AP - A woman who had just been suspended from her job and escorted from a Kraft Foods Inc. facility in the city's northeast section on Thursday returned with a handgun and opened fire, killing two people and critically injuring a third, police said.

AP - A local fire chief says a gas line explosion likely caused the massive fire burning homes in a residential neighborhood south of San Francisco.

Reuters - President Barack Obama has chosen Austan Goolsbee to succeed Christina Romer as chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, U.S. administration officials said on Thursday.

Reuters - President Barack Obama has chosen Austan Goolsbee to succeed Christina Romer as chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, U.S. administration officials said on Thursday.

AP - A Colorado wildfire that has destroyed 170 homes showed no signs of relenting Thursday as wind gusts of more than 40 mph fueled fears that the flames would move east from the Rocky Mountain foothills and into the heart of Boulder, where some residents were warned to be ready to flee.

AP - New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was unhurt in a two-vehicle accident near his home Thursday morning and hours later practiced as usual with his team just days before the season opener. He then agreed to a four-year extension that would make him the NFL's highest paid player, according to a person with knowledge of the contract.

AP - An anti-Islamic preacher backed off and then threatened to reconsider burning the Quran on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, angrily accusing a Muslim leader of lying to him Thursday with a promise to move an Islamic center and mosque away from New York's ground zero. The imam planning the center denied there was ever such a deal.

AP - An anti-Islamic preacher backed off and then threatened to reconsider burning the Quran on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, angrily accusing a Muslim leader of lying to him Thursday with a promise to move an Islamic center and mosque away from New York's ground zero. The imam planning the center denied there was ever such a deal.

AP - If Rahm Emanuel decides to run for Chicago mayor, the White House chief of staff would easily be the best-known figure in the race, with national name recognition that few others could match and invaluable experience from helping engineer the Democrats' takeover of the House in 2006.

AP - A federal judge on Thursday declared the U.S. military's ban on openly gay service members unconstitutional and said she will issue an order to stop the government from enforcing the "don't ask, don't tell" policy nationwide.

AP - A federal judge on Thursday declared the U.S. military's ban on openly gay service members unconstitutional and said she will issue an order to stop the government from enforcing the "don't ask, don't tell" policy nationwide.

Exclusive to Yahoo! News - Just over two weeks ago, Kenneth Feinberg took over the process for handling damage claims from the Gulf oil spill, pledging to cut down the response time from BP’s widely criticized system to two days for individuals and seven days for businesses that file fully documented claims.

AP - Donald Trump offered Thursday to buy out a major investor in the real estate partnership that controls the site near ground zero where a Muslim group wants to build a 13-story Islamic center and mosque.

AP - The death toll from flooding caused by the remnants of Tropical Storm Hermine climbed Thursday after Texas authorities recovered the body of a missing swimmer and an Oklahoma driver drowned trying to cross a swollen creek.

AP - A city all too familiar with civil unrest was caught by surprise with the level of outrage over the fatal police shooting of an illegal immigrant from Guatemala who was menacing officers with a knife.

AP - The father of a U.S. soldier serving in Afghanistan says he tried nearly a half dozen times to pass an urgent message from his son to the Army: Troops in his unit had murdered an Afghan civilian, planned more killings and threatened him to keep quiet about it.

AFP - The Pentagon on Thursday said it was concerned about the fallout from a grisly murder case involving a dozen US soldiers accused of killing Afghan civilians and conspiring to cover it up.

AP - "Advocate tolerance, and disregard the ignorant," one book counsels. Advises the other, "Be gentle towards all, ... forbearing."

AP - Sen. Russ Feingold calls himself the underdog in his re-election bid against a Republican challenger no one had heard of six months ago but who, like other GOP newcomers this year, is tapping his own fortune to start a political career at the top.

Reuters - A set of U.N. goals aimed at drastically reducing poverty and hunger worldwide by 2015 are achievable, despite setbacks caused by the global financial and economic crises, a draft document said.

AP - In early August, three women, each of them more than four months pregnant, sought abortions from Dr. Steven Brigham at his clinic in New Jersey. Instead of turning them down, authorities said Brigham used a novel scheme to take advantage of the disparities in state abortion laws.

AP - Republican Senate candidate Sharron Angle's conservative views on illegal immigration and her limited outreach to Hispanics have done little to endear her to Nevada's largest minority group.

AFP - The International Monetary Fund on Thursday announced it would sell 10 metric tons of gold to Bangladesh, worth around 403 million dollars.

AFP - US Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner will face a key US House committee's questions on possible new steps to press China over its currency policy, the panel's chairman said Thursday.

Reuters - Stocks rose on Thursday as stronger-than-expected jobs and trade data helped lift optimism about the economic recovery, although sentiment was fragile as investors fretted over European banks.

AP - Lawyers for a Nigerian man charged with trying to blow up a plane near Detroit on Christmas said Thursday that they've talked to prosecutors about resolving the case with a deal.

AP - A federal appeals court ruled Thursday that Hazleton, Pa., may not enforce its crackdown on illegal immigrants, dealing another blow to 4-year-old regulations that inspired similar measures around the country. The city's mayor pledged to take the case to the Supreme Court.