AP - The last ferry left for the mainland and coastal residents hunkered down at home as Hurricane Earl closed in with 105 mph winds early Friday on North Carolina's dangerously exposed Outer Banks, the first and perhaps most destructive stop on the storm's projected journey up the Eastern Seaboard.

AP - A bomb squad investigated a report of a suspicious package after police evacuated four of six concourses at Miami International Airport for several hours on the eve of the Labor Day travel period, an airport spokesman said Friday.

AP - An oil platform that burned off the Louisiana coast Thursday was the second such disaster in the Gulf of Mexico in less than five months. This time, the Coast Guard said there was no leak, and no one was killed.

AP - The unemployment rate may be about to rise again.

AP - As the last of 30,000 U.S. reinforcements arrive in Afghanistan, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Friday got a firsthand look at operations in the dangerous south where Afghan and international troops are ramping up security.

AP - In an early sign of promise, Israeli and Palestinian leaders pledged Thursday in a cordial first round of talks to keep meeting at regular intervals, aiming to nail down a framework for overcoming deep disputes and achieving lasting peace within a year.

AP - It will go down as one of the most painful openings to a political debate in recent memory.

AP - Soldiers killed at least 25 suspected cartel members Thursday in a raid and gunbattle in a Mexican state near the U.S. border that has become one of the most dangerous battlegrounds in the country's drug war.

AP - The former television producer who tried to blackmail David Letterman was freed Thursday after four months in jail for a plot that put a spotlight on the comic icon's office affairs, city Correction Department records show.

AP - Roger Federer is one cool customer.

Click here for a summary of today’s news.

RISMEDIA, September 3, 2010—Following a sharp drop in the months immediately after the expiration of the home buyer tax credit, pending home sales have modestly risen, according to the National Association of Realtors.

The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking…

RISMEDIA, September 3, 2010—(MCT)—For anyone under the age of 57, mortgage rates are now the lowest they’ve been during your life. This fact isn’t lost on a growing number of homeowners who have started a new wave of refinancings.…

RISMEDIA, September 3, 2010—U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan announced an unprecedented agreement with the nation’s top mortgage lenders to offer selected state and local governments, and nonprofit organizations a “first look” or right of first…

RISMEDIA, September 3, 2010—(MCT)—Some rooms scream “Help!” Others say nothing, and that’s a problem, too. Take the typical bedroom. Michael Payne has seen thousands. “The bedroom tends to get forgotten—you spend all your money elsewhere in the house,” said…

RISMEDIA, September 3, 2010—The Élan Collection, a collection of luxury fractional private residences has commenced priority sales reservations for shared ownership opportunities in a contemporary 4,800 square-foot urban penthouse in downtown San Diego.

Envisioned as a modern pied-à-terre, the…

RISMEDIA, September 3, 2010—TripAdvisor, one of the world’s largest travel sites announced the results of its annual fall and Labor Day travel survey of more than 2,000 U.S. travelers. Eighty-six percent are planning leisure trips this coming fall, compared to…

RISMEDIA, September 3, 2010—This complete program is jam-packed with secrets on how to become confident in your profession and in turn, allow homeowners to trust in you and your opinion. After all, you’re the Realtor! You’ll receive scripts and presentation…

RISMEDIA, September 3, 2010—Measuring the success of your marketing efforts is always critical, but some media is built to be measured in the short term, while others are more structured for brand building, to be measured long term.

This is…

RISMEDIA, September 3, 2010—The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending August 27, 2010. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 2.7% on a seasonally adjusted basis…