BP: Failed blowout preventer removed from well (AP)

AP - BP PLC said the blowout preventer that failed to stop oil from spewing into the Gulf of Mexico was removed from the company's well on Friday afternoon.

'Birth tourism' a tiny portion of immigrant babies (AP)

Prof in Miami scare once accused of hauling plague (AP)

AP - A scientist detained at Miami International Airport because of a suspicious item in his luggage had once been charged with illegally transporting bubonic plague, a senior law enforcement official said.

Nursing homes broaden offerings to turn a profit (AP)

AP - Seniors amble the nursing home's halls, while children from around the world visit for biofeedback treatments. One floor down from the hospice, middle-aged workers fill its pain management clinic. A rehabilitation center attracts people of all ages.

Earl sideswipes NC, takes aim at New England (AP)

AP - A weakening Hurricane Earl swiped past North Carolina on Friday on its way to New England, where officials warned residents that it still packed dangerous winds that could topple trees or damage the area's picturesque gray-shingled cottages.

McCourt says he took out Dodger loan to help wife (AP)

AP - Frank McCourt, who is battling his estranged wife for ownership of the Los Angeles Dodgers, testified Friday that he took out a $60 million loan on land around the team stadium to help her pay off debt on her palatial homes.

Clams befouling Tahoe invade Adirondack lake in NY (AP)

AP - A thumbnail-sized clam blamed for clouding the azure bays of Lake Tahoe high in the Sierra Nevada has now turned up in a mountain-ringed Adirondack lake renowned for its limpid, spring-fed waters.

Latest Gulf oil rig problem differs from BP spill (AP)

AP - Unlike the blast that led to the massive BP spill, the latest oil platform fire in the Gulf of Mexico killed no one and sent no crude gushing into the water.

Former egg farm workers say complaints ignored (AP)

AP - U.S. Agriculture Department employees worked full-time at two Iowa egg farms at the center of a salmonella outbreak and massive recall, but two former workers said they ignored complaints about conditions at one site.

Police question scientist in Miami airport scare (AP)

AP - A government official says a scientist has been detained in Miami after screeners found a metal canister in his luggage that looked like a pipe bomb.