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A dwindling supply of sodium thiopental has forced states to find an alternative drug for lethal injections. Corrections officials in Oklahoma have started using pentobarbital, and Ohio says it will soon follow suit. But death penalty opponents have raised questions, since the drug hasn't been tested for this use.

As the combat mission ends in Iraq, 30,000 additional troops are heading to Afghanistan. Comparisons between the two wars are inevitable. Gen. David Petraeus, who commanded U.S. forces in Iraq, brings to Afghanistan many familiar military faces and the strategy of creating local forces to take control of security at the grass-roots level.

In their first face-to-face negotiations in nearly two years, Israeli and Palestinian leaders on Thursday staked out key positions but hinted at compromise. Obama's special envoy said the two sides also set a schedule for more talks; the next session will be in mid-September in the Middle East.

This Labor Day was a bittersweet moment. While the holiday is a cause for celebration, the high unemployment makes it hard to get into the spirit. E. J. Dionne of The New Republic argues that in honor of Labor day, we should remember that although unions have not always been perfect, they stand to remind us of the dignity of those who toil.

Some think the proposal will be another Cash-for-Clunkers-style tax break that probably won't have much of a long-term impact. But others are more enthusiastic about the plan to allow U.S. companies to write off all investments through 2011.

Amid the joy at the rescue of the trapped Chilean miners, there are concerted efforts to make sure the kind of accident that led to their 69-day ordeal doesn't happen again. Safety groups say Chile should adopt international standards for mines. The San Jose Mine was operating despite repeated violations.

In a sign of easing tension between the divided countries, South Korea plans to send $8.5 million in relief assistance, including 5,000 tons of rice, to help the North recover from heavy flooding that swamped farmland, houses and public buildings in its northwest last month.

While most school reform efforts are increasingly focused on teachers, a small suburban school district in New Jersey has decided it's time to hold students more accountable. Middle schools and high schools in Mount Olive have eliminated the D grade, so students must earn at least a C to pass a class.

In Miami, some storage companies have started providing extra security to wealthy collectors of expensive items like art and exotic automobiles. Museo Vault is designed to withstand the 200-miles-per-hour wind speeds from hurricanes, while RoboVault has security straight out of Mission: Impossible.

Whistleblower site WikiLeaks has begun to release an estimated 400,000 classified military records related to U.S. operations in Iraq. The documents reportedly offer new details about civilian deaths, as well as the mistreatment of Iraqi insurgents.