Yahoo! News launches ‘Ask America’ (The Upshot)

The Upshot - Yahoo! News is pleased to announce that today marks the launch of an amazing social media hub for the midterm elections called "Ask America." Ask America is a great wayÂ to dig in on the big questions driving our national and local political discussions. Want to know what people think about the state of the [...]

Judge allows subpoenas for Internet users (AP)

AP - A federal judge on Friday allowed the holder of a movie copyright to subpoena the names of people accused of illegally downloading and distributing a film over the Internet.

US widens probe of HP bribery allegations (AP)

AP - U.S. investigators have widened their probe of alleged kickbacks paid to Russian authorities by employees of a Hewlett-Packard Co. subsidiary in Germany.

Banks mull BlackBerry options for corporate email (Reuters)

Reuters - JPMorgan Chase & Co and UBS are considering allowing employees to access corporate email using Apple iPhones or other alternatives to their standard-issue Research in Motion BlackBerry.

Enbridge stops major leak on Canada-U.S. oil pipeline (Reuters)

Reuters - Enbridge Inc said late Friday it had stopped an oil spill from its 6A pipeline, which delivers up to a third of Canada's crude oil exports to the United States, but gave no estimate on when the line might resume operations a day after it was shut down.

Judge approves Sun Country bankruptcy plan (AP)

AP - Sun Country Airlines said a bankruptcy judge approved its reorganization plan on Friday, putting it another step closer to emerging from Chapter 11 protection.

Will DVD kiosks begin slow fade in 2012? (Ben Patterson)

Ben Patterson - DVD rental kiosks from Redbox and Blockbuster seem to be popping up on every corner these days, but home-video market analysts are predicting that demand for the ultra-convenient kiosks could soon start cooling off as video streaming and video-on-demand gain in popularity.

'Halo: Reach' aims to grab gamers again (AP)

AP - Since fans lined up at midnight nearly three years ago for the release of the last "Halo" video game, a recession struck the economy, President Barack Obama took office and "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2" became the best-selling shooter game of all time. When the prequel "Halo: Reach" debuts Sept. 14, it will land on a very different world.

DataViz releases Documents To Go Premium 4.0 (Macworld.com)

Macworld.com - Not content to rest on its laurels while getting bought up by BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion, DataViz has released Documents To Go Premium 4.0 for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad.

New On the Menu: Genetically Modified Salmon? (HealthDay)

HealthDay - FRIDAY, Sept. 10 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration may soon approve genetically modified salmon for humans to eat, a prospect that is raising concern among some consumer advocates who consider the fish a threat to both health and the environment.

U.S. resumes funding controversial stem cell research (Reuters)

Reuters - The U.S. government said it was resuming work on controversial human embryonic stem cell research on Friday after an appeals court ruled in its favor.

FTSE cites "human rights" concerns at DuPont and UPS (Reuters)

Reuters - Major U.S. corporations DuPont Co and United Parcel Service Inc were among eight companies removed from a social investment index series because of concerns about human rights, climate change and similar matters, the UK index provider FTSE Group said.

Oil price surges after Midwest pipeline shuts down (AP)

AP - Oil prices surged Friday after a pipeline that delivered oil to Midwest refineries was shut down, raising questions about how long the supply may be disrupted.

Security firms issue warning over email worm (AFP)

AFP - Computer security firms issued warnings on Friday over a computer virus that arrives by email offering downloads of "free sex movies" or documents.

Wall Street gains as economic outlook brightens (Reuters)

Reuters - The Dow and S&P 500 were on track on Friday to close the week with a seventh gain in the last eight sessions, a period that has seen investors worst fears about the economy start to dissipate.

Appeals court backs Chevron in Nigeria dispute (AP)

AP - A federal appeals court in San Francisco has upheld a jury verdict clearing the Chevron Corp. of alleged human rights abuses during a violent 1998 protest on a company oil platform in Nigeria.

WikiMobile Encyclopedia lets you bring Wikipedia on the road (Appolicious)

Appolicious - How much do two million Wikipedia articles weigh? About as much as your Android phone. WikiMobile Encyclopedia delivers the content of Wikipedia to your phone in an Android app. It works, but it's not the only game in town for accessing Wikipedia material over a cell phone.

Linux Wi-Fi Gets Easier with New Broadcom Driver (PC World)

PC World - Wireless chip maker Broadcom on Thursday announced good news for Linux users in the form of a fully open wireless driver that's compatible with the operating system.

Four dead in California gas blast inferno (AFP)

AFP - California firefighters were grimly searching smoldering ruins Friday after a huge gas pipeline explosion triggered an inferno killing four people, amid fears the toll will rise.

Two killed in Iran gas pipeline blast: reports (AFP)

AFP - Two people were killed and 16 others injured by an explosion at a gas pipeline near Iran's northeastern city of Mashhad on Friday, local media reported.

Latest version of Android 'not designed' for tablets, report says (Ben Patterson)

Ben Patterson - We’ve already got a slew of Android-powered tablets poised to hit the market in the coming months, most notably the just-announced Samsung Tab. But a Google exec is saying that the current version of Android was never intended for tablets, and that could mean no Android Market access — at least in some cases.

Feds: Drilling moratorium depends on industry (AP)

AP - A key U.S. government official said Friday the moratorium on deepwater oil drilling likely won't be extended past Nov. 30, but whether it is cut short will be entirely up to the industry.

Feds: Drilling moratorium depends on industry (AP)

AP - A key U.S. government official said Friday the moratorium on deepwater oil drilling likely won't be extended past Nov. 30, but whether it is cut short will be entirely up to the industry.

Android to challenge Nokia's Symbian by 2014: Gartner (AFP)

AFP - Google's open-source Android will become the number two mobile operating system this year, leapfrogging BlackBerry and challenging market leader Nokia's Symbian by 2014, a research firm said Friday.

NIH to resume funding stem cell research for now (AP)

AP - The government said Friday it's back in the business of funding embryonic stem cell research — at least for now — after an appeals court temporarily lifted a judge's ban.

Enbridge keeps U.S.-bound pipeline shut after leak (Reuters)

Reuters - A key oil pipeline supplying Canadian crude to the United States, Enbridge Inc's 670,000-barrel-per-day Line 6A, remained shut on Friday after the line leaked in Illinois on Thursday.

Nokia dumps CEO, turns to Microsoft exec (AP)

AP - Nokia Corp. is replacing CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo with Microsoft executive Stephen Elop as the world's top maker of mobile phones aims to regain lost ground in the fiercely competitive smart phone market.

Oil rises to $76 on U.S. supply outage (Reuters)

Reuters - U.S. crude rose more than 2 percent to $76 a barrel on Friday following the shutdown of a major pipeline supplying Canadian oil to the United States, but a leading forecaster said world demand would remain tepid.

"Here You Have" E-mail Virus Clogs Corporate Inboxes (Mashable)

Mashable - An e-mail virus, dubbed "Here You Have" because of its subject line, has reportedly infected corporate networks of major companies like AIG, Procter & Gamble, Comcast, Disney and even Google since Thursday.

Google benefits from Apple’s rules change (Appolicious)

Appolicious - Apple has let down its guard a bit, loosening regulations around the app approval process. This signifies a major move for Apple, as its top-down approach to controlling apps in the iTunes App Store has been a hot button topic for several months now.

Industry: No need for EPA to regulate gas drilling (AP)

AP - The oil and natural gas industry is willing to cooperate with a federal study of natural gas drilling, but opposes regulation of a practice known as hydraulic fracturing.

Industry: No need for EPA to regulate gas drilling (AP)

AP - The oil and natural gas industry is willing to cooperate with a federal study of natural gas drilling, but opposes regulation of a practice known as hydraulic fracturing.

Planes put out giant oil fire on Caribbean island (Reuters)

Reuters - A huge blaze that ignited when lightning hit a 200,000-barrel naphtha tank on the tiny Caribbean island of Bonaire was put out on Friday after Venezuelan planes doused it with chemical foam.

BP evicted from ethical index, delays Q3 results (Reuters)

Reuters - BP is to be evicted from the FTSE4Good ethical investment index due to its Gulf of Mexico oil spill, index compiler FTSE said on Friday, as BP said it would delay its third-quarter results due to the challenges of accounting for spill costs.

Combat climate change with less gassy diet for cows: study (AFP)

AFP - Climate change can be curbed by changing the diet of livestock, whose feed crops, farting, belching and manure contribute a fifth of the planet's greenhouse gas emissions, a new study said Friday.

Non-radioactive leak shuts down NY nuclear reactor (AP)

AP - One of the reactors at New York's Indian Point nuclear power plant has been shut down because of a leak of non-radioactive water.

"Here You Have" Virus Demonstrates Need to Improve Malware Security (PC World)

PC World - A worm known affectionately as "Here You Have" based on the subject line of the infected e-mail used to propagate it has quickly spread into a global malware attack. The efficacy of the simple, and poorly worded e-mail luring users to click on a malicious link demonstrates why we need a whole new approach to malware defense.

US court lifts ban on state-funded stem cell studies (AFP)

AFP - A US appeals court suspended Thursday a ban on state-funding for embryonic stem cell research pending a full appeal of the case, in a major boost to President Barack Obama's administration.

Oil prices rise as IEA lifts demand forecast (AFP)

AFP - Oil prices rose on Friday as the International Energy Agency raised slightly its forecast for global oil demand this year and following the closure of a pipeline carrying crude to the United States.

UN climate chief urges flexibility in talks (AP)

AP - The United Nations' climate chief on Friday urged countries to be flexible in order to make progress at weeklong climate talks in China next month, the last formal negotiations on climate change ahead of a major year-end meeting in Cancun, Mexico.

One-Third of Americans Back Ban on Synthetic Biology (LiveScience.com)

LiveScience.com - Engineering new synthetic organisms offers promise of fighting disease and even global warming, but also comes with risk. Now two-thirds of Americans surveyed in a new poll say the field should move forward, while one-third supports a ban until researchers better understand the possible consequences.

Oil climbs to near $76 on economic indicators (AP)

AP - Oil prices climbed to near $76 a barrel Friday in Asia as better economic indicators from Japan to the U.S. boosted confidence that demand for fuel will improve.

Enbridge pipeline leaks oil in Chicago suburb (AP)

AP - Oil was sent onto a roadway and into a retention pond in suburban Chicago on Thursday when Enbridge Energy Partners officials said one of their pipelines in the area leaked.

Hurd's Oracle gig: Is Ellison perk or problem? (AP)

AP - As co-president at Oracle Corp., ousted Hewlett-Packard Co. CEO Mark Hurd will have to adapt to a new role playing second fiddle to one of Silicon Valley's most domineering bosses — Larry Ellison.

USDA sued over genetically modified beet permits (Reuters)

Reuters - Groups opposed to genetically modified foods announced a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Thursday over the agency's recent decision to allow limited plantings of altered sugar beets.

Alaska sues to lift Arctic drilling suspension (AP)

AP - The state claimed Thursday that the Interior Department illegally halted offshore drilling in Artic waters, even though the department said there's no such moratorium in place.

EPA officials: Kan. must revise air permit process (AP)

AP - Federal officials told Kansas legislators Thursday that the state will be expected to cut greenhouse gas emissions as it considers air-quality permits for power plants, large factories, and oil refineries — and if it refuses, the Environmental Protection Agency could step in.

Okla. panel studies lesser prairie chicken habitat (AP)

AP - Conservationists and wind power developers told a legislative panel on Thursday that more study is needed to determine the impact of wind turbines and electrical transmission lines on the habitat of the lesser prairie chicken.

Sanofi-Aventis sticking to first offer for Genzyme (AP)

AP - French drugmaker Sanofi-Aventis SA is sticking to its original offer of $69 a share to buy U.S. biotech company Genzyme Corp., a Sanofi spokesman said Thursday.

Herb Quells Cows' Methane-Laden Belches (LiveScience.com)

LiveScience.com - For scientists concerned about greenhouse gas emissions, cow farts are nowhere near as problematic as their methane-laden belches. Now a new oregano supplement could stem the burps and reduce the potent methane emissions.