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.

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.

AP - The first visitors allowed into the Statue of Liberty's crown in nearly eight years began the arduous climb Saturday on an Independence Day journey laden with symbolism of freedom and national pride.

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

AP - Taliban militants fired rockets and mortars at a U.S. base in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday, killing two American troops and wounding several more in a two-hour battle, officials said.

AP - A top aide to Iran's supreme leader called the country's main opposition figure a U.S. agent and said in an editorial Saturday that he should be tried for committing crimes against the nation.

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.

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.

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

AP - Venus Williams is just about the perfect older sibling: She supports Serena endlessly, protects her fiercely and even lets her pick which bedroom she wants when they're on the road. Where does Venus draw the line? At Grand Slam championships. The sisters face each other again in a major final, meeting Saturday for the Wimbledon title for the fourth time.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Reuters - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Saturday he was "deeply disappointed" that military-ruled Myanmar's top general had rejected his request to meet with detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

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.

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.

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.