Reuters - Stocks rose on Thursday as better-than-expected jobs and trade gap data improved fragile investor optimism over the economic recovery.

AP - Authorities say that a wildfire burning in the foothills near Boulder has destroyed at least 169 houses.

AP - A federal appeals court ruled Thursday that Hazleton, Pa., may not enforce its crackdown on illegal immigrants, dealing another blow to 4-year-old regulations that inspired similar measures around the country, including Arizona.

AP - Traffic deaths have plummeted across the United States to levels not seen in more than a half century, spurred by technology, more safety-conscious drivers and tougher enforcement of drunken driving laws.

AP - The backers of a proposed Islamic center near ground zero are expressing regrets about creating a firestorm with a plan they thought would be simple and noncontroversial.

AP - New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was in a two-car accident near his home on Thursday morning but was unhurt and attended a walk-through practice later in the day.

AP - The remnants of Tropical Storm Hermine trekked northward after forcing more than 100 high-water rescues in Texas, swamping streets, producing several tornadoes and killing at least two people.

Reuters - New claims for unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week to a two-month low, while the trade deficit narrowed sharply in July, hopeful signs for the stuttering economic recovery.

Reuters - New claims for unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week to a two-month low, while the trade deficit narrowed sharply in July, hopeful signs for the stuttering economic recovery.

AP - Spain gave final approval Thursday to labor market reforms designed to shake up a listless economy and help slash a bloated deficit that has prompted European-wide worries of another Greek-style debt crisis.

AFP - US President Barack Obama gets better marks for his wartime leadership than his stewardship of the sluggish economic recovery, a new opinion poll found Thursday.

Reuters - Britain's financial watchdog fined Goldman Sachs Group Inc 17.5 million pounds ($27 million) for failing to tell the regulator that it was the subject of a U.S. probe, reviving disclosure headaches for the Wall Street powerhouse.

Reuters - McDonald's Corp reported softer-than-expected August sales in Europe, its biggest revenue market, due to weakness in France, sending its shares down nearly 3 percent.

AP - After a regional airliner crashed in western New York a year and a half ago, killing 50 people, the Obama administration promised swift action to prevent similar tragedies. High on the list: new rules governing the number of hours pilots may work, to prevent tired flight crews from making fatal errors.

AFP - The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits fell faster than expected last week, extending a three-week decline, government data showed Thursday.

AP - As Florida officials worried about public safety surrounding a small church's plan to burn the Quran, President Barack Obama added his voice to the chorus of opposition to the church's intention to burn copies of Islam's holiest text to mark the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

AP - The number of people signing up for unemployment benefits dropped to the lowest level in two months, an encouraging sign that companies aren't resorting to deeper layoffs even as the economy has lost momentum.

AP - The trade deficit narrowed significantly in July as exports climbed to the highest level in nearly two years, reflecting big gains in sales of U.S.-made airplanes and other manufactured goods while imports declined.

AP - Something was wrong.

AFP - The US trade deficit dropped more than expected in July as exports reached their highest level in two years, official data showed Thursday, boosting hopes for the US economic recovery.

Reuters - The trade deficit narrowed more than expected in July, as imports retreated and exports shot to their highest since August 2008, according to a government report on Thursday that could lift hopes for third-quarter economic growth.

Reuters - The trade deficit narrowed more than expected in July, as imports retreated and exports shot to their highest since August 2008, according to a government report on Thursday that could lift hopes for third-quarter economic growth.

AP - President Barack Obama is exhorting a Florida minister to "listen to those better angels" and call off his plan to engage in a Quran-burning protest this weekend.

AP - First came the outrage over plans for a mosque near ground zero. Now there's anger over a Florida church's plan to burn copies of the Quran.

Reuters - President Barack Obama stood firm on Thursday in opposition to a Republican push to extend Bush-era tax cuts for the rich but stopped short of threatening to veto such a measure if passed by Congress.

Reuters - The Bank of England kept interest rates at 0.5 percent for the 18th month in a row and announced no new quantitative easing purchases, in a widely expected decision on Thursday.

AP - Tens of thousands of Hasidic Jews from around the world gathered in a small Ukrainian city Thursday to mark the Jewish New Year at the tomb of their spiritual leader — an apparent record for the annual all-male pilgrimage banned for decades by the Soviets.