AP - Democrat Barack Obama struggled Thursday to explain how his upcoming trip to Iraq might refine, but not basically alter, his promise to quickly remove U.S. combat troops from the war.

AP - The Pentagon has extended the tour of 2,200 Marines in Afghanistan, after insisting for months the unit would come home on time. The 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, which is doing combat operations in the volatile south, will stay an extra 30 days and come home in early November rather than October, Marine Col. David Lapan confirmed Thursday.

AP - Republican presidential candidate John McCain said Thursday that a shake-up in the leadership of his campaign was part of a "natural evolution" as the organization becomes more national in scope.

AP - A Texas man who spent more than 15 years in prison after being wrongly convicted of kidnapping and robbery raised both arms skyward and collapsed in his mother's embrace Thursday after being told he was a free man.

AP - The plan was nothing if not audacious: A turncoat persuades rebels to bring together their most prized hostages and march them 90 miles through Colombia's wilderness. A month later, disguised commandos primed with acting lessons land in a helicopter and trick the rebels into handing them over.

AP - Larry Harmon, who turned the character Bozo the Clown into a show business staple that delighted children for more than a half-century, died Thursday of congestive heart failure. He was 83.

AP - Baseball's drug-testing program was threatened when federal prosecutors seized player records and samples four years ago, baseball commissioner Bud Selig and union head Donald Fehr said in letters to Congress released Thursday.

Reuters - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama waded into controversy on Thursday over his plans to withdraw U.S. combat troops from Iraq, first saying he might "refine" his views but later declaring his stance had remained unchanged for more than a year.

Reuters - Ingrid Betancourt, the symbol of rebel hostages in Colombia, hugged and wept with her children for the first time in six years on Thursday after a military rescue that dealt a severe blow to already weakened guerrillas.

Reuters - A massive, out-of-control wildfire bearing down on the scenic coastal town of Big Sur was exhibiting "extreme fire behavior" that had authorities fearing for nearly 1,800 homes and businesses in its path and ordering residents to get out.

Reuters - U.S. employers cut workers for a sixth straight month in June for the longest such streak since 2002 and the country's vast service sector unexpectedly contracted, underscoring the economy's frailty.

Reuters - The Williams name will once again be engraved on the Wimbledon trophy in 2008.

Reuters - Britain has received new U.S. assurances that the CIA did not secretly smuggle terrorist suspects through its territory, but critics said on Thursday the government had failed to ask Washington the right questions.

Reuters - U.S. President George W. Bush will attend the opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games in China next month, the White House said on Thursday.

Reuters - Some 2,200 U.S. Marines battling insurgents in southern Afghanistan have had their tour of duty extended by 30 days, U.S. officials said on Thursday.

AFP - Colombian-French politician Ingrid Betancourt was Thursday tearfully reunited with her children for the first time in six years, a day after her dramatic jungle rescue from Marxist rebels.

AFP - US President George W. Bush will attend the August 8 opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympic Games despite appeals from human rights activists that he boycott the gala, the White House said Thursday.