US Top Stories from Associated Press (AP)

A brewing conflict between Congress and the Obama administration broke into the open Thursday as several lawmakers were critical about a briefing on the Sept. 11 anniversary attack on U.S. diplomats in Libya, which the administration had said was a spontaneous response to an anti-Islam video.

LOS ANGELES (AP) , Space shuttle Endeavour returned to its California roots Thursday after a wistful cross-country journey that paid homage to NASA workers and former Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and her astronaut husband. "That's my spaceship," said Endeavour's last commander, Mark Kelly, as the couple watched the shuttle loop over Tucson, Ariz.

AUCKLAND, New Zealand (AP) , After a 25-year ban, America will begin allowing Royal New Zealand Navy ships to visit U.S. military and Coast Guard facilities around the world, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Friday.

BOSTON (AP) , For anyone who's ever been tired of listening to someone drone on and on and on, two Japanese researchers have the answer. The SpeechJammer, a device that disrupts a person's speech...

DALLAS (AP) , With American Airlines canceling dozens of flights every day, passengers with fall travel plans are confronting an inconvenient question: Should they avoid the nation's third-largest carrier because labor strife might cause delays and cancelations?

AUBURN, Ala. (AP) , A new chemical analysis shows that virtually all the tar balls washing onto the Alabama coast are directly linked to the BP oil spill more than two years ago. The report released...

Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about Friday: 1. THE LAST 33,000 U.S. SURGE TROOPS LEAVE AFGHANISTAN The withdrawal leaves 68,000 American forces in the warzone. 2. OBAMA SAYS ANTI-ISLAM VIDEO USED AS AN 'EXCUSE'

NEW YORK (AP) , A provocative ad that equates Muslim radicals with savages is set to go up in the city's subway system as violent protests over an anti-Islamic film ridiculing the Prophet Muhammad sweep over much of the Muslim world.

WASHINGTON (AP) , Senate Republicans blocked legislation Wednesday that would have established a $1 billion jobs program putting veterans back to work tending to the country's federal lands and bolstering local police and fire departments.

NEW YORK (AP) , The numbers say there isn't much difference in the NFL with replacement officials. Comments from players and coaches say otherwise. As fan outrage grows over calls and non-calls...

WASHINGTON (AP) , The U.S. economy is showing signs of finally bottoming out: Americans are on the move again after record numbers had stayed put, more young adults are leaving their parents' homes to take a chance with college or the job market, once-sharp declines in births are leveling off and poverty is slowing.

LAS VEGAS (AP) , A federal judge has ordered boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. to pay about $114,000 for avoiding questioning from rival fighter Manny Pacquiao's lawyers in a defamation case. Attorneys for Pacquiao earlier lost a bid to end the lawsuit with a more severe sanction , a default judgment for Pacquiao.

WASHINGTON (AP) , In a critical climate indicator showing an ever warming world, the amount of ice in the Arctic Ocean shrank to an all-time low this year, obliterating old records. The ice cap at the North Pole measured 1.32 million square miles on Sunday.

LOS ANGELES (AP) , Rants, racist remarks and menacing words permeate the Internet these days, so why did police decide to arrest a Yale dropout for investigation of making online death threats against children and initially hold him on a bail amount usually reserved for suspected killers?

Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about Thursday: 1. MYANMAR'S SUU KYI RECEIVES CONGRESS' GOLD MEDAL Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell praises the Nobel laureate's 'luminous heroism,' says it was impossible not to be moved by her quiet resolve. 2. ESTIMATE FOR HEALTH CARE PENALTY RISES SIGNIFICANTLY