CISHAN, Taiwan (Reuters) - Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou, under pressure over his government's response to the aftermath of Typhoon Morakot, on Friday estimated that more than 500 people had died in flooding and mudslides.

HANOI (Reuters) - North Korea is willing to hold talks with Washington, a senior diplomat for the state said on Friday in the first such comments since former President Bill Clinton's visit to Pyongyang last week.

Reuters - Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou, under pressure over his government's response to the aftermath of Typhoon Morakot, on Friday estimated that more than 500 people had died in flooding and mudslides.

Reuters - North Korea is willing to hold talks with Washington, a senior diplomat for the state said on Friday in the first such comments since former President Bill Clinton's visit to Pyongyang last week.

AFP - The first senior American official to meet Myanmar's junta chief, Than Shwe, is due to arrive in Myanmar on Friday, local and US officials said.

AFP - Rescuers in Taiwan Friday battled to reach over 15,000 people still trapped in mountain villages nearly one week after a powerful typhoon triggered the island's worst floods in half a century.

SOCHI, Russia (Reuters) - Boosting Russian investment in Germany and human rights in Russia will be high on the agenda when the leaders of the two countries meet in the Black Sea resort of Sochi on Friday.

AP - Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou says floods and mudslides unleashed by Typhoon Morakot last weekend have killed about 500 people.

AP - Michael Vick is back in the NFL. When he finally gets in a game, it might be at a new position.

AP - Musicians worldwide are paying tribute to Les Paul, the music icon whose solid-body electric guitar paved the way for rock 'n' roll, who died this week at age 94.

AP - Crews battling wildfires across California are getting more manpower and some help from Mother Nature after the blazes forced thousands of people to leave their homes in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

Reuters - Boosting Russian investment in Germany and human rights in Russia will be high on the agenda when the leaders of the two countries meet in the Black Sea resort of Sochi on Friday.

AFP - The first senior American official to meet Myanmar's junta chief, Than Shwe, arrived in Myanmar on Friday, local and US officials said.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama is taking his healthcare reform message out west this weekend with two more public meetings seeking to overcome vociferous opposition to the $1 trillion overhaul scheme.

KABUL (Reuters) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai leads the country's presidential race, but not by enough to win an outright majority in the August 20. election and avoid a second round, a new poll released on Friday shows.

SAL, Cape Verde (Reuters) - He wasn't there but Hillary Clinton leaned heavily on President Barack Obama's heritage on her seven-nation Africa trip that ends on Friday in Cape Verde.

AP - A personal phone call during last week's collision over New York's Hudson River has led to two air traffic controllers being removed from duty, although officials said the conversation probably had no impact on the tragedy.

AP - Lawmakers looking for a famous Ohioan who best represents their state have a diverse group to choose from: a Rat Pack crooner, brothers who were first in flight, or maybe a great inventor.

AP - Education Secretary Arne Duncan is joining forces with two unlikely allies, the Rev. Al Sharpton and Republican former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, to push cities to fix failing schools.

Reuters - President Barack Obama is taking his healthcare reform message out west this weekend with two more public meetings seeking to overcome vociferous opposition to the $1 trillion overhaul scheme.

Reuters - Afghan President Hamid Karzai leads the country's presidential race, but not by enough to win an outright majority in the August 20. election and avoid a second round, a new poll released on Friday shows.

Reuters - He wasn't there but Hillary Clinton leaned heavily on President Barack Obama's heritage on her seven-nation Africa trip that ends on Friday in Cape Verde.

Reuters - A U.S. senator arrived in Myanmar on Friday and a government source said he would meet the leader of the country's junta, which was condemned by the United States this week for the trial of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Reuters - A hardline Iranian cleric urged the judiciary on Friday to resist Western pressure to free Western-linked detainees held after the country's disputed June presidential election, state radio said.

AFP - Rescuers battled Friday to save thousands of people trapped in mountain villages as Taiwan's leader warned the death toll from devastating floods would likely top 500.

AFP - US Senator Jim Webb arrived in Myanmar Friday for historic talks with military supremo Than Shwe, the first ever meeting between a senior American official and the junta chief, officials said.

YANGON (Reuters) - A U.S. senator arrived in Myanmar on Friday and a government source said he would meet the leader of the country's junta, which was condemned by the United States this week for the trial of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

EDINBURGH, Scotland (Reuters) - The former Libyan agent jailed for the murder of 270 people in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing has withdrawn his second appeal against his conviction, his lawyer said on Friday.

PARIS (Reuters) - The British Virgin Islands and the Cayman islands have joined the global 'white list' of countries using internationally recognized tax standards, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said on Friday.

AP - Lawyers for the man serving a life sentence for the attack on Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie said Friday he intends to drop his appeal against conviction, as Scottish officials consider his request for transfer to Libya.

AP - Pakistan lifted a ban on political activities in its tribal regions on Friday, granting the areas close to Afghan border parliamentary representation for the first time in the hopes it would reduce the grip of the Taliban there.

AP - The woman accused of trying to extort as much as $10 million from Rick Pitino over a sexual encounter says the Louisville coach orchestrated a plot to keep her silent, including a claim that her current husband was paid to marry her.

Reuters - The former Libyan agent jailed for the murder of 270 people in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing has withdrawn his second appeal against his conviction, his lawyer said on Friday.

Reuters - The British Virgin Islands and the Cayman islands have joined the global 'white list' of countries using internationally recognized tax standards, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said on Friday.

AFP - US Senator Jim Webb arrived in Myanmar Friday for historic talks with military supremo Than Shwe, the first ever meeting between a senior American official and the junta chief, officials said.

EDINBURGH, Scotland (Reuters) - A former Libyan agent jailed for the murder of 270 people in the 1988 Lockerbie airliner bombing has asked to end his second appeal against his conviction, his lawyer said on Friday.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission expressed doubt on Friday over whether a merchant ship which has been missing for more than a week had fallen prey to pirates as the vessel's operator had suggested.

AP - Consumer prices were flat in July as energy costs retreated following a big surge in June. Over the past 12 months, prices dropped the most in nearly six decades as the recession and lower energy costs kept a lid on inflation.

AP - A group of former reformist lawmakers appealed to a powerful clerical body in Iran to investigate Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's qualification to rule in an unprecedented challenge to the country's most powerful man over the postelection crackdown.

AP - Thousands of people, including many Special Olympians, lined the street Friday outside a Cape Cod church where a private funeral Mass was being held for presidential sister Eunice Kennedy Shriver.

AP - Police say a western Pennsylvania woman and her boyfriend forced the woman's sons — a 6-year-old and a 9-year-old — to fight each other as the couple watched.

AP - The woman accused of trying to extort as much as $10 million from Rick Pitino over a sexual encounter says the Louisville coach orchestrated a plot to keep her silent, including a claim that her current husband was paid to marry her.

Reuters - A former Libyan agent jailed for the murder of 270 people in the 1988 Lockerbie airliner bombing has asked to end his second appeal against his conviction, his lawyer said on Friday.

Reuters - The European Commission expressed doubt on Friday over whether a merchant ship which has been missing for more than a week had fallen prey to pirates as the vessel's operator had suggested.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A former Credit Suisse Group AG broker used bait-and-switch tactics in fraudulently steering corporate clients into risky mortgage investments they did not want, federal prosecutors said on Friday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A former aide who accompanied Bill Clinton on his recent trip to Pyongyang said on Friday that North Korea's reclusive leader, Kim Jong-il, was 'fully engaged' during talks with the former U.S. president.

TEHRAN (Reuters) - A hardline cleric on Friday said Iran's judiciary should resist attempts by European powers to bully them into releasing Western-linked detainees, held over the unrest that followed a disputed presidential election.

AP - Maria Shriver recalls her mother as both a 'fearless warrior for the voiceless' who could make politicians quake, and a trailblazing woman who smoked Cuban cigars and played tackle football.

AP - Rapper Corey 'C-Murder' Miller has been sentenced to life in prison for his second-degree murder conviction.

AP - A remorseful Michael Vick wants a second chance and a fresh start with the Philadelphia Eagles — and knows he won't be easily forgiven by fans.

Reuters - A former Credit Suisse Group AG broker used bait-and-switch tactics in fraudulently steering corporate clients into risky mortgage investments they did not want, federal prosecutors said on Friday.

Reuters - A former aide who accompanied Bill Clinton on his recent trip to Pyongyang said on Friday that North Korea's reclusive leader, Kim Jong-il, was 'fully engaged' during talks with the former U.S. president.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A former Credit Suisse Group AG broker used bait-and-switch tactics in fraudulently steering corporate clients into risky mortgage investments they did not want, federal prosecutors said on Friday.

AP - Eunice Kennedy Shriver, the presidential sister who founded the Special Olympics, was celebrated Friday at a funeral Mass as a fearless warrior for the voiceless who changed the world for millions and an unconventional woman who smoked Cuban cigars and played tackle football.

AP - A Russian-manned cargo ship that vanished last month in the Atlantic was found Friday near Cape Verde off the coast of West Africa, according to French and Russian officials. There was no immediate information about the condition of the crew or whether there was anyone else onboard.

AP - Police say a nursing home worker in New York left his ailing mother on their kitchen floor and stepped over her for two days before calling 911.

AP - A remorseful Michael Vick wants a second chance and vowed to crusade for animal rights with the Philadelphia Eagles — and knows he won't be easily forgiven by fans.

Reuters - A former Credit Suisse Group AG broker used bait-and-switch tactics in fraudulently steering corporate clients into risky mortgage investments they did not want, federal prosecutors said on Friday.

AFP - US President Barack Obama flew to Montana on Friday as he took his drive for healthcare reform on the road in an attempt to wrest back control of the debate on his flagship domestic policy.

AFP - A Russian-crewed cargo ship that vanished two weeks ago has been spotted off the Cape Verde islands, a coastguard source said Friday, after indications emerged that the vessel had been attacked twice.

BELGRADE, Montana (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama, pushing for healthcare reform during a trip to conservative Montana, said on Friday the country was 'held hostage' by insurance companies that deny coverage to sick people.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Wall Street's top cop has a lot to prove and its been taking no prisoners.

AP - President Barack Obama on Friday denounced news media emphasis on scenes of angry protesters at town-hall meetings on health care as he fielded polite but tough questioning on his efforts.

AP - Safety officials say an air traffic controller making a personal phone call initially failed to warn a small plane of another aircraft in its path and then tried unsuccessfully to contact the pilot.

AP - Some of the nation's biggest for-profit colleges and vocational schools are boosting enrollment in tough times by making more loans directly to cash-strapped students, knowing full well many of them probably won't be able to repay what they borrowed.

AP - NBC says Jerry Seinfeld will be the first guest on the premiere of 'The Jay Leno Show.'

Reuters - U.S. President Barack Obama, pushing for healthcare reform during a trip to conservative Montana, said on Friday the country was 'held hostage' by insurance companies that deny coverage to sick people.

Reuters - Wall Street's top cop has a lot to prove and its been taking no prisoners.

AP - An air traffic controller making a personal phone call initially failed to warn a small plane of other aircraft in its path and then tried unsuccessfully to contact the pilot, federal safety officials said Friday. Moments later, the plane collided with a tour helicopter over the Hudson River, killing nine people.

AP - Three decades after basking in the national spotlight as 'Squeaky' the infamous Charles Manson disciple who tried to assassinate President Gerald Ford, the now 60-year-old woman slipped quietly out of a federal prison Friday after being released on parole.

AP - They bleed the fuel lines just about anywhere, drug cartel members and other criminals, sucking millions of dollars of Mexican petroleum from makeshift taps hidden in sheds or on remote desert stretches, with thousands of gallons ending up in U.S. refineries.

AP - Consumer prices have fallen more in the past year than in any 12-month period in nearly six decades — a huge break for shoppers but also a reminder that prices are being restrained by weak spending that's likely to slow an economic recovery.

AP - Derrek Lee matched a career high with seven RBIs and capped a 10-run burst in the second inning Friday as the Chicago Cubs snapped their five-game losing streak with a 17-2 romp over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

AFP - US President Barack Obama on Friday blamed headline-hungry television networks for enflaming an ugly backlash by foes of his top priority effort to offer health care to all Americans.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp said in a statement on Friday that regulators have closed Colonial Bank and Southeast regional bank BB&T will buy about $22 billion in assets of Colonial.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A former aide who accompanied Bill Clinton on his recent trip to Pyongyang said on Friday that North Korea's reclusive leader, Kim Jong-il, was 'fully engaged' during talks with the former U.S. president.

AP - Regulators on Friday shut down Colonial BancGroup Inc., a big lender in real estate development that buckled under the collapse of the market. It was the biggest U.S. bank to fail this year, with about $25 billion in assets.

AP - Fire crews fanned out Friday across a parched California where wind-whipped wildfires have forced hundreds of people to flee their homes and led to an emergency declaration in Santa Cruz County.

Reuters - The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp said in a statement on Friday that regulators have closed Colonial Bank and Southeast regional bank BB&T will buy about $22 billion in assets of Colonial.

Reuters - A former aide who accompanied Bill Clinton on his recent trip to Pyongyang said on Friday that North Korea's reclusive leader, Kim Jong-il, was 'fully engaged' during talks with the former U.S. president.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Colonial Bank, of Montgomery Ala., was shuttered on Friday and its assets sold to southeast regional bank BB&T Corp, marking the largest bank failure this year.

AP - Regulators on Friday shut down Colonial BancGroup Inc., a big lender in real estate development that marked the biggest U.S. bank failure this year, and a small bank in Pennsylvania.

AP - An air traffic controller bantering on the phone about a dead cat at the airport initially failed to warn a small plane of other aircraft in its path and then tried unsuccessfully to contact the pilot, officials said Friday. Moments later, the plane collided with a tour helicopter over the Hudson River, killing nine people.

AP - Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps was driving with an invalid, out-of-state license and told police he drank a beer about an hour and 15 minutes before he was involved in an accident, Baltimore police said Friday.

AP - Tiger Woods watched the last of his three straight birdies take one last turn and drop into the cup. Walking toward the hole, he nodded his head and dangled his tongue out of the side of his mouth, a swagger that spoke volumes.

Reuters - Colonial Bank, of Montgomery Ala., was shuttered on Friday and its assets sold to southeast regional bank BB&T Corp, marking the largest bank failure this year.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Scrutiny of an air traffic controller's actions, including whether a phone call may have distracted him, intensified on Friday as investigators released new details about the deadly collision of a small plane and a tourist helicopter over New York's Hudson River last week.

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - At least 19 people were killed in a riot in a federal prison in Gomez Palacio in Mexico's northern Durango state, Mexican media said on Friday.

AP - Regulators on Friday shut down real estate lender Colonial BancGroup Inc. in the biggest U.S. bank failure this year and also closed four banks in Arizona, Nevada and Pennsylvania.

AP - Some of the nation's biggest for-profit colleges and vocational schools are boosting enrollment in tough times by making more loans directly to cash-strapped students, knowing full well many of them probably won't be able to repay what they borrowed.

Reuters - A large blast ripped through the center of Afghanistan's capital Kabul on Saturday, Reuters witnesses said, and smoke could be seen rising above the city's diplomatic quarter.

Reuters - Scrutiny of an air traffic controller's actions, including whether a phone call may have distracted him, intensified on Friday as investigators released new details about the deadly collision of a small plane and a tourist helicopter over New York's Hudson River last week.

AFP - A huge blast rocked the Afghan capital Kabul Saturday, sending plumes of smoke into the sky, witnesses said, as the country counted down to Thursday's elections.

AFP - US Senator Jim Webb is set Saturday to become the first senior American official to meet Myanmar's junta chief, in landmark talks expected to focus on a US man convicted alongside Aung San Suu Kyi.