The gunman who held three people hostage at the Discovery Channel headquarters was once convicted of smuggling an illegal immigrant into the country from Mexico.

After a week mostly focused on Iraq and Mideast diplomacy, it's back to the economy for President Barack Obama, who will deliver remarks Friday on the August unemployment numbers.

An Ohio death row inmate who has repeatedly claimed his innocence was spared execution, after the state's governor Thursday noted "legitimate questions" about evidence used to convict the man.

Thad Allen, the government's point man on the oil disaster, said crews are expected to begin efforts Thursday to remove the blowout preventer on BP's ruptured well in the Gulf of Mexico.

The sham marriage trial of actress Fernanda Romero, which the judge has likened to a soap opera, appeared threatened with a mistrial Friday after a dramatic turn a day earlier.