The security company Blackwater Worldwide formed a network of 30 shell companies and subsidiaries to try to get millions of dollars in government business after the company faced strong criticism for reckless conduct in Iraq, The New York Times reported Friday.

Louisiana health officials suspended an abortion clinic's license Friday, the first time the state has used its new authority to shut down such a facility over health and safety concerns.

A Wyoming man has given more than $1.5 million to help defend Arizona's controversial immigration enforcement measure in court, Gov. Jan Brewer's office said Thursday.

Louisiana Democrats are seizing on Sen. David Vitter's role in a 2007 prostitution scandal for a new campaign attack ad that seeks to cut into the Louisiana Republican's commanding lead over his election opponents.

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer said Friday she was wrong when she claimed that headless bodies were turning up in the Arizona desert as part of border-related violence.

President Obama's former auto czar, Steven Rattner, tried to recruit Nissan-Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn, a Brazilian-born, Lebanese descendant, to run General Motors, a one-time symbol of American success, Rattner wrote in his new tell-all book about the federal bailout of GM and Chrysler.

Two oil rig fires in less than five months in the Gulf of Mexico has spurred environmental groups and some lawmakers out of the woodwork to pressure the Obama administration to extend its six-month ban on deepwater drilling.

A shadowy group calling itself "The Tea Party" won't be allowed on the state's November ballot after a Friday order from the Michigan Supreme Court.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton sought to inject urgency into Israeli-Palestinian peace talks Friday, warning that the negotiations may be "the last chance for a very long time" to reach an agreement. 

The internal squabble among Delaware Republicans heated up Friday in the run-up to a contentious Senate primary, as the state Republican Party dropped the L-word -- liar -- in calling out Tea Party candidate Christine O'Donnell over her alleged financial problems. 

Finally, an issue both Democrats and Republicans agree on: term limits. Nearly 8 in 10 American voters like the idea of imposing fixed time limits in office for all members of Congress -- including their own senators and representatives.

With the mid-term elections just two months away, the state of the economy continues to dominate other concerns for most American voters. 

The former chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee has pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $840,000 from a variety of political committees, including more than $670,000 from the NRCC itself.

Two months before Election Day, a new Fox News poll finds that more voters still disapprove than approve of President Obama’s job performance, but his approval rating is up a couple points from its summer lows.

The Sestak campaign said Friday that the president will appear at a Sept. 20 fundraising event in Philadelphia for the Democrat. 

Despite its contentious history, most American voters appear to have made a positive judgment about the country’s efforts in Iraq.

Obama administration officials rejected a call Friday for the U.S. Treasury Department to bail out the troubled Kabul Bank in Afghanistan, as nervous customers withdrew millions following a shakeup in the bank's management. 

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton insists she's not running for president in 2012 but that hasn't stopped one of her supporters from rolling out a wishful ad.

New employment figures released Friday fueled Republicans' call for President Obama to replace his economic team and "change course," as the president sought to put the best face on what many say is just more evidence of an economy stuck in neutral. 

A key financial backer of the proposed Islamic center near Ground Zero once contributed to a U.S.-designated terror group, MyFoxNY.com reports. 

AP - Gov. Jan Brewer rose to national fame defending the state's immigration law and warning of rising violence along the U.S.-Mexico border, including a claim that headless bodies were turning up in the Arizona desert.

Reuters - President Barack Obama said on Friday he would outline new measures next week to boost the U.S. economy, but analysts were skeptical he would be able to deliver a big enough package to lift growth significantly.

The Atlantic Wire -

AP - Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton sought to inject urgency into Israeli-Palestinian peace talks Friday, warning the negotiations may be "the last chance for a very long time" to reach an agreement.

AP - Congress seems increasingly reluctant to let taxes go up, even on wealthier Americans.

AP - What now for the Gulf? News of another oil rig fire in the Gulf of Mexico, so soon after the BP oil spill, has set off a wave of anxiety along the Gulf Coast and prompted calls for the government to extend its six-month ban on deepwater drilling.

AFP - President Barack Obama will meet Southeast Asian leaders this month in New York, the White House said, as the United States tries to bolster its role in a region faced with a rising China.