Now, at least a half-dozen bishops have gone beyond that position, some of them using hard-hitting terms such as "socialization" and "monopolization" to launch a broader critique of big government.

Democratic Rep. Neil Abercrombie wants to legislate high wages for a massive construction project in the federal territory of Guam, restrict the ability of foreigners to get those jobs and hope Hawaii residents, although 3,800 miles away, will flock there for the work.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Every day it's a battle.

The nearly 15 million unemployed Americans won't enjoy Labor Day as a relaxing respite from work. Instead, they'll once again need to prepare to get up, hit the pavement and keep hunting for a job.

As the jobless rate nears 10 percent, even those fortunate enough to be employed fret about keeping their jobs. But for those without them, it's a daily struggle with emotional and economic distress.

For the second time in three days, lead spacewalker Danny Olivas and his partner Christer Fuglesang ventured out to work on the outpost, orbiting 220 miles above the planet.

They quickly made their way out along a girder and pulled open a shelf that will be used to store big spare parts later this year. Olivas helped install the framework on the right side of the space station two years ago.

WASHINGTON (AP) — At least it's not all bad anymore.

The nation's unemployment rate climbed last month to 9.7 percent — the highest in nearly a generation — but the number of job losses was less than expected and the smallest monthly total in a year.

"It's good to see the rate of job losses slow down," said Nigel Gault, chief U.S. economist at IHS Global Insight. But with unemployment rising, "there isn't the underlying fuel there for strong consumer spending growth," which is vital for a strong recovery.

The massive operation already under way a year ahead of the Aug. 31, 2010 deadline to remove all U.S. combat troops from Iraq shows the U.S. military has picked up the pace of a planned exit from Iraq that could cost billions.

Hager will contribute stories about once a month on issues like education to television's top-rated morning news show, said Jim Bell, its executive producer.

Hager, a 27-year-old teacher in Baltimore, said she has always wanted to be a teacher and a writer, and has already authored two books. But she was intrigued by the idea of getting into television when Bell contacted her.

Crowds lined the streets of two cities on a day that marked the end of a political era — outside Kennedy's funeral in rainy Boston, and later in the day in humid, late-summer Washington. With flags over the Capitol flying at half-staff in his memory, his hearse stopped outside the Senate where he served for 47 years.

The burglar had left the TV in the backyard and investigators were going to dust it for fingerprints.

But hours after the first burglary and with a Pensacola Police investigator still at the home, the robber came back and took the TV.

BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP) — Seven people were found slain and two critically injured Saturday at a mobile home park built on the grounds of a historic plantation in southeastern Georgia, police said.

Glynn County Police Chief Matt Doering called it the worst mass slaying in his 25 years of police work in this coastal Georgia county. He wouldn't say how the victims died.

"This is a record for us. We've never had such an incident with so many victims," Doering told reporters. "It's not a scene that I would want anybody to see."

The criticism from Sen. Michael Enzi, R-Wyo., echoed that of many opponents of the Democratic plans under consideration in Congress. But Enzi's judgment was especially noteworthy because he is one of only three Republicans who have been willing to consider a bipartisan bill in the Senate.

For most residents of this community 40 miles north of the South Carolina line, Friday started as a normal, humid summer day with cloudy skies, no rain and chest-high waves crashing on the sand.

Paramedics had to break down the door to his Manhattan apartment before they found his body at about 5:20 p.m., the official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because family hadn't been notified. There was no evidence of foul play, the official said.

OAK BLUFFS, Mass. (AP) - Whether Massachusetts changes its law for filling congressional vacancies may hinge on who would be picked to serve as an interim replacement for Sen. Edward M. Kennedy.

Party activists and political observers say that if Gov. Deval Patrick and others are going to persuade lawmakers - and the public - to allow a temporary appointee while a five-month special election campaign is held, they may have to leak the name of a prominent party statesman who they would propose for the assignment.

WASHINGTON (AP) - The White House is asking doctors to help promote its drive to overhaul health care, marking an effort by President Barack Obama to regain momentum on the issue.

White House health advisers held an hourlong conference call Tuesday night with close to 3,000 physicians and officials of their professional groups in which they tried drumming up support by answering questions and describing the administration's goals, participants said.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford rebuffed his lieutenant governor's call to resign Wednesday, two months after he admitted an affair, saying he will not be "railroaded" out of office and plans to finish his term.

Sanford returned from a nearly weeklong disappearance in June to acknowledge the affair with an Argentine woman, a revelation that led to questions about the legality of his travel on state, private and commercial planes.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Astronomers have found what appears to be a gigantic suicidal planet.

The odd, fiery planet is so close to its star and so large that it is triggering tremendous plasma tides on the star. Those powerful tides are in turn warping the planet's zippy less-than-a-day orbit around its star.

The result: an ever-closer tango of death, with the planet eventually spiraling into the star.

The death brings to 44 the number of U.S. troops who have died in Afghanistan this month. But with four days left in the month, August could set a new record.

Kennedy's family announced his death in a brief statement released early Wednesday.

For nearly a half-century in the Senate, Kennedy was a dominant voice on health care, civil rights, war and peace, and more. To the American public, though, he was best known as the last surviving brother of a storied political family.