State

• Tornado, storms cause heavy damage in Midwest

National

• Transcript: Controller joked about barbecuing cat

  • Excerpts from air traffic conversations

• Hurricane Bill weakens to Category 3, churns waves

• New credit card rules may reveal unwelcome details

• US man says no regrets about Myanmar jailing

• 4 Katrina evacuees who got Winfrey help charged

• Reality TV contestant sought in ex-model's death

• Wastewater from food plants getting into wells

International

• China says 1,300 sick in new lead poisoning case

• Turnout appears low as Afghans vote for president

• Bicycle bomb kills 2 near restaurant in Baghdad

• Iran lawmakers warn of clash over new government

• Decision soon on whether to free Lockerbie bomber

• Arctic Sea crew, hijackers interrogated in Moscow

• Runner Semenya, SAfricans dismiss gender uproar

Politics & Government

• White House planning to wind down Clunkers program

• AP source: White House projects lower deficit

• Biden to announce almost $1.2B for medical records

• Democrats prepare to push health care without GOP

• Ailing Kennedy asks for speedy replacement process

• APNewsBreak: Ensign: I did nothing 'legally wrong'

• AP source: CIA hired others to try to hit al-Qaida

ODD & Extraordinary

• Fla. man pretends to be disabled in bizarre scam

• Wyo. man spots his SUV on way to report it stolen

• NM driving teacher charged with drunk driving

• Woman nabbed after scuffle with boy in wheelchair

• Dallas woman, 77, reunited with dog found in Fla.

• Funeral home mix-up: Pa. family mourns wrong body

• Cincinnati man arrested 146 times since 1998

• Bank robber says 'sorry' while making getaway

• Police: Mass. woman hid 19 bags of crack in bra

• Burglar targets North Bend police station

Entertainment, Entertainers, Media & Arts

• Leno: Ready to become star-maker on new NBC show

• 5 more rise on 'America's Got Talent'

• Obama to appear in back-to-school program

• 10th-graders of Philadelphia, meet Mr. Tony Danza

• Billy Joel selling homes in posh Hamptons for $35M

• Don Hewitt, who invented '60 Minutes,' dies at 86

Science, Technology & Environment

• Study says plastic decomposes at sea

• Scientists develop high-yield deep-water rice

• Next space shuttle launch set for next week

Today

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