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The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index rose to levels it hasn't hit in more than four years today, bolstered by the European Central Bank's plan to buy bonds of struggling countries to help support the euro. Strong U.S. jobs data also contributed to the gains.

Their families have sued the state of Michigan, arguing it has failed to provide remedial help to students whose reading skills are years behind. The outcome of the lawsuit could affect how school districts around the country deal with remediation.

The new Amazon Kindles are faster, less expensive and are aimed squarely at the youngest members of a family. The least expensive model will sell for $69. The Kindle Fire comes with parental controls For instance, you can set a time limit on games or movies but let your kids read as much as they want.

Wahaha is the name of China's third largest beverage company — it sells soda, juice and other bottled drinks. The name means laughing children. Zong Qing Hou is now the richest man in China, according to Bloomberg's billionaire's index. He founded Wahaha 25 years ago, with a $22,000 loan.

President Obama has accepted his party's nomination for a second term. In his speech at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., Thursday night, he said the path he suggests is "harder, but it leads to a better place." He said the progress he'd made so far would be reversed if Mitt Romney won the White House.

More than 4,200 athletes from 164 countries are taking part in the Paralympics. Disabled athletes began competing when a doctor in Britain organized the international wheelchair games to coincide with the 1948 Olympics. Renee Montagne talks to Baroness Tanni Grey Thompson, a former wheelchair racer who is in the British House of Lords, about the games.

Ann Dunham's fight with an insurance company before her death in 1995 is under scrutiny once more. And this time, a few words may tell a different tale.

Darrell Krushelnicki was waiting at an intersection in Alberta, Canada, when he noticed a speeding Pontiac careening toward four pedestrians. The driver appeared to be talking on his phone, and wasn't slowing down. That's when Krushelnicki eased his Hummer into the street, took the hit himself, and saved some lives.

Also: U.S. expected to add Haqqani network to terrorists list; earthquake kills dozens in China; Amazon unveils its new Kindle; and Prince Harry deploys to Afghanistan.

At their conventions, the parties presented varying visions of America — as an entrepreneurial paradise where hard work, innovation and prudence are all that matters, and as a communitarian paradise where racial, national and religious differences are subsumed in a surge of shared success. Voters must decide which resonates most and why.