AP - Panicked passengers scrambled and pushed to the emergency exits of an Airbus 320 preparing to carry 165 passengers from Paris to a vacation city in Spain after an engine suddenly caught fire Wednesday, a passenger said.

AP - Conservative activists are vowing to keep up their fight against President Barack Obama's health care plans, even as the Democratic Party pushes back hard, accusing Republicans of organizing angry mobs.

AP - Rival leaders in Cyprus have made 'significant' progress in talks to reunite the island but pressure to reach a deal quickly could unravel what yearlong talks have achieved, a United Nations envoy said Wednesday.

AFP - The United States is to hold a public hearing Friday on a proposal to impose stiff duties on tire imports from China in what is seen as a test case for President Barack Obama's trade policy.

AP - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says it is a 'great regret' that the United States is not a member of the International Criminal Court.

Politico - In era of rowdy disruptions, lawmakers may choose to do more controlled e-conferences.

Politico - Nothing underscores Pelosi's high-society world�quite like her plans for the August recess.

AP - An exhibition has opened at Prague Castle to mark the 400th anniversary of the death of Rabbi Yehuda Loew, one of the greatest Jewish scholars and philosophers.

AFP - Japan marked 64 years Thursday since Hiroshima was hit in the world's first atomic bomb attack with a call for a nuclear-weapons-free world, a goal backed by US President Barack Obama.

Politico - In an Ideas piece, Frost says it's a myth that members of Congress get free health care.

Politico - In an Ideas piece, Sen. Inhofe says�the program is a little bailout that illustrates a big problem.

Reuters - Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced an agreement with Republicans to vote on Thursday on the popular 'cash for clunkers' auto sales incentive bill.

AP - Nikolaos Makarezos, one of the leaders of the military dictatorship that ruled Greece from 1967-1974, has died at age 90, according to media reports.

Reuters - The United States is ready to hand over more than $2 billion in new and old contributions it owes the U.N. peacekeeping department, Washington's U.N. ambassador, Susan Rice, said on Wednesday.

Bloomberg - Aug. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Sometime in mid-July, North Korean leader Kim Jong Il revealed his terms for the freedom of two American women he held as prisoners: Send Bill Clinton.

Politico - RNC chairman defends party, slams DNC, on health care.

AP - Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin was in Turkey on Thursday courting support for a gas pipeline project it hopes will help maintain Russian energy dominance in European nations.

AP - The Obama administration says DHL has agreed to pay the government $9.4 million to settle a dispute that the company made shipments to Iran, Sudan and Syria in violation of U.S. embargoes.

CQPolitics.com - The Earth-scorching August firefight over health care has given rise to questions about the point at which stifling civil discussion damages the democratic process.

AP - Republican Sen. George Voinovich says he'll vote for Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor when the Senate votes on her nomination to be the first Hispanic justice.

AFP - The US Senate was likely to vote Thursday on saving a program, dubbed 'Cash for Clunkers,' that lets consumers trade in gas-guzzling cars and trucks for more fuel efficient vehicles.

AP - A suspected member of the armed Basque group ETA was deported from Mexico on Thursday and arrested in Spain, where he is wanted for allegedly killing five Spanish police officers and a pregnant wife of one of the officers.

AP - The House is ordering up three Gulfstream jets to fly Pentagon and other top government officials � including members of Congress � around the globe in conditions far cushier than coach class.

Politico - Rep. Ron Paul says that President Obama deserves a failing grade for his first 200 days in office.

Politico - Conservative groups�rally the masses to participate in health care forums in their districts.

AP - Cast as a profit-hoarding villain by Democratic foes, the insurance industry still has a fighting chance to fend off the part of a health care overhaul it most despises � creation of a government-run plan to compete with private insurers.

AP - The case of a former top NASA official, accused of enriching himself and helping a consulting client get $9.6 million in grants, was headed to the jury Thursday.

Time.com - On her mammoth tour of the continent, can the U.S. Secretary of State follow-up on favorite son Obama without sounding like a neo-colonial scold?

McClatchy Newspapers - NAIROBI, Kenya � Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pledged Thursday to send more help to Somalia's besieged interim government to prevent radical Islamist militias from turning that troubled country into 'a future haven for global terrorism.'

AP - President Barack Obama is lauding the barrier-breaking confirmation of Sonia Sotomayor to be the first Hispanic justice on the Supreme Court.

AP - The government is giving schools new guidance to follow when swine flu strikes, in hopes of preventing the panic and confusion that prompted hundreds of school closures last spring.

Politico - Sonia Sotomayor has been confirmed as a justice for the United States Supreme Court on a 68-31 vote.

Politico - A proposed revolving loan fund for clean energy technology gains support among some in the industry.

AFP - President Barack Obama Thursday pledged to get off to a strong, diplomatic start with key US ally Japan, praising his choice for ambassador to Tokyo ahead of his Senate confirmation vote.

CQPolitics.com - A little more than three months after Justice David H. Souter announced his intention to retire, the Senate on Thursday confirmed Sonia Sotomayor to become the Supreme Court's first Hispanic justice. The vote was 68-31.

AP - An incoming adviser to the top U.S. general in Afghanistan predicted Thursday that the United States will see about two more years of heavy fighting and then either hand off to a much improved Afghan fighting force or 'lose and go home.'

Politico - The W.H.�gives tips on how�to avoid�disastrous town halls�and�points out�the�popular aspects of reform.

AP - Kansas' two U.S. senators are blocking 10 of President Barack Obama's nominees for senior administration posts at the Pentagon and Justice Department in protest over a proposal to house Guantanamo detainees at the Fort Leavenworth prison.

AP - The Obama administration's plan to stop holding immigrant families at a former central Texas prison was cheered Thursday by the immigrants' supporters and some in Congress as a needed change in inhumane and sometimes deadly detentions.

AP - A former top NASA official was found guilty Thursday of breaking ethics laws by helping a consulting client get nearly $10 million of the space agency's funds.

AP - President Barack Obama is heading back on the campaign trail to give a midsummer boost to a Democratic gubernatorial candidate whose fortunes could be a viewed as a referendum on administration policies.

AFP - Four US senators have urged President Barack Obama to ensure September 11 terror suspects are tried in a special military courts and not in civilian courts on US soil.

McClatchy Newspapers - WASHINGTON � The Senate on Wednesday voted 68-31 to confirm veteran federal appellate judge Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court, and on Saturday she'll become the court's first Hispanic justice.

Reuters - The U.S. Senate approved and sent to the White House on Thursday a $2 billion extension of the 'cash for clunkers' autos sales incentive program.

AP - A Kenyan man's offer of 40 goats and 20 cows for Chelsea Clinton's hand in marriage may still be on the table � and Hillary Rodham Clinton has promised to convey the 'very kind offer' to her daughter.

Reuters - President Barack Obama said on Thursday the actions taken by his administration have helped stop an economic freefall and the United States may be seeing the 'very beginnings' of the end of the recession.

McClatchy Newspapers - WASHINGTON � U.S. Postal Service plans to cut billions of dollars in losses would end regular Saturday mail delivery and reduce health benefits to retired postal workers, officials warned Congress on Thursday.

Politico - President raises money for Deeds before rallying supporters in the vote-rich Washington, D.C., suburbs.

Politico - President Obama plans to sign the bill immediately so the clunkers program can keep humming along.

AP - The 60-37 roll call Thursday by which the Senate agreed to a $2 billion extension of the 'cash for clunkers' program.

AP - Neil MacBride, a former longtime aide to Vice President Joe Biden, was nominated Thursday as the U.S. attorney in Alexandria, Va., a high profile federal prosecutor job.

AP - Former Liberian President Charles Taylor called Thursday on the United States and Britain to declassify radio intercepts he says would help clear him of war crimes charges.

McClatchy Newspapers - WASHINGTON _The Senate voted 60-37 on Thursday to approve another $2 billion for the 'cash for clunkers' program, giving new life and money to the federal government's most wildly popular economic stimulus program.

Bloomberg - Aug. 7 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama will “own the pulpit” during the August congressional recess, giving Democrats a chance to sell a health-care overhaul to American voters, the U.S. Senate’s No. 2 Democrat said.