AP - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama pledged steadfast aid to Afghanistan in talks Sunday with its Western-backed leader and vowed to pursue the war on terror "with vigor" if elected, an Afghan official said.

AP - U.S.-led troops and Afghan forces killed nine Afghan police Sunday, calling in airstrikes and fighting on the ground for four hours after both sides mistook the other for militants, Afghan officials said.

AP - Tropical Storm Cristobal skirted the North Carolina coast Sunday, dumping heavy rain and churning up rough surf, but so far sparing the seaboard of any severe weather.