AP - Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin abruptly announced Friday she is resigning from office at the end of the month, a shocking move that rattled the Republican party but left open the possibility she would seek a run for the White House in 2012.

AP - EDITOR'S NOTE: Iranian authorities have barred journalists for international news organizations from reporting on the streets and ordered them to stay in their offices. This report is based on the accounts of witnesses reached in Iran and official statements carried on Iranian media.

AP - The powerful sedative Diprivan was found in Michael Jackson's home, a law enforcement official said Friday as the city planned for a massive crowd at the singer's memorial service.

U.S. News & World Report - In a move that suggests its initial rescue plan was insufficient, the Obama administration yesterday announced plans to widen the eligibility parameters of a key housing initiative. The change would allow borrowers with mortgages valued at 125 percent of their home's worth to refinance into more affordable loans. Previously, only borrowers with so-called loan-to-value ratios of 105 percent or less could do so. The mortgage refinancing program is part of the president's two-pronged plan to pull the nation out of its worst housing slump since the Great Depression. ...

AP - A Missouri mother said she never should have been prosecuted for her role in a MySpace hoax directed at a 13-year-old girl who ended up committing suicide.

AP - The Founding Fathers left one legacy not celebrated on Independence Day but which affects us all. It's the national debt.

E! Online - Karl Malden, the acting great who worked the Waterfront with Marlon Brando and patrolled The Streets of San Francisco with Michael Douglas, died today at 97.

Reuters - Ready to give your soul for a loan in these difficult economic times? In Latvia, where the crisis has raged more than in the rest of the European Union, you can.

The Yahoo! Newsroom - The latest issue of Vanity Fair isn't even on newsstands yet and it's already making headlines for a not-so-politely titled article, "It Came from Wasilla," about Gov. Sarah Palin.

AP - Colin Daymude was out of work last year after his business failed and eagerly filed his taxes in mid-January, figuring he'd get his refund sooner. He was wrong.

AP - A man charged with shooting a prominent Kansas doctor who performed late-term abortions has been advocating through mailings from his jail cell that such killings are justifiable and communicating with individuals on the fringes of the anti-abortion movement, weeks after suggesting others might be planning similar attacks.

AP - Madonna is paying tribute to Michael Jackson in the same arena where he was to stage his great comeback.

Reuters - Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, the Republican Party's vice presidential candidate in 2008, said on Friday she will resign this month, an unexpected move that could signal a run for higher office.

AP - NAWA, Afghanistan ? U.S. Marines pushed deeper into Taliban areas of southern Afghanistan on Friday, seeking to cut insurgent supply lines and win over local elders on the second day of the biggest U.S. military operation here since the American-led invasion of 2001.

E! Online - Is it just us, or have all of the So You Think You Can Dance eliminations this season been perfectly righteous and reasonable? We haven't yet had to face the elimination of a really wonderful dancer (Melissa Sandvig) or a totally endearing personality (Evan Kasprzak). All in all, this season has been pretty copacetic, and tonight brought no change to that standard...