GRAND ISLE, La. (AP) -- An offshore petroleum platform exploded and was burning Thursday in the Gulf of Mexico about 80 miles off the Louisiana coast, west of the site where BP's undersea well spilled after a rig explosion....

BUXTON, N.C. (AP) -- Hurricane Earl packed winds near 140 mph as it blew toward North Carolina on Thursday, putting the Eastern Seaboard up to Maine on alert for a Labor Day weekend pounding by waves, gales and rain....

PHOENIX (AP) -- The U.S. Justice Department sued Sheriff Joe Arpaio on Thursday, saying the Arizona lawman refused for more than a year to turn over records in an investigation into allegations his department discriminates against Hispanics....

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A weak economy got a little lift Thursday with new data suggesting companies aren't pursuing mass layoffs and stores are a little busier....

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Israeli and Palestinian leaders sat down for their first direct peace talks in two years on Thursday, pledging to overcome deep skepticism spawned by disappointment with U.S.-brokered attempts in the past to resolve the long-running conflict....

SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP) -- As the three hostages at Discovery Channel's headquarters appeared ready to make a run for it, police said Thursday that a SWAT team officer quickly shot and killed the increasingly agitated gunman who had explosives strapped to himself, ending the four-hour standoff....

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told a panel investigating the financial crisis that regulators must be ready to shutter the largest institutions if they threaten to bring down the financial system....

MUMBAI, India (AP) -- India has widened its security crackdown, asking all companies that provide encrypted communications - not just BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion - to install servers in the country to make it easier for the government to obtain users' data. That would likely affect digital giants like Google and Skype....

WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. (AP) -- Grammy-winning rapper T.I. was arrested along with his wife on suspicion of possessing methamphetamines, five months after the hip-hop star finished a prison stint on weapons charges....

GRAND ISLE, La. (AP) -- An offshore petroleum platform exploded and was burning Thursday in the Gulf of Mexico about 80 miles off the Louisiana coast, west of the site where BP's undersea well spilled after a rig explosion....

PHOENIX (AP) -- The U.S. Justice Department sued Sheriff Joe Arpaio on Thursday, saying the Arizona lawman refused for more than a year to turn over records in an investigation into allegations his department discriminates against Hispanics....

BUXTON, N.C. (AP) -- Hurricane Earl packed winds near 140 mph as it blew toward North Carolina on Thursday, putting the Eastern Seaboard up to Maine on alert for a Labor Day weekend pounding by waves, gales and rain....

SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP) -- As the three hostages at Discovery Channel's headquarters appeared ready to make a run for it, police said Thursday that a SWAT team officer quickly shot and killed the increasingly agitated gunman who had explosives strapped to himself, ending the four-hour standoff....

NEW YORK (AP) -- The former television producer who tried to blackmail David Letterman over the comedian's office affairs was freed from jail Thursday, city Correction Department records show....

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- The cap that ended BP's three-month oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico was set to come off Thursday as a prelude to raising a massive, failed piece of equipment and preparing for a final seal on the broken seafloor well....

CHICAGO (AP) -- The idea seemed simple though bold: Call reputed gang leaders to a meeting with top police and federal prosecutors and deliver an ultimatum to end killings in the nation's third-largest city....

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) -- It's been three years since Scott Eckersley was fired after asserting that his then-boss, former Gov. Matt Blunt, and others in Blunt's administration should not be deleting certain e-mails because they belonged to the public record....

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) -- The defeat of Republican U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski by an upstart fiscal conservative in Alaska's GOP primary could mark a significant shift for a state that has so long relied on federal pork to survive. The outcome was also an unexpected blow to the seniority Alaska has enjoyed in the Senate....

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- The top US military commander in Afghanistan says the sometimes strained relationship between the US and Afghan President Hamid Karzai is solid....

MUMBAI, India (AP) -- India has widened its security crackdown, asking all companies that provide encrypted communications - not just BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion - to install servers in the country to make it easier for the government to obtain users' data. That would likely affect digital giants like Google and Skype....

JERUSALEM (AP) -- Renowned Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal worked for Israel's Mossad spy agency, providing information on war criminals and Germans working in Arab countries, according to a new book released Thursday....

BEIJING (AP) -- Census takers counting China's more than 1.3 billion people already face a daunting task, and it's getting harder for the latest once-a-decade update....

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- Afghan's finance minister reassured nervous customers at the troubled Kabul Bank on Thursday, saying every penny of their deposits would be guaranteed by the government....

BERLIN (AP) -- Germany's central bank said Thursday that it will request the dismissal of a board member whose comments stereotyping Muslims and Jews drew outrage at home and abroad....

LOME, Togo (AP) -- Togo's opposition leader claims police tried to stop him from leading protesters through a police blockade in their attempt to protest the alleged rigging of this year's presidential election....

JOHANNESBURG (AP) -- South Africa's government is withdrawing the special status granted to illegal Zimbabwean immigrants who fled their country's economic meltdown and political violence, a spokesman said Thursday....

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- Two American troops died in fighting in Afghanistan on Thursday, while NATO and local officials said coalition and Afghan forces killed dozens of insurgents in a series of ground and air engagements....

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is calling on Israel to end Jewish settlements in the West Bank and other areas that the Palestinians want to be part off their own state....

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is calling for Israelis as well as the Palestinians to make compromises in the pursuit of an enduring peace....

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- The top US military commander in Afghanistan says the sometimes strained relationship between the US and Afghan President Hamid Karzai is solid....

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A Marine two-star general says the Taliban is experiencing a serious cash flow problem after losing an estimated half of its annual revenue from the drug trade in southern Afghanistan....

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Federal prisons are failing to notify crime victims and witnesses when inmates are allowed to travel by themselves for medical treatment, the Justice Department inspector general said Thursday....

McGREGOR, Texas (AP) -- Rep. Chet Edwards, an imperiled Democrat deep in the heart of Republican territory, finds exiting American Legion Post No. 273 slow going. Supporters and well-wishers keep stopping him....

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) -- It's been three years since Scott Eckersley was fired after asserting that his then-boss, former Gov. Matt Blunt, and others in Blunt's administration should not be deleting certain e-mails because they belonged to the public record....

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Former President Bill Clinton is coming to the aid of endangered Democratic Sen. Blanche Lincoln....

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Kia Motors is recalling about 35,000 Soul and Sorento vehicles to fix wiring in the interior lighting panels that could lead to fires....