Making their first public statements since peace talks began in Washington this week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and lead Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat spoke in optimistic tones about the prospect of an agreement. Netanyahu referenced “a sense of readiness that exists in the Arab world.” Erekat struck a similar tone, saying, “This is the time for decisions.” Despite the optimism, the talks must reckon with a history of failure, and the upcoming end to Israel’s moratorium on West Bank settlements on September 26 could stop the talks entirely if Israel does not extend it. So far, the leaders have organized a framework for the negotiations, with Netanyahu and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas agreeing to meet every two weeks for a year. Also in their favor, American diplomats have committed to staying involved for the entire process.

As part of the press junket for his just-released memoir, British Prime Minister Toy Blair sat down with Christiane Amanpour on ABC's This Week. During the program he defended his support for the U.S. and UK invasion of Iraq, stating that sanctions against the Middle Eastern nation had been "watered down," and insisting that had Saddam Hussein not been toppled there would have been grave consequences. "You can't not have regrets about the lives lost," he said. "I mean, you would be inhuman if you didn't regret the death of so many extraordinary, brave and committed soldiers, of civilians that have died in Iraq, or die still now in Afghanistan. And of course you feel an enormous responsibility for that, not just regret." As for the issue of fundamentalist Islam: "It's the religious or cultural equivalent of it, and its roots are deep, its tentacles are--are long, and its narrative about Islam stretches far further than we think into even parts of mainstream opinion."

U.S. combat operations in Iraq may be over, but the violence is not. In broad daylight Sunday, suicide bombers and armed insurgents stormed the Baghdad headquarters of Iraq's army, claiming at least 18 lives and injuring 39 others. American troops joined the battle, providing “suppressive fire while [Iraqi] soldiers located the two terrorists that entered the compound,” according to a military spokesman, though no U.S. troops were among the casualties. The U.S. also contributed helicopters, aerial drones, and other aides to the Iraqis, a sign that the country’s military is still heavily reliant on U.S. guidance and supplies. Officially, Operation Iraqi Freedom ended in August, but 50,000 American troops were left behind in order to “advise and assist brigades,” such as the ones who joined in this battle.

In what would be a remarkably swift comeback, scandalized former Hewlett-Packard CEO Mark Hurd is reportedly in talks to join rival tech giant Oracle as a top executive, according to sources close to the deal. Oracle, still led by its founder Larry Ellison after 30 years, covers much of the same turf as H-P, and is almost as profitable, though its revenue and number of employees are far smaller. Ellison was a champion of Hurd—who’s widely credited with turning around Hewlett-Packard’s fortunes—throughout his scandal, which grabbed headlines in early August after he was alleged to have sexually harassed a marketing contractor. Hurd was later cleared of the charges, but knocked for filing inaccurate expense reports, and he resigned amid controversy. Hurd’s position at Oracle is still uncertain; Ellison will stay put as CEO.

An overcrowded riverboat carrying hundreds of passengers and fuel drums caught fire in the Congo on Saturday evening, capsizing and killing up to 200 people. As the tragedy unfolded, according to survivors, local fisherman witnessing the scene chose not to help rescue passengers jumping overboard, instead attempting to steal supplies on board. “Fishermen attacked the boat and started beating passengers with paddles as they were (trying) to loot goods,” said one survivor. Though it’s not clear what caused the engine to catch fire, or how many people were on board, such riverboats are well-known to often be in poor repair, overfilled, and manned by unskilled workers. Two of the vessel’s sailors have already been arrested, and the boat’s owner has reportedly requested that its manager be arrested as well.

Now even the Prime Minister is taking heat for the weekend piece in The New York Times Magazine detailing how two News of the World staffers—a reporter and a private investigator employed by Britain’s largest paper—hacked into the phones of British royal family aides. Clive Goodman, a reporter, and Glenn Mulcaire, an investigator working for the paper, obtained PIN codes to access the voicemail inboxes of royal aides, and News of the World used the messages to run stories about Prince Harry’s personal life in 2006. A Scotland Yard investigation has revealed that Mulcaire potentially hacked into the phone messages of more than thousands of people. The article details that then-editor Andy Coulson “actively encouraged” phone hacking and the newsroom was “out of control” under his leadership. Coulson resigned from his post but denied involvement in the hacking, although sources now say “even the office cat” knew. British PM David Cameron went on to hire Coulson as his communications chief, saying “I believe in giving people a second chance.” Now that it seems the hacking was much more extensive than believed, Cameron must choose whether or not to stand by his man.

As the field at the U.S. Open continues to narrow, top-seeded stars like Venus Williams, Kim Clijsters, and Rafael Nadal are proving their mettle, blocking any attempts at upsets on their way to the finals. Williams, the No. 3 seed competing in her first tournament since recovering from a knee injury, claimed a confident victory over Israel’s Shahar Peer, though she fought hard for it. “It’s always good to have a tough match,” Williams said after the match, which advances her to the quarterfinals. “It was a good challenge.” On other courts, No. 2 seed  Clijsters, last year’s singles champ, easily beat 22-year-old Ana Ivanovic. Nadal, the sport’s top-seeded male, will advance to the quarterfinals as well. Meanwhile, Andy Murray, the No. 4 seed among men was ousted by Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland.

Iranian authorities ordered Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani—who earlier this year was sentenced to death by stoning for allegedly committing adultery—to receive a whipping for a photo that appeared in the Times of London newspaper in which she was captured without her headscarf. The Times initially identified the woman in the photo as Ashtiani but then ran a correction stating that they had mistakenly identified her and that the photo was of a different woman. Ashtiani will receive 99 lashes for purportedly appearing in the photo without her hijab, reports BBC News. Her son Sajad Ghaderzadeh said that the lashing punishment is "an excuse to increase [the authorities'] harassment of our mother." Ghaderzadeh has appealed to the Vatican to intervene in her mother's death sentence, which was temporarily halted in July following an international outcry. The Vatican issued its first public comment on the case today, calling the punishment "brutal" in an official statement. A Vatican spokesperson said no formal appeal has reached the Vatican but they are "following the case with attention and interest."

George Clooney's still got it. Hollywood's favorite leading man trumped his competition this weekend with international action flick The American, which opened with $13 million over the weekend—not an overwhelming figure, but strong enough to win the traditionally slow Labor Day weekend. Matt Dillon and Chris Brown’s Takers, released last week, dropped down to two, followed by Machete, the grindhouse slasher film, which debuted in third with $11 million. Bad news for Drew Barrymore: The usually-bankable actress brought in less than $7 million for her new romantic comedy, Going the Distance, whose title (referencing a long-distance romance), proved to be disappointingly ironic.

Could this be the beginning of a long-awaited peace? Eta, a separatist group in Spain that advocates the independence of the country’s Basque region, announced in a video today that they had agreed months ago “not to carry out armed actions.” The group did not make clear whether the ceasefire would be permanent, nor did they promise to disarm. Over the last 50 years, Eta, classified as terrorists by the U.S., has used violent methods to campaign for their own state, killing more than 800 people in the process. It has been largely weakened in recent years by divisions within the Basque separatist movement as well as arrests of top leaders by Spanish authorities. Spain’s government has not yet publicly reacted to the news.

The 960th time's the charm. Congratulations are in order for 69-year-old Cha Sa-soon of the obscure South Korean village Sinchon—she passed the written portion of her driver's test on the 960th try. In April of 2005 she began her quest, taking the exam once a day for five days out of the week, failing with a consistency that would discourage many. Though she soon slowed to taking it only twice a week, she did not stop. Sa-soon was born to a peasant family and only had a few years of formal schooling. Said Park Su-yeon, an instructor at Jeonbuk Driving School where Sa-soon once took classes: “She could read and write words phonetically but she could not understand most of the terminology, such as ‘regulations’ and ‘emergency light.’" Sa-soon is now a national celebrity in South Korea known as “Grandma Cha Sa-soon." "When she finally got her license, we all went out in cheers and hugged her, giving her flowers, said Su-yeon, "It felt like a huge burden falling off our back. We didn’t have the guts to tell her to quit because she kept showing up.” When Sa-soon finally received her license, Hyundai called for congratulatory messages online, and were inundated with wishes. In August Sa-soon was given a $16,800 car, and now appears in a Hyundai commercial.

The devastating floods that submerged one-fifth of Pakistan have affected 20 million of its residents. But even though many Pakistanis were forced to flee from their destroyed homes and move to relief camps, many are staying behind to protect whatever valuable goods they have left from looters, squatting in makeshift tents amidst mud and floodwaters. "Here in this area, there are about 20,000 people who chose to stay," said one Pakistani colonel, referring to an area in the northern Sindh province, "This area's famous for looters and thieves, so they thought it'd be better to stay put. Wherever there's a dry patch, they're surviving." Those who stay behind survive on dwindling food supplies, and many drink contaminated river water tainted by--among other things—dead cattle carcasses. Many Pakistanis also stay behind to avoid jamming into crowded relief camps.

How time flies! Just one year ago, Kanye West famously interrupted Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech for Best Female Video at MTV’s Video Music Awards. And now, here we are, with Kanye apologizing—for the second time—on Twitter. “When I woke up from the crazy nightmare I looked in the mirror and said GROW UP KANYE… I take responsibility for my actions,” the rapper tweeted. In another tweet, Kanye said he even wrote a song for Swift: “[It’s] so beautiful and I want her to have it. If she won’t take it then I’ll perform it for her.” A slew of other tweets followed, one of which said, simply, “I’m sorry Taylor.” This year’s VMA host Chelsea Handler, meanwhile, is hoping to bring the two together during this year’s awards ceremony on September 12.

According to Ohio police, 47-year-old Jeffrey York held his family hostage, cutting them off from the rest of world and sexually assaulting one of daughters. Officials began investigating York in December. York allegedly locked one child in a small room for a year, only permitting him leave to use the bathroom. "In general, meals were brought to this child. Access to clothing, the restroom and everything was restricted by Mr. York," said Detective Dan Boerner. "The children who were of age for education were home-schooled for the most part, had no friends to speak of and no real outlets or resources to go to." A grand jury indicted on two counts of rape involving a female under the age of 13, five instances of gross sexual imposition, and six counts of child endangering.

Is the peace movement dead? Anti-war activists are struggling to mobilize, exhausted and disillusioned with the very president they catapulted to victory. Prominent anti-war activists are having difficulty raising money and convincing people to turn out for events, despite the increase in public opposition to the Afghan war. One reason for such a tepid movement is quite simply fatigue: “I was totally exhausted,” said United for Peace and Justice Leslie Cagan founder, “I have a long history of anti-war activism—about 45 years—but the last eight or nine years have been totally intense. In a post 9/11 world, it’s just nonstop.” Anti-war activists have long been allies to President Obama, whose vocal criticism of the Iraq war made him a favorite for the peace movement--but that support has all but vanished, and will prove difficult for Obama and Democrats in the upcoming midterm elections.

President Obama heads to the Midwest for an economy-related tour with less than two months until congressional elections: He speaks at a Labor Day rally in Milwaukee Monday and plans an economic speech in Cleveland Wednesday. He is scheduled to hold a news conference at the White House Friday. Late last week, Obama said at the White House that “new ideas” to boost the economy and help increase job hiring are on the way. Armed with the “positive” news that private payrolls climbed 67,000 in August, according to the Labor Department, the president will be promoting his policies in Wisconsin and Ohio. “I will be addressing a broader package of new ideas next week,” Obama said, adding that job numbers are still “not nearly good enough.” On top of these new measures, the president is asking Congress to help small businesses by passing legislation that includes $12 billion in tax breaks and $30 billion worth of aid to free up credit. The question, of course, is whether the White House can turn these ideas into a political reality.

For many veterans, the prospect of free money from the government just seems too good to be true. Around 145,000 troops who were kept on duty beyond their original discharge date due to the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks are eligible for cash bonuses totaling $324 million, but no one seems to want to collect them. Under a measure passed last October, military personnel who were forced to remain on duty because of the “stop-loss” policy, are eligible for $500 in back pay for each month of involuntary service — the average sum owed is between $3,500 and $3,800. Thousands of veterans, however, have ignored the letters reminding them to file the paperwork to collect their checks. "It is unusual, and because it's unusual maybe that's why some people are questioning whether this is legitimate," said the Pentagon official in charge of enlisted personnel management. "We knew it was going to be a challenge," he added. "As a military culture, we generally don't pay people for services rendered; we pay them when they serve."

With limited resources ahead of the November midterm elections, the Democratic Party is prepared to make some tough choices to stem the Republican tide—even if it means pulling support from a few of its own. Over the next two weeks, Democratic leaders will evaluate which of its candidates stand a real chance of holding onto their House seats in order to redirect funds to protect as many as two dozen Democratic congressmen, in order to save a slim majority for the party. Those who have not gained ground in their races will be ultimately cut loose, including several candidates running for one of the 55 seats Democrats gained from Republicans in the last two election cycles. “We are going to have to win these races one by one,” said Representative Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. This week, House speaker Nancy Pelosi has also urged Democrats with safe seats to use some of the $218 million from their campaign accounts to help those in more precarious races.

Good news for investigators: After almost 30 hours of work, BP’s 50-foot, 300-ton blowout preventer was raised to the surface on Saturday from more than mile below the sea’s surface. Meanwhile, 137 people waited aboard the Helix Q4000 vessel—FBI agents among them—to escort the massive fixture to a NASA facility in Louisiana for analysis. So far, investigators know that a bubble of methane gas escaped from the well, causing the accident, but what they don’t know is why—or how—it happened. The retrieved Deepwater Horizon blowout preventer could possibly help answer those questions.