• White House reverses experts on Yellowstone policy 7/24/2008, 2:09 p.m. EDT
WASHINGTON (AP) — The National Park Service wanted to close a section of Yellowstone Park in the wintertime because of the risk of avalanche. No way, protested businesses in Cody, Wyo., that wanted to promote more tourism.

• Math study finds girls are just as good as boys 7/24/2008, 2:05 p.m. EDT
WASHINGTON (AP) — Sixteen years after Barbie dolls declared, "Math class is tough!" girls are proving that when it comes to math they are just as tough as boys. In the largest study of its kind, girls measured up to boys in every grade, from second through 11th. The research was released Thursday in the journal Science.

• Schoolgirls' math skills now measure up to boys' 7/24/2008, 2:02 p.m. EDT
WASHINGTON (AP) — Sixteen years after Barbie dolls declared, "Math class is tough!" girls are proving that when it comes to math they are just as tough as boys.

• Report: Hate crimes hit 5-year high in LA County 7/24/2008, 2:00 p.m. EDT
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Hate crimes in Los Angeles County soared last year to their highest mark in five years even as overall crime dropped across the region, according to a report obtained by The Associated Press.

• 4 Dutch climbers killed near Mont Blanc 7/24/2008, 1:59 p.m. EDT
MILAN, Italy (AP) — A Dutch man, his son and two daughters fell to their deaths Thursday while climbing near Mont Blanc, Europe's highest peak, Italian rescuers said.

• Libya halts oil shipments to Switzerland 7/24/2008, 1:59 p.m. EDT
TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) — Libya has halted all of its oil deliveries to Switzerland and barred Swiss ships from its ports to protest the arrest of Moammar Gadhafi's son in Geneva, a state-run shipping company said Thursday.

• Okla. crane fall kills man watching construction 7/24/2008, 1:51 p.m. EDT
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A crane holding a church steeple toppled Thursday morning, crushing a car and killing an 80-year-old man who was watching the construction from inside the vehicle, firefighters said.

• Obama urges Germans to work with US to stop terror 7/24/2008, 1:48 p.m. EDT
BERLIN (AP) — Before an enormous crowd, Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama on Thursday summoned Europeans and Americans together to "defeat terror and dry up the well of extremism that supports it" as surely as they conquered communism a generation ago.

• AP IMPACT: Fatal MRAP accidents prompt warnings 7/24/2008, 1:46 p.m. EDT
WASHINGTON (AP) — The towering trucks that give U.S. troops the best protection against roadside bombs and enemy bullets also make them vulnerable to routine hazards like sharp turns, rutted roads and rickety bridges.

• In Germany, Obama urges joint fight against terror 7/24/2008, 1:42 p.m. EDT
BERLIN (AP) — Before an enormous crowd, Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama on Thursday summoned Europeans and Americans together to "defeat terror and dry up the well of extremism that supports it" as surely as they conquered communism a generation ago.

• Memo: 'Good faith' protects against torture charge 7/24/2008, 1:42 p.m. EDT
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department in 2002 told the CIA that its interrogators would be safe from prosecution for violations of anti-torture laws if they believed `in good faith' that harsh techniques used to break the will of prisoners, including waterboarding, would not cause "prolonged mental harm."

• Kids run off to join the circus (for the summer) 7/24/2008, 1:39 p.m. EDT
GREENSBORO, Vt. (AP) — Fourteen-year-old Thula Martin knows exactly what she'll say if her teacher asks the class what they did this summer: "I ran away and joined the circus."

• Few volunteering to cut greenhouse gases 7/24/2008, 1:38 p.m. EDT
WASHINGTON (AP) — Voluntary pollution-reduction programs touted by the Bush administration as part of the solution to global warming have "limited potential" to reduce greenhouse gases, according to an internal government watchdog.

• APNewsAlert 7/24/2008, 1:35 p.m. EDT
BERLIN (AP) — Obama says greatest danger is to allow new walls to divide US, Europe.

• Giuliani's son sues Duke over golf team dismissal 7/24/2008, 1:33 p.m. EDT
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The son of former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani is suing Duke University, claiming his golf coach manufactured accusations against him to justify kicking him off the team to whittle the squad.

• Walcott wins journalism medal for Iraq coverage 7/24/2008, 1:31 p.m. EDT
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) — McClatchy's Washington bureau chief has won the Nieman Foundation's first I.F. Stone Medal for Journalistic Independence for pre-Iraq war coverage.

• Obama urges Germans to work with US to stop terror 7/24/2008, 1:30 p.m. EDT
BERLIN (AP) — Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama stood before an enormous crowd in Berlin on Thursday and summoned Europeans and Americans to work together to "defeat terror and dry up the well of extremism that supports it."

• Iran ends cooperation with UN nuclear arms probe 7/24/2008, 1:30 p.m. EDT
VIENNA, Austria (AP) — Iran signaled Thursday that it will no longer cooperate with U.N. experts probing for signs of clandestine nuclear weapons work, confirming the investigation is at a dead end a year after it began.

• South Texas gets first look at Dolly's damage 7/24/2008, 1:29 p.m. EDT
HARLINGEN, Texas (AP) — Residents across south Texas slogged through knee-deep muddy waters, tiptoed around downed power lines and dug through debris Thursday, but were thankful that Hurricane Dolly didn't pack the wallop they had feared.

• McCain to meet with Dalai Lama 7/24/2008, 1:13 p.m. EDT
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican presidential candidate John McCain is scheduled to meet with the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader, on Friday in Colorado.

• McCain visits German restaurant — in Ohio 7/24/2008, 1:08 p.m. EDT
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Republican John McCain chose to go to a German restaurant as rival Barack Obama toured Berlin.

• Police: Insurgents attack Afghan military convoy 7/24/2008, 1:06 p.m. EDT
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) — Insurgents attacked an Afghan military convoy Thursday in southern Afghanistan and dozens of militants were killed after the army called for assistance from the U.S.-led coalition and Afghan police, a police official said.

• Sri Lanka says it seizes rebel territory 7/24/2008, 1:06 p.m. EDT
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lankan forces battled rebel gunmen deep inside the nation's northern jungles Thursday, killing 25 guerrilla fighters and seizing new territory, the military said. Other battles killed 25 rebels and four soldiers, the military said.

• Russia denies reported Cuba base plans 7/24/2008, 1:05 p.m. EDT
MOSCOW (AP) — The Russian Defense Ministry has denied a newspaper report that Russia was considering basing nuclear-capable bombers in Cuba, Russian news agencies reported Thursday.

• Israel to build new settlement in West Bank 7/24/2008, 1:00 p.m. EDT
JERUSALEM (AP) — A key committee has approved construction of the first new Jewish settlement in the West Bank in a decade, an Israeli official said Thursday. The news infuriated Palestinians, who said the decision could cripple peace efforts.