");
document.write("");
document.write(" | Earl threatens East Coast with weekend pounding (AP) | ");
document.write("
");
document.write("");
document.write(" AP - Hurricane Earl packed winds near 140 mph as it blew toward North Carolina on Thursday, putting the Eastern Seaboard up to Maine on alert for a Labor Day weekend pounding by waves, gales and rain.
| ");
document.write("
");
document.write("");
document.write(" | Data shows jobless claims drop, retail sales rise (AP) | ");
document.write("
");
document.write("");
document.write(" AP - A weak economy got a little lift Thursday with new data suggesting companies aren't pursuing mass layoffs and stores are a little busier.
| ");
document.write("
");
document.write("");
document.write(" | New round of direct Mideast peace talks begins (AP) | ");
document.write("
");
document.write("");
document.write(" AP - Israeli and Palestinian leaders sat down for their first direct peace talks in two years on Thursday, pledging to overcome deep skepticism and disappointment with past U.S.-brokered attempts to resolve the long-running conflict.
| ");
document.write("
");
document.write("");
document.write(" | Gulf oil platform explodes, burning off La. coast (AP) | ");
document.write("
");
document.write("");
document.write(" AP - An offshore petroleum platform exploded and was burning Thursday in the Gulf of Mexico about 100 miles off the Louisiana coast, west of the site where BP's undersea well spilled after a rig explosion.
| ");
document.write("
");
XML error: > required at line 85