AP - U.S. Marines suffered their first casualties of a massive new military campaign Thursday as they engaged in sporadic gunbattles along 55 miles of Taliban-controlled heartland in southern Afghanistan. One Marine was killed and several others were injured or wounded on the first full day of the assault, the largest military operation in Afghanistan since the fall of Taliban government in 2001.

AP - The future of Michael Jackson's children was thrown into question Thursday when his ex-wife emerged and won a delay in a custody hearing while she decides whether she wants to raise her two offspring.

AP - President Barack Obama said former Russian President Vladimir Putin and his hand-picked successor should expect an in-person reminder the Cold War is over when the U.S. leader makes his first trip to a Moscow summit.

AP - An across-the-board drop in tax collections, coupled with a prolonged recession, has states facing their worst fiscal crisis in decades.

AP - General Motors Corp. may have to wait out the long holiday weekend to learn if its bankruptcy plan is moving forward, after U.S. Judge Robert Gerber adjourned a three-day hearing without indicating when he will rule on GM's plan to sell its good assets to a new company.