Aaron's Daily WWW Newspaper

BOSTON - Mary Travers, one-third of the popular 1960s folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary who were perhaps best known for their hit "Puff (The Magic Dragon)," died in a Connecticut hospital after battling leukemia for several years. She was 72. Full Story »

• Slideshow: Singer Mary Travers of Peter, Paul and Mary dies

CANBERRA, Australia - A group of prison guards dubbed the Facebook Five has gone to an Australian court to fight for the right to complain about their boss on the Internet. Full Story »

PHILADELPHIA - Dad simply wanted a souvenir — not a national television appearance. Full Story »

• Video: 3-Year-Old Makes Phillies' Play Of The Game CBS 3 Philadelphia

SAN FRANCISCO - It took the best start of Jorge De La Rosa's career as well as the toughest save of Rafael Betancourt's for the Colorado Rockies to leave San Francisco with a comfortable lead in the NL wild-card race. De La Rosa pitched eight scoreless innings before Betancourt escaped a tricky ninth-inning jam to help the Rockies avoid a three-game sweep with a 4-3 victory over the Giants on Wednesday night that extended their wild-card lead to 3 1/2 games. Full Story »

PRAGUE/WARSAW (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama has told east European states he is backing away from plans for an anti-missile shield there, in a move that may ease Russian-U.S. ties but fuel fears of resurgent Kremlin influence. Full Story »

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will pledge U.S. action on financial regulatory reform at the Group of 20 summit in Pittsburgh and underscore the need for global coordination on the issue, a senior aide said on Wednesday. Full Story »

KABUL (Reuters) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai said on Thursday fraud claims in last month's presidential poll were exaggerated, just before six Italian troops were killed in a suicide attack that showed the Taliban-led insurgency was undiminished. Full Story »

• Slideshow: Afghan Election

NEW YORK (Reuters) - If U.S. health reform efforts lead to higher costs for employers, employees may end up bearing the brunt, according to a new survey. Full Story »

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The California lawmaker who spearheaded a high-profile anti-obesity effort across the country's most populous state is now training his sights on sugar-sweetened drinks. Full Story »

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The U.S. military Thursday closed down its largest detention center in Iraq as it continued to release or hand to Iraqi authorities the thousands of people it has held since the 2003 U.S. invasion. Full Story »

• Video: Baghdad Green Zone attacked during Biden visit AP

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia's most wanted Islamist militant, Noordin Mohammad Top, was killed in a police shoot-out in Central Java, police said on Thursday, lifting a major security threat ahead of a planned visit by U.S. President Barack Obama. Full Story »

DENVER (Reuters) - Federal agents conducting an anti-terrorism probe on Wednesday questioned a suspected al Qaeda sympathizer whose recent visit to New York City preceded a series of law enforcement raids there earlier in the week. Full Story »

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States is to shelve plans for a missile-defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday, cheering Russia but triggering concern in Central European capitals. Full Story »