AP - A man who authorities said was keeping weapons and military-style gear in his hotel room and car appeared in court Thursday on charges he threatened to assassinate Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.

AP - Iraq and the U.S. are near an agreement on all American combat troops leaving Iraq by October 2010, with the last soldiers out three years after that, two Iraqi officials told The Associated Press on Thursday. U.S. officials, however, insisted no dates had been agreed.

AP - A U.S. military jury gave Osama bin Laden's driver a surprisingly light sentence Thursday, making him eligible for release in just five months despite the prosecutors' request for at least a 30-year sentence to deter would-be terrorists.

AP - The wife of evangelical pastor Joel Osteen got physical when her demands that a small spill on her seat be cleaned up were not immediately met, a flight attendant testified Thursday at a civil trial over the incident.

AP - Mayor Cheye Calvo got home from work, saw a package addressed to his wife on the front porch and brought it inside, putting it on a table. Suddenly, police with guns drawn kicked in the door and stormed in, shooting to death the couple's two dogs and seizing the unopened package.

AP - A spokeswoman for Bernie Mac says the actor is responding well to treatment for pneumonia and hopes to be released in the next few weeks. Publicist Danica Smith said Thursday in a statement that Mac's condition is "stable." Smith first announced on August 1st that Mac was hospitalized in Chicago.