AP - Beach vacationers in the Carolinas packed up and headed inland Friday as Tropical Storm Hanna cruised steadily toward the coast, teetering on the verge of becoming a hurricane before an expected overnight landfall.

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. "John McCain doesn't run with the Washington herd," said Palin, the 44-year-old Alaska governor and surprise pick as McCain's running mate.