Report: Blackwater Created Shell Companies
The report on the newspaper's website says Sen. Carl Levin, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has asked the Justice Department to see whether Blackwater misled the government when using the subsidiaries to gain government contracts.

BP Raises Faulty Blowout Preventer For Probe
When the blowout preventer reaches the surface after its mile-long journey, government investigators will take possession of it and eventually examine it, hoping to gain insight into why the device failed.

Earl's Punch Packs Less Force Than Feared
Earl swooped into New England waters overnight as a tropical storm with winds of 70 mph after sideswiping North Carolina's Outer Banks, where it caused flooding but no injuries and little damage.

I-95 A 'Trap' For Migrant Fruit Pickers
When the growing season ends in the North, migrant farm workers along the East Coast will head south, often on Interstate 95, in search of work. For the undocumented workers who make up the majority of that labor pool, the journey can be harrowing.

A Chinese Village Sacrifices For The Greater Good
More than 300,000 are being relocated for what's being called the largest engineering project in China's history. Water from the massive Danjiangkou Dam is going to be transported to the north. In the village of Guangmenyan, 353 people are leaving their homes forever.

Mental Stimulation Postpones, Then Speeds Dementia
Keeping an active mind helps stave off the development of dementia. But being mentally active might speed up Alzheimer's once it hits, according to new research from Chicago's Rush University Medical Center.

On Jobs, U.S. Now Ranks Worse Than Similar Nations
The U.S. unemployment rate surged far higher and has remained higher than in other major industrial countries. It's now at 9.6 percent. The big shift came when American companies cut workers more aggressively than foreign firms in the face of the financial crisis.

Weakened Earl Packs Less Force Than Feared
The storm swooped into New England waters as a tropical storm with winds of 70 mph after sideswiping North Carolina's Outer Banks, where it caused flooding but no injuries and little damage.

Texas Opens Inquiry Into Google Search Rankings
The antitrust inquiry disclosed by Google late Friday is just the latest sign of the intensifying scrutiny facing the company as it enters its adolescence. The review appears to be focused on whether Google is manipulating its search results to stifle competition.

Fire at Tennessee Mosque Site Ruled As Arson
U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agent Steven Gerido said Friday that lab tests confirmed an accelerant was used in the fire early Saturday in Murfreesboro. The site is the location for a new Islamic center, which has drawn vehement opposition.

'Where Is Her Head?' A Classic Campaign Trail Moment
Some of the things politicians and reporters hear and see when they're out and about deserve a second or third listen. Check out what NPR's Don Gonyea picked up when he visited a county fair in Ohio.

A Friendship Tested By Deep Gaza-Israel Divide
Mohammed Saqar from Gaza and Dana Levy from Israel met when they were teenagers at a peace camp in the U.S. They once both believed in peace in the Middle East. Now, 14 years later, they are still friends -- but both have lost hope for Israel and Gaza.

Rwanda Condemns U.N. Report On Congo 'Genocide'
The United Nations has delayed the release of a report detailing a decade of gruesome attacks against civilians in the Congo after Rwanda protested the findings. Drafts of the report leaked to the media last week and accused Rwandan troops of slaughtering Hutus in Congo in the 1990s.

Obama To Offer Plan To Spur Job Growth
As summer comes to an end this weekend, "Recovery Summer" too sputters to an end. The Obama administration's hopes that the spring's jobs growth would continue were not realized. On Friday, the president said he'd be proposing new plans to give the economy a bit more juice.

Economic Recovery Still A Long Way Off
The unemployment rate grew in August from 9.5 percent to 9.6 percent. But that's mostly because 114,000 temporary Census jobs ended. The job decline is less than most economists expected as the private sector added 67,000 new jobs last month.