Top Stories - AP

GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands - Gustav became a hurricane again on Friday as it plowed toward Cayman Islands resorts, the start of a buildup that could take it to the U.S. Gulf Coast as a fearsome Category-3 storm three years after Hurricane Katrina.

RALEIGH, N.C. - In a return to the public stage, John Edwards has confirmed plans to talk politics a month after admitting to an extramarital affair. But his wife won't be at his side.

WASHINGTON - The top U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, has given his military superiors and Defense Secretary Robert Gates his initial recommendation on when to resume a U.S. troop withdrawal and at what pace, a senior military officer close to the process said Friday.

TBILISI, Georgia - Georgia severed diplomatic ties with Moscow on Friday to protest the presence of Russian troops on its territory. Russia said the move would only make things worse.

THE HAGUE, Netherlands - Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic made a defiant stand before a U.N. court preparing to try him on genocide charges, refusing to enter pleas Friday and branding the tribunal a NATO proxy out to "liquidate" him.

NEW YORK - Michael Jackson marked a personal milestone Friday: his 50th birthday.

WASHINGTON - The difference between a monster and a wimp for Gulf of Mexico hurricanes often comes down to a small patch of warm deep water that's easy to miss. It's called the Loop Current, and hurricane trackers say Gustav is headed right for it, reminiscent of Katrina.

NEW YORK - Roger Federer flicked a final winner, trotted to the net and started to shake hands. Then, there was one last challenge.

DAYTON, Ohio - Republican John McCain introduced first-term Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his vice presidential running mate Friday, a stunning selection of a little-known conservative newcomer who relishes fighting the establishment.

WASHINGTON - Kathy Melkey stands astride some of the fault lines between Barack Obama and John McCain.

NEW YORK - Retail gas prices swung higher Friday — the first increase in 43 days — as analysts warned that a direct hit on U.S. energy infrastructure by Hurricane Gustav could send pump prices hurtling toward $5 a gallon.

DENVER - Republican John McCain shook up the presidential race with his surprise choice of little-known Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate on Friday. Democrat Barack Obama, entering a crucial stage of the campaign fresh off his historic nominating convention, began a tour of battleground states.

NEW ORLEANS - On the same day that residents marked the three-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina's wrath, another storm strengthened into a hurricane miles away and threatened to hit the Gulf Coast once again.

WASHINGTON - Consumer spending slowed to a crawl and personal incomes plunged in July, reflecting the waning impact of $93 billion in economic stimulus payments.

JUNEAU, Alaska - In two short years, Sarah Palin moved from small-town mayor with a taste for mooseburgers to the governor's office and now — making history — to John McCain's side as the first female running mate on a Republican presidential ticket.

NEW YORK - It was an unusually honest ad for a live-in nanny, a 1,000-word tome beginning, "My kids are a pain." But it worked, attracting a brave soul who's never been a nanny before.

LOS ANGELES - Lindsay Lohan had words for her father on her blog. The 22-year-old actress lashed out at father Michael by calling him a "public embarrassment" and a "bully" in a MySpace blog entry posted Thursday. Earlier in the week, Michael said in an interview with E! that Lohan gal pal Samantha Ronson was "using" his daughter.

OKLAHOMA CITY - The NBA officially handed over the Seattle franchise to Oklahoma City about two months ago, and three trucks arrived downtown at headquarters on Friday.

Rangers manager Ron Washington has come to the realization that his club isn't going to catch the Los Angeles Angels in the AL West. That might go for the rest of the American League pretty soon, too.

NEW YORK - Comcast Corp., the nation's second-largest Internet service provider, Thursday said it would set an official limit on the amount of data subscribers can download and upload each month.

LOS ANGELES - David Duchovny, who plays a sex-obsessed character on Showtime's "Californication," has entered a rehabilitation facility for sex addiction.

Computer maker Dell Inc. said Thursday its fiscal second-quarter profit fell 17 percent, hurt in part by PC price cuts. Both earnings and margins fell short of Wall Street estimates, and Dell shares plunged.

SAN DIEGO - Some members of the civilian jury that acquitted a former Marine accused of war crimes in Iraq say they weren't qualified to judge actions in combat, and military and legal experts said the case raises serious questions about whether federal prosecutors should even pursue such cases.

LOS ANGELES - Former Hollywood private eye Anthony Pellicano and his entertainment lawyer co-defendant were convicted Friday of charges linked to the wiretapping of billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian's former wife in a child support battle.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - The Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence will pay $1.3 million to four people who said they were abused by priests, lawyers announced Friday.

NEW ORLEANS - Police with bullhorns plan to go street to street this weekend with a tough message about getting out ahead of Hurricane Gustav: This time there will be no shelter of last resort. The doors to the Superdome will be locked. Those who stay will be on their own.

OKLAHOMA CITY - Bacterial contamination has been found in well water at a northeast Oklahoma restaurant linked to an E. coli outbreak that killed a man and sickened dozens of others, state health officials said Friday.

OAKLAND, Calif. - A judge on Friday accepted a plea deal that reduced the murder charge for a software programmer who led authorities to his wife's body after his initial conviction.