AP – Eric Jensen surveys his dusty cantaloupe field and seems equally stunned and puzzled at the fate that has befallen his crop: row upon row of melons rotting on the vine.

AP – Two weeks after Egypt’s uprising swept aside Hosni Mubarak, the presidents of Iran and Syria stood side by side in Damascus in a blunt message to the Arab Spring: The Syrian regime can count on its allies in Tehran.

AP – International forces in Afghanistan released new data Thursday showing violence trending downward in their favor, only a day after the U.N. reported considerably more clashes and other attacks per month than last year.

AP – Federal regulators bowed to pressure from big banks seeking a quick exit from the financial bailout program and did not uniformly apply the government’s own conditions set for repaying the taxpayer funds, a new watchdog report says.

AP – Myanmar’s president called Friday for a halt to construction of a controversial Chinese-backed hydroelectric dam in the country’s north, a move that had been called for by the country’s pro-democracy movement.

AP – So much for pushing back the start of primary season.

AP – Paramedics who responded to Michael Jackson’s mansion the day he died were expected to testify Friday in the trial of the pop star’s doctor who has been charged with involuntary manslaughter.

AP – A tropical storm barreled toward Vietnam Friday, forcing 20,000 people to be evacuated, as Philippines braced for a new typhoon and swathes of India, Thailand, Pakistan and China reeled under floods after some of the wildest weather to hit Asia this summer.

AP – Bank of America will start charging debit-card users $5 a month to pay for purchases. The move comes as the cards increasingly replace cash and as banks look for ways to offset the loss of revenue from a new rule that will limit how much they can collect from merchants.