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Attack on Awakening Council checkpoint kills 6 in Iraq

Baghdad, Iraq(CNN) - Gunmen attacked a checkpoint manned by Awakening Council members in Baquba on Thursday and killed four people. When a local awakening council leader rushed to the scene, a roadside bomb killed him and another member, police said.

The attack on the checkpoint took place early Thursday morning in Diyala province.

Hearing about the attack, the Awakening Council leader Ali Qader Ameen headed to the scene with three other members, police said.

But before he reached the site of the attack, a bomb exploded - killing him and another occupant, and wounding the rest.

Awakening council members or Sons of Iraq are mainly made up of Sunni Arab fighters who turned on al Qaeda and are credited for being one of the main factors that contributed to the drop in violence across the country in the past two years.

They have been a frequent target of militants affiliated with al Qaeda in Iraq.

Attorneys general call for Craigslist to get rid of adult services ads

(CNN) - Attorneys general in 17 states have banded together to call on Craigslist, the online classified ad website, to discontinue its adult services section.

"The increasingly sharp public criticism of Craigslist's Adult Services section reflects a growing recognition that ads for prostitution - including ads trafficking children - are rampant on it," the attorneys general said in a Tuesday letter to Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster and founder Craig Newmark.

The letter continued: "We recognize that Craigslist may lose the considerable revenue generated by the Adult Services ads. No amount of money, however, can justify the scourge of illegal prostitution, and the suffering of the women and children who will continue to be victimized, in the market and trafficking provided by Craigslist."

A Craigslist spokeswoman said Wednesday that the site agreed with at least some of the letter. FULL STORY

Elin Nordegren: 'I feel stronger than I ever have'
(PEOPLE.com) - Her divorce is final and she's ready to talk. Elin Nordegren breaks her nine-month silence in an exclusive interview with PEOPLE magazine.

"I have been through the stages of disbelief and shock, to anger and ultimately grief over the loss of the family I so badly wanted for my children," she says in the magazine's latest issue, out just days after her split from Tiger Woods was made official.

The 30-year-old mother of two, who is studying towards a college degree in psychology, says that despite her husband's betrayal, "I also feel stronger than I ever have. I have confidence in my beliefs, my decisions and myself."

In 19 hours over four visits to her Windermere, Florida, rental home, Nordegren shared never-before-seen personal photographs and opened up to PEOPLE about the emotional roller coaster she's been on, her life as a mother to Sam, 3, and Charlie, 19 months, and her hopes for the future. FULL STORY

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Editor's Note: Welcome to American Morning's LIVE Blog where you can discuss the "most news in the morning" with us each week day. Join the live chat during the show by adding your comments below. It's your chance to share your thoughts on the day's headlines. You have a better chance of having your comment get past our moderators if you follow our rules: 1) Keep it brief 2) No writing in ALL CAPS 3) Use your real name (first name only is fine) 4) No links 5) Watch your language (that includes $#&*) 6) Stay relevant to the topic.

Shirley Sherrod to meet with agriculture secretary, discuss job

(CNN) - Shirley Sherrod, who received an apology after being forced to resign from the Agriculture Department, will meet Tuesday morning with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to discuss a job offer.

It will be the first face-to-face meeting between the two since a controversial sequence of events last month culminated in her stepping down.

Sherrod, who was the Agriculture Department's Georgia Director of Rural Development, has said she is being offered the position of Deputy Director of the Office of Advocacy and Outreach.

The position includes administration and outreach to improve the Agriculture Department's civil rights efforts and image nationwide.

Sherrod was forced to resign in July after misleading and incomplete video footage of a speech she gave was posted on the internet and picked up in media reports. Vilsack apologized to her and offered her the promotion.

The flap began after conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart posted a portion of a speech Sherrod gave in which she spoke of not offering her full help to a white farmer. The original post by Breitbart indicated that the incident Sherrod mentioned occurred when she worked for the Agriculture Department, and news outlets quickly picked up on the story.

However, the incident took place decades before she joined the department, and her speech in its unedited form made the point that people should move beyond race. In addition, the white farmer who Sherrod mentioned has told reporters that she helped him save his farm.

Big bucks, ugly battles dominate Tuesday primaries

(CNN) - As voters in five states go to the polls on Tuesday, big-dollar challenges to veteran politicians dominate the top races.

The big storylines: Two billionaire political newcomers spent millions of their own money to try to pull upsets in Florida, Arizona Sen. John McCain is expected to fend off the biggest Republican primary challenge of his Senate career and a little-known Tea Party candidate is taking on an incumbent senator in Alaska.

Voters will also pick the Democratic gubernatorial nominee in a wide-open Vermont race, and decide the runoff winners in two Oklahoma Republican primaries. Read More

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Editor's Note: Welcome to American Morning's LIVE Blog where you can discuss the "most news in the morning" with us each week day. Join the live chat during the show by adding your comments below. It's your chance to share your thoughts on the day's headlines. You have a better chance of having your comment get past our moderators if you follow our rules: 1) Keep it brief 2) No writing in ALL CAPS 3) Use your real name (first name only is fine) 4) No links 5) Watch your language (that includes $#&*).

Last U.S. combat convoy has left Iraq

Mosul, Iraq (CNN) - The last U.S. brigade combat team in Iraq has left the country, a move that helps U.S. President Barack Obama reach his goal of 50,000 troops in the country by September 1.

Their departure leaves about 56,000 U.S. troops in the country, according to the U.S. military.

Capt. Christopher Ophardt, spokesman for the 4th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, said the last of the 4,000 members of the unit crossed the border into Kuwait early Thursday.

A few hundred members stayed behind to finish administrative and logistical duties but will fly out of Baghdad later Thursday, Ophardt said.

Much of the brigade departed more than a day ago, but the announcement was delayed for security reasons.

Their departure comes more than seven years after U.S. combat forces entered, though their departure does not signify the end of all U.S. combat forces in the country.

Another 6,000 U.S. troops must leave Iraq to meet Obama's deadline for the end of U.S. combat operations in the country and the beginning of Operation New Dawn, in which the remaining U.S. forces are expected to switch to an advise-and-assist role.

Sound off: We want to hear from you this morning. Add your comments to the LIVE Blog below and we'll read some of them on the show.

Editor's Note: Welcome to American Morning's LIVE Blog where you can discuss the "most news in the morning" with us each week day. Join the live chat during the show by adding your comments below. It's your chance to share your thoughts on the day's headlines. You have a better chance of having your comment get past our moderators if you follow our rules: 1) Keep it brief 2) No writing in ALL CAPS 3) Use your real name (first name only is fine) 4) No links 5) Watch your language (that includes $#&*).

Juror: One vote blocked Senate seat conviction in Blagojevich case

Chicago, Illinois (CNN) - The jury in the federal corruption trial of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was one vote short of convicting him of attempting to sell a U.S. Senate seat. Prosecutors have already said they will retry Blagojevich and will meet next week to plot their next move.

Blagojevich was found guilty Tuesday of lying to the FBI, but escaped convictions on 23 other counts in a trial seen as a partial victory for the former governor.

The jury, which deliberated for 14 days, said it was hung on 23 counts against him and on the counts against the former governor's brother, Robert Blagojevich.

The former governor faced charges including racketeering, wire fraud, attempted extortion and bribery. The two-term Democrat was removed from office in January 2009 amid accusations that he attempted to sell the U.S. Senate seat occupied by Barack Obama before he was elected president.

Juror Erik Sarnello, 21, told CNN affiliate WLS in Chicago the final vote on whether to convict the former governor of attempting to sell the seat was 11 in favor and 1 against.

"She obviously didn't see it," he said about the holdout. "Some things were so obvious to me."

The next court date is set for August 26, though prosecutors said they will try the case again. Read more

Share your thoughts: Should the planned Islamic center be moved?

Dr. Laura to end her radio show

Los Angeles, California (CNN) - Embattled radio talk show host Dr. Laura Schlessinger announced Tuesday she will not renew her contract that is up at the end of the year, telling CNN's "Larry King Live" she wants to "regain my First Amendment rights."

Schlessinger, 63, has been under fire for using the N-word repeatedly during an on-air conversation with a caller last week.

In announcing her decision "not to do radio anymore" after being in the business for more than 30 years, Schlessinger said, "I want to be able to say what's on my mind and in my heart and what I think is helpful and useful without somebody getting angry or some special-interest group deciding this is a time to silence a voice of dissent."

National furor erupted when Schlessinger used the N-word 11 times in five minutes during a call August 10 with an African-American caller who was seeking advice on how to deal with racist comments from her white husband's friends and relatives. The conversation evolved into a discussion on whether it's appropriate to ever use the word, with Schlessinger arguing it's used on HBO and by black comedians.

Schlessinger apologized the following day, saying "I was attempting to make a philosophical point, and I articulated the N-word all the way out - more than one time. And that was wrong. I'll say it again - that was wrong."

Sound off: We want to hear from you this morning. Add your comments to the LIVE Blog below and we'll read some of them on the show.

Editor's Note: Welcome to American Morning's LIVE Blog where you can discuss the "most news in the morning" with us each week day. Join the live chat during the show by adding your comments below. It's your chance to share your thoughts on the day's headlines. You have a better chance of having your comment get past our moderators if you follow our rules: 1) Keep it brief 2) No writing in ALL CAPS 3) Use your real name (first name only is fine) 4) No links 5) Watch your language (that includes $#&*).

Plumes of Gulf oil spreading east on sea floor

(CNN) - A new report set to be released Tuesday renews concerns about the long-term environmental impact of the Gulf Coast oil disaster, and efforts to permanently plug the ruptured BP oil well have been delayed again.

Researchers at the University of South Florida have concluded that oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill may have settled to the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico further east than previously suspected - and at levels toxic to marine life.

Initial findings from a new survey of the Gulf conclude that dispersants may have sent droplets of crude to the ocean floor, where it has turned up at the bottom of an undersea canyon within 40 miles of the Florida Panhandle. The results are scheduled to be released Tuesday, but CNN obtained a summary of the initial conclusions Monday night.

Plankton and other organisms at the base of the food chain showed a "strong toxic response" to the crude, and the oil could well up onto the continental shelf and resurface later, according to researchers.

"The dispersant is moving the oil down out of the surface and into the deeper waters, where it can affect phytoplankton and other marine life," said John Paul, a marine microbiologist at USF. Read More

A world without overdraft

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - Say goodbye to those nasty surprise overdraft fees.

Federal Reserve rules that took effect on Sun., Aug. 15, prevent banks from automatically enrolling customers in overdraft protection when making debit purchases or withdrawing money from ATMs.

While banks worried about losing revenue have been aggressively promoting "opt-in" overdraft plans, many customers are choosing to risk having their card declined rather than face a $35 overdraft fee.

But being unable to pay for your purchases can not only be embarrassing, it can sometimes deprive you of basic needs.

There are several ways to avoid getting declined. The simplest one: Don't overdraft your account in the first place.

But that's easier said than done in today's world of electronic banking. With direct deposit, debit cards, check writing and automatic payment plans for monthly bills, keeping track of your balance is harder than ever.

"The best thing you can do is focus on the available balance rather than the overall balance," said Greg McBride, a senior financial analyst at Bankrate.com. "But even then not everything clears at the same time so you've got to try to keep track of your transactions on your own to be safe."

So if you're not entirely certain how much money you have available, how can you avoid getting turned away at the cash register? Read More

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