AP - Residents across south Texas slogged through knee-deep muddy waters, tiptoed around downed power lines and dug through debris Thursday, but were thankful that Hurricane Dolly didn't pack the wallop they had feared.

AP - Before the largest crowd of his campaign, Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama on Thursday summoned Europeans and Americans together to "defeat terror and dry up the well of extremism that supports it" as surely as they conquered communism a generation ago.

AP - Ford Motor Co. posted the worst quarterly performance in its history Thursday, losing $8.67 billion in the second quarter.

AP - Sales of existing homes fell more sharply than expected in June as the housing industry continued to be bruised by the worst slump in more than two decades.

AP - The International Olympic Committee has upheld a ban on Iraqi teams at the Beijing Games, saying Thursday the government missed the deadline to address accusations of political interference.

AP - About 2 million Americans get a raise Thursday as the federal minimum wage rises 70 cents. The bad news: Higher gas and food prices are swallowing it up, and some small businesses will pass the cost of the wage hike to consumers.

AP - Batman star Christian Bale asked for privacy Thursday in his first comments since allegations he assaulted his mother and sister at a London hotel, saying the incident was personal.

AP - Japanese and Mongolian scientists have successfully recovered the complete skeleton of a 70-million-year-old young dinosaur, a nature museum announced Thursday.

AP - Carlos Delgado hit a tiebreaking, two-run double in the eighth inning and Oliver Perez stifled the Philadelphia Phillies again, helping the New York Mets earn a 3-1 win Thursday that gave them sole possession of first place in the NL East.

Reuters - U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama urged Europe on Thursday to stand by the United States in bringing stability to Afghanistan and confronting other threats from climate change to nuclear proliferation.

Reuters - Jobless claims jumped last week and the pace of existing home sales tumbled to a 10-year low as slowing growth hit hiring and a glut of unsold homes weighed on the real estate market, data on Thursday showed.

Reuters - The White House on Thursday threatened to veto legislation that would require the government to sell 10 percent of the oil in the nation's emergency petroleum stockpile.

Reuters - Hurricane Dolly, which unleashed a fury of winds and rain on the U.S.-Mexico coastline, weakened to a tropical storm on Thursday but concern remained over flooding along the populous Rio Grande Valley.

Reuters - The U.S. Senate is due to vote finally on Saturday to approve a major housing market rescue bill, including federal financial assistance for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac , the mortgage titans whose shares fell again in early Thursday trading.

Reuters - President George W. Bush on Thursday urged his successor to carry on what he called his "freedom agenda" of promoting human rights, democracy, and free trade around the world.

Reuters - Osama bin Laden's driver was not told of any rights against self-incrimination under years of interrogation, FBI agents told the Guantanamo war crimes court on Thursday.

Reuters - Talks to salvage a global trade deal faced a crunch point on Thursday after three days of scant progress, as ministers went into another marathon meeting with developing giant India saying it had nothing new to offer.

AFP - Barack Obama Thursday challenged a new generation of Americans and Europeans to tear down walls between estranged allies, races, and faiths in a soaring call for global unity at an unprecedented mass campaign rally in Berlin.

AFP - Talks began in earnest Thursday on resolving Zimbabwe's political crisis after President Robert Mugabe gave his senior lieutenants the final go-ahead to negotiate power-sharing with the opposition.

AP - Carlos Delgado hit a tiebreaking, two-run double in the eighth inning and Oliver Perez stifled the Philadelphia Phillies again, helping the New York Mets earn a 3-1 win Thursday that gave them sole possession of first place in the NL East.

AP - The WNBA punished so many players for their roles in this week's skirmish that the league is staggering the suspensions by alphabetical order.

AP - Ryan Braun had four hits for a second straight game, including a two-run homer in the ninth, and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the St. Louis Cardinals 4-3 on Thursday night, their eighth straight victory.

AP - Just two weeks before the start of the Olympics, Iraq was told Thursday it's not welcome in Beijing because of a political feud in Baghdad that angered the games' guardians and exiled a country that arrived to a roaring ovation at the opening ceremony four years ago.

AP - Peyton Manning's voice resonated through the Colts training camp Thursday — from 90 miles away. The NFL's two-time MVP spent reporting day at home in Indianapolis, his valuable left knee immobilized after having surgery to remove an infected bursa sac.

AP - No team in baseball is playing as well as the Milwaukee Brewers and no hitter is on a tear like Ryan Braun.

AFP - David Gill, Manchester United's chief executive, has admitted the club will seek the opinion of Sir Alex Ferguson before naming his successor when the Old Trafford manager finally retires.

AFP - Serbia's Jelena Jankovic moved closer to grabbing the world number one ranking from compatriot Ana Ivanovic on Thursday by beating Hungary's Melinda Czink 6-3, 6-2 at a 600,000-dollar WTA tournament.

AP - Lorena Ochoa shot a 7-under par 65 Thursday to take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Evian Masters.