AP - A wildfire threatening thousands of homes in Southern California spread slowly through scenic canyonlands Saturday, straining resources as crews struggled to contain hundreds of other blazes around the state.

AP - The American Civil Liberties Union said Saturday that it plans to investigate the actions of federal law enforcers who arrested five Rainbow Family members in western Wyoming during their annual gathering.

AP - The three American hostages rescued by Colombia's military said in their first public statement that they are doing fine and are thrilled to "return home to the country we love."

AP - Dale Metta, who manages a gun shop just outside the District of Columbia limits in Maryland, has had to turn away dozens of city residents wanting to buy handguns in recent days. Never mind that the U.S. Supreme Court just struck down Washington's 32-year-old ban on possessing handguns.

AP - Tropical Storm Bertha is approaching warmer waters and is likely to strengthen during the next couple of days.

AP - Even folks in the Optimist Club are having a tough time toeing an upbeat line these days. Eighteen members of the volunteer organization's Gilbert, Ariz., chapter have gathered, a few days before this nation's 232nd birthday, to focus on the positive: Their book drive for schoolchildren and an Independence Day project to place American flags along the streets of one neighborhood.

ST. LOUIS (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said on Saturday his plan to end the Iraq war was unchanged and he was puzzled by the sharp reaction to his statement this week that he might "refine" his timetable for withdrawing U.S. combat troops.

CHITOSE, Japan (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush arrived in Japan on Sunday for the Group of Eight rich nations' meetings where North Korea's nuclear weapons program, soaring oil and food prices, and climate change top the agenda.

KABUL (Reuters) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai has ordered an investigation into a U.S.-led coalition airstrike that local officials say killed 15 civilians, but the U.S. military says killed only armed Taliban militants.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel was reopening some border crossings with Gaza on Sunday, an official said, after it closed them on Thursday following the launch of a rocket into the Jewish state by Palestinian militants.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A car bomb killed six civilians and wounded 14 other people in the Shaab district of northern Baghdad on Sunday, police said.

ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE (Reuters) - President George W. Bush and Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda will discuss the next steps in the six-party talks over North Korea's nuclear status when they meet on the sidelines of the G8 summit in Japan, a White House official said on Saturday.

A wildfire threatening thousands of homes in Southern California spread slowly through scenic canyonlands Saturday, straining resources as crews struggled to contain hundreds of other blazes around the state.

Before focusing on global challenges, President Bush sought on Sunday to address Tokyo's concerns that progress in ending a nuclear standoff with North Korea has not helped settled the sensitive issue of Japanese citizens kidnapped by the North.

Iraq's prime minister said yesterday that the government has defeated terrorism in the country, a sign of growing confidence after recent crackdowns against Sunni extremists and Shiite militias.

The knock on Brian Hart's door came at 6 a.m. An Army colonel, a priest and a police officer had come to tell Hart and his wife that their 20-year-old son had been killed when his military vehicle was ambushed in Iraq.

An Orange County man who was hunted statewide after shooting his estranged wife and kidnapping their 9-year-old son may be in Mexico.

Zimbabwe prison officer uses hidden camera given to him by a British newspaper to film how he and his colleagues were forced to vote for Robert Mugabe in last month's widely criticized presidential runoff.