BOSTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will eulogize Senator Edward Kennedy on Saturday, the final day of memorials for a towering figure in U.S. politics whose death has been treated like the passing of royalty.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - Space shuttle Discovery rocketed into orbit early on Saturday, carrying lab equipment, supplies, spare parts, genetically altered mice and a new crewmember to the International Space Station.

Reuters - President Barack Obama will eulogize Senator Edward Kennedy on Saturday, the final day of memorials for a towering figure in U.S. politics whose death has been treated like the passing of royalty.

AFP - The US government has developed possible alternative plans for a missile defense shield that could drop proposed missile bases in Poland and the Czech Republic, The New York Times reported Saturday.

AP - Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, oft-summoned to remember departed members of his famous political family, was himself the subject of a eulogy President Barack Obama was delivering at a funeral expected to draw mourners from across the political spectrum and stations of life.

AP - Tropical Storm Danny was losing steam early Saturday as it passed offshore of the Carolinas, but was still expected to produce a second straight weekend of dangerous surf along the East Coast.

AP - South Korea's Coast Guard says North Korea has freed four South Korean fishermen and their boat.

AP - The conservative party that has run Japan for virtually all of the past 54 years was widely expected to face overwhelming defeat as candidates made their final pitches Saturday in one of the most heated parliamentary elections in decades.

AFP - Michael Jackson's death has been declared a homicide by Los Angeles coroners as they revealed the singer had a lethal cocktail of six different drugs in his body when he died.

AP - Jaycee Lee Dugard has been subjected to what police say was nearly a lifetime of torment in a backyard compound set up by a religious zealot with a rap sheet dating to the 1970s. Prosecutors say she was raped and had two children by her captor, who hid her from the outside world.

AP - President Barack Obama promised Saturday that his administration would not forget what he called a tragic response to Hurricane Katrina. He said he would visit the still-recovering New Orleans before the end of the year.

AP - Signaling a fading chance for compromise, a leading Republican negotiator on health care legislation on Saturday criticized Democratic legislative proposals as budget-busters that would reroute Medicare spending and restrict medical choices.

AP - Tom Brady took a hit, and his knee was just fine.

Reuters - Pakistan kept a veil of secrecy over court proceedings on Saturday in the case against five Islamist militants accused of planning attacks on the Indian city of Mumbai that killed 166 people last November.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Candidates across Japan made their final pitch to voters on Saturday on the eve of an election the opposition looks poised to win, giving the untested Democrats the job of tackling record unemployment and a fast-aging society.

LONDON (Reuters) - The man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing that killed 270 people said he would cooperate with a fresh public inquiry and provide documents he has, a newspaper reported on Saturday.

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan kept a veil of secrecy over court proceedings on Saturday in the case against five Islamist militants accused of planning attacks on the Indian city of Mumbai that killed 166 people last November.

AP - Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, oft-summoned to remember departed members of his famous political family, was himself the subject of a eulogy President Barack Obama was delivering at a funeral expected to draw mourners from across the political spectrum and stations of life.

Reuters - Candidates across Japan made their final pitch to voters on Saturday on the eve of an election the opposition looks poised to win, giving the untested Democrats the job of tackling record unemployment and a fast-aging society.

Reuters - The man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing that killed 270 people said he would cooperate with a fresh public inquiry and provide documents he has, a newspaper reported on Saturday.

AP - President Hamid Karzai widened his lead in Afghanistan's presidential race as new vote tallies were released Saturday, inching closer to the 50 percent threshold of votes he needs to avoid a run-off.

AP - An Iraqi journalist jailed after hurling his shoes at former President George W. Bush will be released next month after his sentence was reduced for good behavior, his lawyer said Saturday.

AP - A leading GOP negotiator on health care struck a further blow to fading chances of a bipartisan compromise by saying Democratic proposals would restrict medical choices and make the country's 'finances sicker without saving you money.'

AP - President Barack Obama marked the fourth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina on Saturday by pledging to make sure that turf wars and red tape don't slow the pace of the continuing recovery.

Reuters - U.S. presidents, members of Congress and the public gathered on a rainy Saturday to say goodbye to Senator Edward Kennedy, a towering figure in American politics who contributed to major social changes of the last 50 years.

Reuters - Firefighters battling four wildfires around Los Angeles saved hundreds of homes in an affluent coastal community but struggled against a larger fire coming down the mountains toward another exclusive suburb.

Reuters - Space shuttle Discovery rocketed into orbit early on Saturday, carrying lab equipment, supplies, spare parts, genetically altered mice and a new crewmember to the International Space Station.

AFP - President Barack Obama, three former presidents and a nation's elite gathered in the rain Saturday to attend a grand Catholic funeral for Edward Kennedy, America's legendary political patriarch.

BOSTON (Reuters) - U.S. presidents, members of Congress and the public gathered on a rainy Saturday to say goodbye to Senator Edward Kennedy, a towering figure in American politics who contributed to major social changes in the United States over the last 50 years.

KABUL (Reuters) - Partial Afghan election returns released on Saturday showed President Hamid Karzai extending his lead in last week's vote, but still falling short of the 50 percent needed to avoid a run-off.

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Hurricane Jimena formed in the eastern Pacific near the Mexican resort of Acapulco on Saturday, and the U.S. National Hurricane Center said the storm could become a major hurricane by Sunday.

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran said on Saturday the U.N. atomic watchdog had confirmed its nuclear programme was peaceful and vowed to resist political pressure to change it, a news agency reported.

AP - Leaders and other luminaries paid final tribute Saturday to Edward M. Kennedy, mourning the loss of a senator who made an indelible impact on U.S. life over 47 years in Congress and the man who held up America's most famous family during tragedy and triumph.

AP - Forecasters say Jimena has strengthened to a Category 1 hurricane off Mexico's southern Pacific coast.

AP - Four South Korean fishermen, whom Pyongyang detained for a month after they accidentally entered North Korean waters, returned home Saturday.

AP - An Iraqi journalist imprisoned for hurling his shoes at former President George W. Bush will be released next month after his sentence was reduced for good behavior, his lawyer said Saturday.

Reuters - Partial Afghan election returns released on Saturday showed President Hamid Karzai extending his lead in last week's vote, but still falling short of the 50 percent needed to avoid a run-off.

AFP - Two civilians working for UNAMID, the joint UN-African Union peacekeeping mission, were kidnapped at gunpoint in Darfur at dawn on Saturday in the first abduction targeting the force.

BOSTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama hailed Senator Edward Kennedy as the 'greatest legislator of our time' at the funeral on Saturday of the towering politician and patriarch of the pre-eminent American political dynasty.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Frustrated Japanese voters look set to oust the long-ruling conservative party in an election on Sunday, handing the novice opposition the job of reviving a weak economy and coping with a rapidly aging population.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Hurricane Jimena formed in the eastern Pacific near the Mexican resort of Acapulco on Saturday, but in the Atlantic Tropical Storm Danny weakened to a tropical depression and storm alerts were discontinued for the North Carolina coast.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A wildfire in the mountains north of Los Angeles nearly tripled in size overnight, threatening communication transmitters and leading to a call on Saturday for homes to be evacuated.

AP - Sen. Edward M. Kennedy was celebrated Saturday for 'the good he did, the dream he kept alive,' his funeral inside a soaring Catholic church a memorial to one man's life and a remarkable political era now ended.

AP - President Hamid Karzai widened his lead over his main challenger in election returns released Saturday, creeping toward the 50 percent mark that would enable him to avoid a run-off in the divisive presidential contest.

AP - Authorities in southeastern Georgia say multiple people have been found dead at a mobile home and two people are critically injured.

AP - Michael Vick will play in the Eagles' final preseason game against the New York Jets at the Meadowlands.

Reuters - President Barack Obama hailed Senator Edward Kennedy as the 'greatest legislator of our time' at the funeral on Saturday of the towering politician and patriarch of the pre-eminent American political dynasty.

Reuters - Frustrated Japanese voters look set to oust the long-ruling conservative party in an election on Sunday, handing the novice opposition the job of reviving a weak economy and coping with a rapidly aging population.

Reuters - Hurricane Jimena formed in the eastern Pacific near the Mexican resort of Acapulco on Saturday, but in the Atlantic Tropical Storm Danny weakened to a tropical depression and storm alerts were discontinued for the North Carolina coast.

AFP - President Barack Obama, three former presidents and the nation's elite gathered Saturday at a grand Catholic funeral for Edward Kennedy, America's legendary political patriarch.

AP - Seven people were killed and two critically injured at a mobile home located on a historic plantation in southeastern Georgia, officials said Saturday.

AP - Three police agencies on Saturday searched the home of a California man charged with kidnapping a little girl 18 years ago to see if there is evidence linking him to other open cases in the area, including the unsolved murders of prostitutes.

AP - Bombs struck a cafe in Baghdad and remote communities in northern Iraq on Saturday, killing at least 18 people, as the visiting Iranian foreign minister warned that Iraq's instability affected the whole region.

AP - A leading GOP negotiator on health care struck a further blow to fading chances of a bipartisan compromise by saying Democratic proposals would restrict medical choices and make the country's 'finances sicker without saving you money.'

AP - For a club deejay, it was unusually early, about 10 a.m. But Adam Goldstein, a.k.a. DJ AM, was bright-eyed and undeniably energized on a late morning last month at a summer session of the Television Critics Association.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Obama administration has accused Pakistan of illegally modifying U.S.-made missiles to expand its ability to hit land-based targets, which would constitute a threat to India, The New York Times reported in Sunday editions.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Hurricane Jimena strengthened to a category 2 in the eastern Pacific on Saturday, but in the Atlantic Tropical Storm Danny weakened to a tropical depression and storm alerts were discontinued for the North Carolina coast.

AP - Seven people were found slain and two critically injured Saturday at a mobile home located on a historic plantation in southeastern Georgia, police said.

AP - A leading GOP negotiator on health care struck a further blow to fading chances of a bipartisan compromise by saying Democratic proposals would restrict medical choices and make the country's 'finances sicker without saving you money.'

Reuters - The Obama administration has accused Pakistan of illegally modifying U.S.-made missiles to expand its ability to hit land-based targets, which would constitute a threat to India, The New York Times reported in Sunday editions.

Reuters - Hurricane Jimena strengthened to a category 2 in the eastern Pacific on Saturday, but in the Atlantic Tropical Storm Danny weakened to a tropical depression and storm alerts were discontinued for the North Carolina coast.

WASHINGTON/BOSTON (Reuters) - Washington said goodbye to Senator Edward Kennedy on Saturday as the casket of the man President Barack Obama called the 'greatest legislator of our time' was driven through the capital to his burial.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese voted in an election on Sunday that looked set to oust the long-ruling conservative party and give the untested opposition the job of nurturing a recovery from the country's worst recession since World War Two.

AP - Sen. Edward M. Kennedy was laid to rest alongside slain brothers John and Robert on hallowed ground at Arlington National Cemetery on Saturday evening, celebrated for 'the dream he kept alive' across the decades since their deaths.

AP - Seven people were found slain and two critically injured Saturday at a mobile home park built on the grounds of a historic plantation in southeastern Georgia, police said.

AP - President Barack Obama marked the fourth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina on Saturday by pledging to make sure that turf wars and red tape don't slow the pace of the continuing recovery.

AP - Steve Marino ran off three straight birdies late in the third round Saturday for a 3-under 68 to catch Paul Goydos for a share of the lead at The Barclays and give himself another shot at his first PGA Tour victory.

Reuters - Washington said goodbye to Senator Edward Kennedy on Saturday as the casket of the man President Barack Obama called the 'greatest legislator of our time' was driven through the capital to his burial.

WASHINGTON/BOSTON (Reuters) - Senator Edward Kennedy, the liberal champion of the U.S. Senate who carried on the political legacy of his slain brothers, was buried on Saturday after four days of emotional tributes.

GAZA (Reuters) - Israeli aircraft bombed a building in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip on Sunday which the military said had been used by Palestinians to enter a tunnel and carry out cross-border attacks in Israel.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A wildfire raged in the mountains north of Los Angeles on Saturday, sending up huge plumes of purple-gray smoke and prompting the evacuation of more than 3,000 homes on the northeastern edge of the city.

AP - Sen. Edward M. Kennedy was laid to rest Saturday night alongside slain brothers John and Robert on hallowed ground at Arlington National Cemetery, celebrated for 'the dream he kept alive' across the decades since their deaths.

AP - About a thousand people rallied in Manhattan on Saturday in support of federal health care reform legislation.

AP - Authorities will need to conduct toxicology tests, expected to take weeks, to determine what killed celebrity disc jockey DJ AM, a medical examiner's office spokeswoman said Saturday.

Reuters - Senator Edward Kennedy, the liberal champion of the U.S. Senate who carried on the political legacy of his slain brothers, was buried on Saturday after four days of emotional tributes.

Reuters - Israeli aircraft bombed a building in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip on Sunday which the military said had been used by Palestinians to enter a tunnel and carry out cross-border attacks in Israel.

AFP - Democratic lion Edward Kennedy was laid to rest near his slain brothers in a Virginia cemetery as the setting sun drew the curtain on an emotional day of sad farewells.

AFP - Japanese voters headed to the polls on Sunday for a landmark election in which an untested centre-left party is expected to end more than half a century of almost unbroken conservative rule.

WASHINGTON/BOSTON (Reuters) - Senator Edward Kennedy, the liberal champion of the U.S. Senate who carried on the political legacy of his slain brothers, was buried on Saturday after four days of emotional tributes.

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Hurricane Jimena, a strong Category 2 storm, blew northward up Mexico's Pacific coast on Saturday and was headed close to the Baja California peninsula resort of Los Cabos, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

AP - Sen. Edward M. Kennedy was laid to rest Saturday night alongside slain brothers John and Robert on hallowed ground at Arlington National Cemetery, celebrated for 'the dream he kept alive' across the decades since their deaths.

AP - Authorities say a wildfire north of Los Angeles has destroyed at least three homes and is threatening thousands more.

AP - Japanese cast ballots Sunday in hotly contested parliamentary elections in which the ruling conservative party, battered by a laggard economy and voter desire for change after more than half a century of virtual one-party rule, was expected to suffer an overwhelming defeat.

AP - Paul Goydos figured Liberty National at least would look good on television, with the Statue of Liberty and so many other New York landmarks serving as a spectacular backdrop at The Barclays. Inside the ropes is starting to look pretty good to him, too.

Reuters - Senator Edward Kennedy, the liberal champion of the U.S. Senate who carried on the political legacy of his slain brothers, was buried on Saturday after four days of emotional tributes.

Reuters - Hurricane Jimena, a strong Category 2 storm, blew northward up Mexico's Pacific coast on Saturday and was headed close to the Baja California peninsula resort of Los Cabos, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.