Palin resignation leaves questions on 2012 run (AP)

AP - Even for a nonconformist, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has defied political logic with her sudden, stunning announcement to leave office more than a year early.

SKorea says North fires 7 missiles off east coast (AP)

AP - North Korea fired seven ballistic missiles off its eastern coast Saturday, South Korea said, a violation of U.N. resolutions and an apparent message of defiance to the United States on its Independence Day.

Powerful sedative found in Michael Jackson's home (AP)

AP - Questions about Michael Jackson's use of prescription drugs are intensifying after a powerful sedative was found inside his home.

2 US troops die in attack on base in Afghanistan (AP)

AP - Taliban militants attacked a U.S. coalition base in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday with an explosives-laden truck that blew up outside the gates, sparking a two-hour gunbattle and killing two American troops, officials said.

British embassy employee in Iran charged (AP)

AP - The lawyer for a detained Iranian employee of the British embassy in Tehran says his client has been charged with "acting against national security."

Obama cites his agenda in holiday address (AP)

AP - President Barack Obama sought to rally support for his domestic initiatives, while Sen. John McCain called for Americans to support Iranian election protesters. The one-time presidential rivals both cited the spirit of the nation's founders in their Fourth of July radio and Internet addresses.

SC serial killer conjures memory of 60s murderer (AP)

AP - A terrified rural South Carolina community hunkered down over the Fourth of July after the sheriff said a serial killer was on the loose, and longtime residents were reminded of a murderer who terrorized the town in the 1960s.

Mrs. Obama bringing glamor to Moscow this weekend (AP)

AP - Michelle Obama brings her superstar glamor to Moscow this weekend as she accompanies her husband on his summit with the Russian president.

Group Sotomayor advised fought job tests (AP)

AP - A civil rights group on whose board Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor served filed racial bias lawsuits over employment examinations that resemble a Connecticut case in which she ruled against white firefighters, documents released by the Senate show.

Dodgers' Ramirez hitless in return from suspension (AP)

AP - Manny Ramirez is back in the big leagues, looking like a guy who missed 50 games. Returning from his suspension for violating baseball's drug policy, the Los Angeles slugger barely hit the ball out of the infield in the Dodgers' 6-3 win over the San Diego Padres on Friday night.

Palin resigning as Alaska governor in surprise move (Reuters)

Reuters - Sarah Palin, the brash, deeply conservative governor of Alaska who crashed onto the U.S. national political scene last year as the Republican candidate for U.S. vice president, announced abruptly on Friday she was resigning as governor.

North Korea defies U.S. with new missile launches (Reuters)

Reuters - North Korea fired seven ballistic missiles on Saturday, South Korea's defense ministry said, in an act of defiance toward the United States that further stoked regional tensions already high due to its nuclear test in May.

Hardline Iran editor calls for Mousavi to face trial (Reuters)

Reuters - A newspaper editor seen as close to Iran's top authority said Saturday defeated election candidate Mirhossein Mousavi and a former pro-reform president had committed "terrible crimes" which should be tried in court.

Suicide bomber attacks foreign base in Afghan east (Reuters)Reuters - One U.S. soldier and an Afghan were killed when a suicide bomber tried to attack a base in southeast Afghanistan on Saturday, officials said, two days after a major operation against the Taliban was launched in the south.Putin rejects Obama criticism before meeting (Reuters)

Reuters - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Friday rejected U.S. President Barack Obama's charge that he was mired in Cold War thinking, setting the scene for a stormy first meeting at a Moscow summit next week.

OAS set to suspend Honduras as it renounces charter (Reuters)

Reuters - The Organization of American States prepared to suspend Honduras on Saturday after a caretaker government refused to restore ousted President Manuel Zelaya and defiantly renounced the OAS charter in an apparent preemptive move.

U.S. drone kills 10 in Pakistan, copter crash kills 26 (Reuters)

Reuters - A U.S. drone aircraft fired missiles on Friday into Pakistan's South Waziristan region, killing 10 militants, officials said, ahead of an expected Pakistani military offensive in the area.

Massive demand for Jackson memorial tickets (Reuters)

Reuters - More than half a million fans from around the world applied for 17,500 free tickets to Michael Jackson's public memorial service next week, organizers said on Friday as a massive security operation got underway.

N.Korea test-fires seven missiles: S.Korea (AFP)

AFP - North Korea test-fired seven missiles off its east coast on Saturday, South Korean officials said, in an act of defiance apparently timed for the US Independence Day holiday.

Myanmar junta blocks UN chief from meeting Suu Kyi (AFP)

AFP - UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said he was "deeply disappointed" after the reclusive chief of Myanmar's military junta refused to let him meet pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.