AP - The last ferries pulled away from North Carolina's vulnerable barrier islands Thursday as Hurricane Earl spun closer with winds near 125 mph, putting the East Coast all the way to Canada on alert for what could be a blustery next several days.

AP - An oil platform exploded and caught fire Thursday off the Louisiana coast, spreading a mile-long oil sheen into the Gulf of Mexico. All 13 crew members were rescued from the water in their protective "Gumby suits."

AP - Israeli and Palestinian leaders agreed Thursday to keep talking and produce a framework for a permanent peace deal, modest achievements reached amid deep skepticism about success at their first such session in two years.

AP - This year's back-to-school season isn't as big a bust for retailers as they feared — or as last year's — but it's not great either.

AP - Congress seems increasingly reluctant to let taxes go up, even on wealthier Americans.

AP - India has widened its security crackdown, asking all companies that provide encrypted communications — not just BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion — to install servers in the country to make it easier for the government to obtain users' data. That would likely affect digital giants like Google and Skype.