AP - President Bush on Sunday defended removing North Korea from the list of state sponsors of terrorism and attending the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics as world leaders assembled to address soaring gas prices, climate change and African aid.

AP - Firefighters got a gift of a mild, mostly windless night and a forecast for similar conditions Sunday as they attempted to protect thousands of Santa Barbara County homes from a huge wildfire, one of more than 300 taxing their energy and resources around the state.

AP - A suicide attacker detonated explosives near a police station in Pakistan's capital on Sunday, killing more than 10 police officers, officials said.

AP - Afghanistan's president has ordered an investigation into allegations that missiles from U.S. helicopters struck civilians, though the Ministry of Defense said Sunday that the attack killed or wounded 20 militants.

AP - Democrats bent on showing they can govern and Republicans anxious about a sour re-election climate are pushing a pared-down summer agenda in Congress. Lawmakers want to try to save homeowners from foreclosure, avert Medicare cuts and give the government power to spy on suspected terrorists.

AP - Things in the U.S. sure are tough. Brother, can you spare a euro? Signs saying "We accept euros" are cropping up in the windows of some Manhattan retailers. A Belgium company is trying to gobble up St. Louis-based Anheuser-Busch, the nation's largest brewer and iconic Super Bowl advertiser.

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.

AP - "The Bachelor" is a bachelor no more. Andrew Firestone, star of the ABC-TV reality show, married Serbian model and actress Ivana Bozilovic Saturday, Firestone's publicist Alisha Mahon told The Associated Press.

AP - Using his trusty BB gun to help him return to Earth, a 48-year-old gas station owner flew a lawn chair rigged with helium-filled balloons more than 200 miles across the Oregon desert Saturday, landing in a field in Idaho.

AP - After moving within a victory of his sixth consecutive Wimbledon title, Roger Federer found time to catch only a few games of Rafael Nadal's semifinal. Federer does have a DVD of Nadal's match, but he wasn't exactly rushing to use it for scouting purposes before they meet for the Wimbledon championship Sunday.