AP - A weakening Hurricane Earl swiped past North Carolina on Friday on its way to New England, where officials warned residents that it still packed dangerous winds that could topple trees or damage the area's picturesque gray-shingled cottages.

AP - BP PLC said the blowout preventer that failed to stop oil from spewing into the Gulf of Mexico was removed from the company's well on Friday afternoon.

AP - Officials decided to shut down much of Miami International Airport after a database showed a scientist with a suspicious item in his luggage had once been charged with illegally transporting bubonic plague, a senior law enforcement official said Friday.