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Reuters - A fiery natural gas explosion ripped through a residential neighborhood in a San Francisco suburb on Thursday, ravaging some 50 homes and killing at least one person, officials said.

AP - Weary firefighters hoped the worst was over from a wildfire that destroyed nearly 170 homes in the Rocky Mountains foothills, but crews monitored were monitoring hot spots early Friday amid concerns that erratic winds could fan the flames and send them into Boulder.

AP - Three U.S. mothers who have pleaded with Iranian authorities for more than a year to free their sons and daughter from a Tehran prison finally received a piece of the news they've been longing for.

AP - Striving to gain the upper hand on a crucial political issue, President Barack Obama is faulting Republicans for refusing to help him turn around the sluggish economy or support some proposed new tax breaks for businesses that the GOP has backed in the past.

Reuters - U.S. Department of Agriculture experts knew about sanitary problems at one of the two Iowa farms at the center of a massive nationwide egg recall, but did not notify health authorities, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Reuters - Imagine driving across America using a fuel so new you have to carry your own supply wherever you go.

AFP - The Florida pastor at the center of an international firestorm for threatening to burn the Koran reaffirmed that he would not go ahead with the event on Saturday.

AP - Nokia Corp. will replace CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo with top Microsoft executive Stephen Elop as the world's largest mobile phone maker struggles to keep pace with smaller and more innovative rivals, particularly in the smartphone market.

AFP - Afghan President Hamid Karzai Friday used his traditional message marking the Eid Muslim holiday to call on the leader of the Taliban to stop fighting and join peace talks to end Afghanistan's long war.

AP - The New Orleans Saints opened their title defense by winning with defense. Jonathan Vilma intercepted Brett Favre, and the Saints allowed the Minnesota Vikings only two first downs and no points in the second half of a hard-fought 14-9 victory in the NFL's regular season opener on Thursday night.

Reuters - Prime Minister Naoto Kan has widened his lead over powerbroker Ichiro Ozawa ahead in a party leadership vote, Kyodo news agency said on Friday, days before the contest that could set Japan's fiscal priorities.

Reuters - President Barack Obama has chosen Austan Goolsbee as the new head of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, U.S. administration officials said on Thursday, promoting a longtime adviser from his inner policy circle.

AP - A federal judge said she will issue an order to halt the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy, after she declared the ban on openly gay service members unconstitutional.

AP - As thousands of Afghans protested a tiny Florida church's plan to burn the Muslim holy book, the church's pastor said he won't follow through on the plan if he's able to meet Saturday with the organizers behind a mosque planned near ground zero in New York. In Afghanistan, at least 11 people were injured Friday in protests.

AP - Minutes after a woman was suspended from her job at a Kraft Foods Inc. plant and was escorted out, she returned with a handgun and opened fire, killing two people and critically injuring a third before being taken into custody, police said.

AP - Fire crews flooded the ruins of burning homes with water early Friday after a massive explosion sent flames roaring through a neighborhood in the hills south of San Francisco, killing at least one person, injuring many others and destroying more than 50 houses.