AP - North Korea launched seven ballistic missiles Saturday into waters off its east coast in a show of military firepower that defied U.N. resolutions and drew global expressions of condemnation and concern.

AP - Vice President Joe Biden spent the Fourth of July with his son and other American troops in Iraq on Saturday, while the Iraqi government spokesman publicly rejected the American's offer to help with national reconciliation, saying it's an internal affair.

AP - Taliban militants fired rockets and mortars at a U.S. base in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday, killing two American troops in a fierce battle as thousands of Marines in the south continued with their massive anti-Taliban push.

AP - There's a new building in town, and it isn't a military barracks or a hospital. It's a Tourist Information Center.

AP - A top aide to Iran's all-powerful leader has accused the country's main opposition leader of being an American agent who should be tried for treason, increasing the pressure on reformists disputing the outcome of last month's presidential election.

AP - A Yemeni aviation committee says pieces of wreckage from the passenger jet that crashed off the Comoros islands have been recovered.

AP - The Organization of American States is meeting in Washington to consider suspending Honduras' membership because of the military coup that ousted President Manuel Zelaya.

AFP - Sudanese authorities were trying on Saturday to establish contact with kidnappers who snatched two foreign aid workers from their offices in Darfur, a foreign ministry official said.

AP - Taliban militants were nowhere in sight as the columns of U.S. Marines walked a third straight day across southern Afghanistan. But the desert heat proved an enemy in its own right, with several troops falling victim Saturday to temperatures topping 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

AFP - Australia has welcomed the first elephant ever born in the country with the arrival of a 100-kilogram (220.4-pound) male calf at a Sydney zoo, according to keepers.

AP - North Korea launched seven ballistic missiles Saturday into waters off its east coast in a show of military firepower that defied U.N. resolutions and drew global expressions of condemnation and concern.

AP - Former NFL quarterback Steve McNair and a woman were found shot to death Saturday inside a residence in Nashville, police said.

AP - Where is Sarah Palin? A day after surprising even her closest friends by announcing she would step down as Alaska governor more than a year before her term was up, the controversial hockey mom was keeping a low profile. Her spokesman, David Murrow, said Palin told him she was flying to Juneau, the state capital, for the Fourth of July weekend, but he wasn't sure what activities she planned to attend.

AP - A teenage girl shot while helping her father in their family's small furniture and appliance store died Saturday, becoming the fifth victim of a suspected serial killer terrorizing a small South Carolina community, authorities said.

AP - Determined to change the way the world views the United States, Barack Obama is onto his next foreign mission: rebuilding relations with Russia, proving to global leaders that America is serious about climate change, and outlining his vision for Africa, his father's birthplace.

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

AP - There's a new building in town, and it isn't a military barracks or a hospital. It's a Tourist Information Center.

AP - The memorial for Michael Jackson may be a tough ticket live, but it shouldn't be hard to find it on television.

AP - Serena Williams kept telling herself she was facing just another foe in the Wimbledon final Saturday, just another woman who hits the ball quite hard, just another player trying to deny her a Grand Slam title.

Reuters - Republican Senator John McCain expressed support for his former presidential running mate, Sarah Palin, on Saturday as Washington speculated about why the Alaska governor abruptly announced her resignation.

Reuters - Iraq on Saturday ruled out foreign involvement in its efforts to reconcile rival factions, just after visiting U.S. Vice President Joe Biden urged Iraqis to do more to bury grievances and stave off renewed conflict.

Reuters - North Korea fired seven ballistic missiles on Saturday, South Korea's defense ministry said, in an act of defiance toward the United States on its Independence Day that further stoked regional tensions.

Reuters - An editor seen as close to Iran's leadership said on Saturday that opposition leader Mirhossein Mousavi should go on trial, and a lawyer said other reformists had already been accused of acting against national security.

Reuters - The Organization of American States was likely to suspend Honduras on Saturday after a caretaker government refused to restore President Manuel Zelaya who was toppled in a military coup last weekend.

Reuters - Former NFL quarterback Steve McNair has been found dead in Nashville of a gunshot wound in an apparent murder-suicide, according to local media reports.

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

AFP - Two US soldiers and seven Afghan policemen were killed in separate explosions Saturday, highlighting the level of violence faced by Marines pressing one of the biggest assaults in eight years.