The effort to reach a grand deficit-cutting deal collapsed. After weeks of effort to reach a major agreement to fix the U.S.'s budget woes, House Speaker John Boehner said he decided to no longer pursue a deal with the president.

Obama summoned Congressional leaders to explain how the U.S. would avoid default.

Oslo was shaken by a blast that left seven people dead and a shooting that killed at least 80 at a youth camp outside the city.

Two-thirds of the U.S. sweltered in the grip of a heat wave blamed so far for at least two dozen deaths.

James Murdoch fended off pressure from U.K. politicians after two ex-News Corp. officials said he misled a parliamentary committee.

Saudi authorities would have the power to prosecute peaceful dissent as a terrorist crime under a draft law, human-rights activists said.

Syrians protested undeterred in Hama as the government cracked down on demonstrators in Homs.

Democrats launched their first advertisement for the 2012 presidential election, a Spanish-language TV spot.

Died, Elliot Handler, 95, co-founder of Mattel who launched the Barbie doll.