AP - Beach vacationers in the Carolinas packed up and headed inland Friday as Tropical Storm Hanna cruised steadily toward the coast, while others decided to ride out the fast-moving storm that had only a slight chance to become a small hurricane before crashing ashore overnight.

AP - The nation's unemployment rate zoomed to a five-year high of 6.1 percent in August as employers slashed 84,000 jobs, dramatic proof of the mounting damage a deeply troubled economy is inflicting on workers and businesses alike.

AP - John McCain and Sarah Palin on Friday cast the new Republican presidential ticket as a team of determined reformers eager to challenge Washington's political establishment.