WASHINGTON - Consumer prices shot up in July at twice the expected rate, pushed higher by surging energy and food costs. The latest surge left inflation running at the fastest pace in 17 years.

GORI, Georgia —  Explosions were heard near Gori on Thursday as a Russian troop withdrawal from the strategic city seemed to collapse. A fragile cease-fire appeared even more shaky as Russia's foreign minister declared that the world "can forget about any talk about Georgia's territorial integrity."

Police plan to hold a news conference at 11 a.m. Wednesday to discuss an arrest in the death of a pregnant Fort Bragg soldier who was found in a Fayetteville motel room more than a month ago.

The International Olympic Committee confirmed its decision to ban Iraq from taking part in the Beijing Olympics because of the government’s interference with sports by disbanding the country's National Olympic Committee, Reuters reported.