AP - Arizona is preparing to ask an appeals court to lift a judge's ruling that put most of the state's immigration law on hold in a key first-round victory for the federal government in a fight that may go to the U.S. Supreme Court.

AP - A second U.S. Navy sailor who went missing in a dangerous part of eastern Afghanistan was found dead and his body recovered, a senior U.S. military official and Afghan officials said Thursday.

AP - President Barack Obama said Thursday that the racial firestorm that led to the ouster of a black Agriculture Department official was a "phony controversy" generated by the media. He said his administration overreacted by forcing her out.

AP - Four airmen were killed when a cargo plane crashed during a training run at an Alaska Air Force base, sending a fireball hundreds of feet into the air, military authorities and witnesses said.

AP - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says politically, the "chips will fall where they may" as New York Rep. Charles Rangel's congressional peers prepared to publicly discuss ethics charges against him.

AP - The government's point man for the Gulf spill plans to meet with coastal parish officials Thursday to talk about what's next now that the oil has stopped flowing.

AP - New jobless claims fell last week for the third time in four weeks but remain elevated. The decline is a sign that the economy likely added jobs in July, although not enough to lower the nation's high unemployment rate.

AP - Calm, cool weather Thursday morning dampened a wildfire that destroyed 25 buildings north of Los Angeles, and crews were prepared for afternoon winds that could kick up the flames again, a fire spokesman said.