prayers here, in a move seen as an effort to quell the unrest triggered after defiant supporters of defeated presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi continued to dispute the poll result.

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran's supreme leader will address the nation on Friday for the first time since a disputed election result triggered the biggest street protests the Islamic Republic has seen.

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Texas billionaire Allen Stanford will appear in a federal court in Virginia on Friday over allegations of massive fraud involving his Antigua bank, U.S. officials said after he surrendered to the FBI.

AP - House Democrats have lots of potential targets for higher taxes as they aim to expand health care coverage, from wealthy Americans and the nation's employers to anyone who pops the top on a soft drink.

AP - Iran's supreme leader will address the nation Friday in his first public comments since opposition supporters flooded Tehran's streets in an unprecedented challenge to the country's ruling clerics.

Reuters - Tens of thousands of Iranians streamed toward Tehran University on Friday to hear Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei address the nation for the first time since a disputed election result sparked the biggest street protests in the Islamic Republic's 30-year history.

Reuters - Texas billionaire Allen Stanford will appear in a federal court in Virginia on Friday over allegations of massive fraud involving his Antigua bank, U.S. officials said after he surrendered to the FBI.

AFP - Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was set to make his first public appearance after a week of unrest that has unnerved the regime, giving the sermon at the main weekly prayers.

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei defended Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Friday as the rightful winner of a presidential election that has sparked the biggest street protests in the Islamic Republic's history.

SEOUL (Reuters) - North and South Korean envoys failed on Friday to resolve a dispute over Pyongyang's demands for salary and rent increases at a joint factory park in the communist state that is one of its few sources of hard cash.

AP - Iran's supreme leader said Friday that there was 'definitive victory' and no rigging in disputed presidential elections, offering no concession to protesters demanding the vote be canceled and held again.

AP - Legislation to pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan this year is on its way to President Barack Obama, but it provides no money for closing the Guantanamo detainee prison and sets tough restrictions on the transfer of its inmates.

AP - Hours after police plucked him out of a suburban alley, Vincent Smothers dropped a bombshell confession: 'I don't have a profession,' he told an investigator. 'I kill people for money.'

AP - As Tiger Woods stood over his wayward opening drive of the U.S. Open, a volunteer walked to the world's No. 1 player and held an umbrella over his head.

Reuters - Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei defended Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Friday as the rightful winner of a presidential election that has sparked the biggest street protests in the Islamic Republic's history.

Reuters - North and South Korean envoys failed on Friday to resolve a dispute over Pyongyang's demands for salary and rent increases at a joint factory park in the communist state that is one of its few sources of hard cash.

AFP - Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Friday that the people had picked who they wanted as president in last week's disputed election.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Iraq is confident its security forces can manage alone after U.S. soldiers pull out of towns and cities this month, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari said on Friday.

AP - Iran's supreme leader said Friday that the country's disputed presidential vote had not been rigged, sternly warning protesters of a crackdown if they continue massive demonstrations demanding a new election.

AP - The Continental Airlines pilot who died on a trans-Atlantic flight from Brussels to Newark was in 'perfect health' and fellow crew members initially thought he had just fallen asleep, his wife told a Houston television station.

AP - With the course still a bit soggy but playable, the rain-delayed U.S. Open resumed Friday morning amid hopes the first round would be completed by day's end.

Reuters - Iraq is confident its security forces can manage alone after U.S. soldiers pull out of towns and cities this month, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari said on Friday.

AFP - Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called Friday for an end to street protests over last week's disputed presidential election, siding with declared winner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

AFP - The US military beefed up defenses in Hawaii on Friday over fears that North Korea could launch a missile toward the Pacific island chain.

RICHMOND, Virginia (Reuters) - Texas billionaire Allen Stanford will appear in federal court in Virginia on Friday to answer allegations he orchestrated a massive fraud through his Antigua bank that bilked investors out of millions of dollars.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The new strain of H1N1 flu is causing 'something different' to happen in the United States this year -- perhaps an extended year-round flu season that disproportionately hits young people, health officials said on Thursday.

Reuters - Texas billionaire Allen Stanford will appear in federal court in Virginia on Friday to answer allegations he orchestrated a massive fraud through his Antigua bank that bilked investors out of millions of dollars.

Reuters - The new strain of H1N1 flu is causing 'something different' to happen in the United States this year -- perhaps an extended year-round flu season that disproportionately hits young people, health officials said on Thursday.

AFP - Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called on Friday for an end to street protests over last week's disputed presidential election, siding with declared winner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued a strong warning on Friday to leaders of mass street protests after a disputed presidential election that they would be responsible for any bloodshed.

RICHMOND, Virginia (Reuters) - Texas billionaire Allen Stanford will appear in federal court in Virginia on Friday to answer allegations he orchestrated a massive fraud through his Antigua bank that bilked investors out of billions of dollars.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Nestle's U.S. baking division said on Friday that it was voluntarily recalling its Toll House refrigerated cookie dough products after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned of the risk of contamination with E. coli bacteria.

AP - In the strongest message yet from the U.S. government, the House voted 405-1 Friday to condemn Tehran's crackdown on demonstrators and the government's interference with Internet and cell phone communications.

AP - The unemployment rate in the West jumped over 10 percent last month, the first time that regional threshold has been broken in about 25 years. On the state level, eight set record-highs and only two — Nebraska and Vermont — did not report increases.

AP - President Barack Obama's ambitious effort to remake the nation's health care system was always going to be a marathon. Now the runners seem to have stumbled at the starting line.

AP - Texas billionaire R. Allen Stanford, whose sprawling banking empire collapsed this year, has been indicted for what prosecutors say is a $7 billion scheme to defraud investors.

AP - The TLC network says its biggest stars, Jon and Kate Gosselin, will announce a major decision on their reality show, 'Jon & Kate Plus 8.'

AP - Dutch police have arrested twin brothers on suspicion of robbery after their alleged victim spotted a picture of them following him on Google's Street View map application, a spokesman said Friday.

Reuters - Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued a strong warning on Friday to leaders of mass street protests after a disputed presidential election that they would be responsible for any bloodshed.

Reuters - Texas billionaire Allen Stanford and four associates were indicted on fraud and obstruction charges in a $7 billion pyramid scheme to bilk investors, the U.S. Justice Department said on Friday.

Reuters - Nestle's U.S. baking division said on Friday that it was voluntarily recalling its Toll House refrigerated cookie dough products after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned of the risk of contamination with E. coli bacteria.

AFP - Irish citizens are set to vote in a new European Union referendum in October after their government secured guarantees Friday that a new EU reform treaty will not limit Ireland's sovereignty.

RICHMOND, Virginia (Reuters) - Texas billionaire Allen Stanford, three associates and a top Caribbean regulator were indicted on fraud, conspiracy and obstruction charges in an elaborate $7 billion pyramid scheme to bilk investors, U.S. Justice Department officials said on Friday.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Nestle's U.S. baking division said on Friday that it was voluntarily recalling its Toll House refrigerated cookie dough products after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned of the risk of contamination with E. coli bacteria.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had successful two-hour surgery on Friday to repair her broken right elbow, her chief of staff said.

AP - Tehran residents are climbing to their roofs and crying 'God is Great!' in open defiance of Iran's supreme leader.

AP - President Barack Obama says he is committed to a comprehensive immigration overhaul that includes a way that illegal immigrants can become U.S. citizens.

AP - Trying to regain momentum on a core issue of Barack Obama's presidency, House Democrats on Friday unveiled legislation they said would cover virtually all the nearly 50 million uninsured Americans.

AP - Texas billionaire R. Allen Stanford, whose sprawling banking empire collapsed this year, was indicted Friday for what prosecutors call a $7 billion scheme to defraud investors.

AP - A medical mystery was solved Friday: T.R. Knight won't be back on 'Grey's Anatomy' next season.

AP - Tiger Woods swung away on the 18th tee Friday morning, watched his ball fly into a bunker on the way to another bogey, and turned away in disgust.

Reuters - Nestle's U.S. baking division said on Friday that it was voluntarily recalling its Toll House refrigerated cookie dough products after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned of the risk of contamination with E. coli bacteria.

Reuters - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had successful two-hour surgery on Friday to repair her broken right elbow, her chief of staff said.

AFP - Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Friday demanded an end to street protests over last week's disputed presidential election, siding with declared winner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued a strong warning on Friday to leaders of mass demonstrations against a disputed presidential election that they would be responsible for any bloodshed.

RICHMOND, Virginia (Reuters) - A U.S. magistrate judge ordered Texas billionaire Allen Stanford held on Friday for a detention hearing on fraud and obstruction charges stemming from a $7 billion pyramid scheme to bilk investors.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's 'reassertion' of U.S. leadership in the Middle East offers a rare opportunity to get peace between Israel and the Palestinians, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said.

AP - Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei sternly warned Friday of a crackdown if protesters continue their massive street rallies, escalating the government's showdown with demonstrators demanding a new presidential election.

AP - Democrats got a sobering glimpse of what it would look like if their ambitious health care overhaul ran into a wall — and quickly pulled back to regroup and get moving again. Trying to regain the initiative, House Democrats on Friday unveiled draft legislation they said would cover virtually all of the nation's nearly 50 million uninsured as President Barack Obama has promised. However, they offered few details on how to pay for it.

AP - Brash Texas billionaire R. Allen Stanford was indicted Friday on charges his international banking empire was really just a Ponzi scheme built on lies, bluster and bribery.

AP - Newly released FBI files show agents across the country and at the highest level of the agency investigated 'Deep Throat' — the 1972 porn movie, not the shadowy Watergate figure — in a vain attempt to roll back what became a cultural shift toward more permissive entertainment.

AP - The Rev. Al Sharpton on Friday called for opponents of an Arizona sheriff who has aggressively cracked down on illegal immigration to videotape alleged racial profiling by the sheriff's office.

AP - The inventor of the 'Magic Fingers Vibrating Bed,' which brought weary travelers 15 minutes of 'tingling relaxation and ease' for a quarter in hotel rooms across America during its heyday as a pop culture icon in the 1960s and '70s, has died. He was 92. John Joseph Houghtaling died Wednesday at his home in Fort Pierce, his son Paul Houghtaling said Friday in a telephone interview.

AP - CBS isn't commenting on reports that veteran newsman Walter Cronkite is gravely ill. The 92-year-old former anchor of 'The CBS Evening News,' who has been ailing for some time, has reportedly taken a turn for the worse, according to TVNewser and other online sites. CBS News spokesman Kevin Tedesco had no comment on Friday.

AP - The bride wore white — and a face mask. A Chicago couple married in surgical masks and latex gloves Sunday after learning less than 48 hours before that they both had swine flu. Ilana Jackson and Jeremy Fierstien went ahead with the ceremony after doctors assured them guests wouldn't be at serious risk.

AP - When the sun finally came out Friday afternoon, Bethpage Black was there for the taking. Mike Weir was among those taking advantage. Sailing along through 14 holes and briefly flirting with a 63, the best round in U.S. Open history, Weir missed the green and three-putted the par-4 15th for a double bogey. Still, it left him alone in front at 4 under and eight shots ahead of Tiger Woods, who struggled late in his morning round and shot 74.

Reuters - Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued a strong warning on Friday to leaders of mass demonstrations against a disputed presidential election that they would be responsible for any bloodshed.

Reuters - A U.S. magistrate judge ordered Texas billionaire Allen Stanford held on Friday for a detention hearing on fraud and obstruction charges stemming from a $7 billion pyramid scheme to bilk investors.

Reuters - President Barack Obama's 'reassertion' of U.S. leadership in the Middle East offers a rare opportunity to get peace between Israel and the Palestinians, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Roughly 26 civilians died in U.S.-led airstrikes in western Afghanistan in early May, the U.S. military said on Friday in a report that cited a far lower death toll than other estimates but acknowledged that a higher figure was possible.

AP - Iran's supreme leader sought Friday to end the deepening crisis over disputed elections with one decisive speech — declaring the vote will almost certainly stand and sternly warning opposition leaders to end street protests or be held responsible for any 'bloodshed and chaos' to come.

AP - Brash Texas billionaire R. Allen Stanford was indicted and jailed Friday on charges his international banking empire was really just a Ponzi scheme built on lies, bluster and bribery.

AP - The husband of Sen. John Ensign's former mistress made 'exorbitant demands for cash and other financial benefits' through an attorney, an aide to the Nevada Republican said Friday. In a statement, Ensign spokesman Tory Mazzola said the demands from an attorney for Doug Hampton were made within the past month.

AP - A new anti-missile system ordered for Hawaii is partly a strategy to deter North Korea from test-firing a long-range missile across the Pacific and partly a precaution against the unpredictable regime, military officials said Friday.

AP - The House on Friday impeached a federal judge imprisoned for lying about sexual assaults of two women in the first such vote since impeaching former President Bill Clinton a decade ago.

AP - Federal authorities are investigating a new national outbreak of a bacteria-triggered illness, this time related to a sweet treat treasured by the heartbroken and children-at-heart — packaged raw cookie dough.

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Backers of beaten presidential candidate Mirhossein Mousavi will decide on Saturday whether to defy a stern warning by Iran's top authority and stage mass protests over a disputed election.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. air strikes killed roughly 26 civilians during a battle in western Afghanistan in early May, the U.S. military said on Friday in a report that calculated a far lower death toll than other estimates.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - A U.N. sanctions committee is considering blacklisting more North Korean companies, and individuals, for supporting Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs.

AP - Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor resigned Friday from an elite all-women's club after Republicans questioned her participation in it. Sotomayor said she resigned from the Belizean Grove to prevent the issue from becoming a distraction in her confirmation hearings.

AP - Ryan Theriot hit a bad-hop single with two outs in the 10th inning and the Chicago Cubs, saved by Derrek Lee's late homer, rallied from an early seven-run deficit to beat the Cleveland Indians 8-7 Friday. Lee homered twice, including a solo shot with one out in the ninth off former Cubs ace Kerry Wood that made it 7-all.

Reuters - Backers of beaten presidential candidate Mirhossein Mousavi will decide on Saturday whether to defy a stern warning by Iran's top authority and stage mass protests over a disputed election.

Reuters - U.S. air strikes killed roughly 26 civilians during a battle in western Afghanistan in early May, the U.S. military said on Friday in a report that calculated a far lower death toll than other estimates.

Reuters - A U.N. sanctions committee is considering blacklisting more North Korean companies, and individuals, for supporting Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrat lawmakers on Friday proposed guaranteeing health coverage for nearly every American, despite mounting concerns the cost of doing so could torpedo the Obama administration's healthcare reform effort.

SAN FRANCISCO/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Apple Inc's latest iPhone hit stores on Friday with new features and faster speeds, drawing plenty of fans, if not the crowds that had swarmed the previous iPhone debuts.

AP - The husband of Sen. John Ensign's former mistress made 'exorbitant demands for cash and other financial benefits' through an attorney, an aide to the Nevada Republican said Friday. In a statement, Ensign spokesman Tory Mazzola said the demands from an attorney for Doug Hampton were made within the past month.

AP - Alex Rodriguez's homecoming will have to wait a little longer. Following a tumultuous month at the plate, the slumping third baseman was benched Friday for two games by the New York Yankees for what he and the team called 'fatigue.' The three-time AL MVP had been set to play his first regular-season games in his hometown of Miami against the Marlins.

AFP - Iran's opposition planned to defy a ban on a new rally to be addressed by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's main rival after the nation's supreme leader demanded an end to street protests.

AFP - A US Navy destroyer is tracking a North Korean ship possibly carrying banned cargo as part of international efforts to enforce UN sanctions against Pyongyang, according to a US defense official.