BEIJING (AP) _ President Bush has arrived in Beijing for the Summer Olympics amid tensions with the Chinese over his demand that the rising world power grant more freedom to its people. Bush, an avid sports fan and former part-owner of the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball, flew to the city on the eve of the opening of the long-anticipated games. He has said he wants to enjoy the competition but also will talk to Chinese President Hu Jintao about human rights and other issues.

GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba (AP) _ Osama bin Laden’s former driver is expected to ask the Pentagon jury that convicted him of a war crime to spare him from life in prison Thursday, his defense lawyers said. Salim Hamdan wiped tears from his face on Wednesday as the panel of six military officers delivered a split verdict at the first U.S. war crimes trial since World War II, declaring him guilty of aiding terrorism but acquitting him of conspiracy.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan _ Pakistan’s ruling coalition will ask President Pervez Musharraf to seek a confidence vote in Parliament or face impeachment, senior party officials told The Associated Press on Thursday. Two ruling party officials said that course of action was decided upon during marathon talks between party leaders Asif Ali Zardari and ex-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif that ended early Thursday.

WASHINGTON (AP) _ The number of newly laid off people signing up for jobless benefits last week climbed to its highest point in more than six years as companies cut back given the faltering economy. The Labor Department reported Thursday that new applications filed for unemployment insurance rose by a seasonally adjusted 7,000 to 455,000 for the week ending Aug. 2. The increase left claims at their highest level since late March 2002.

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Advanced DNA testing led federal investigators to suspect a government scientist in the 2001 anthrax killings. The scientist’s behavior, e-mails and unusual work hours convinced them they had the right man. The government declared the 2001 attacks solved Wednesday, pointing the blame at former Army scientist Bruce Ivins, who committed suicide last week as prosecutors prepared to bring charges. The Justice Department said it was confident it could have convicted the scientist, who spent his career developing anthrax vaccines and cures at the bioweapons lab at Fort Detrick, Md.

BEIJING (AP) _ At least two women who have protested being evicted from their homes ahead of the Olympics were rounded up and taken to a police station, amid ramped up efforts Thursday by activists to use the games to spotlight their causes. Zhang Wei and Ma Xiulan, who have been vocal about the pain of losing their family compounds near Tiananmen Square to make way for Olympic construction, were taken from their homes late Wednesday and early Thursday morning, according to Ma.

NEW YORK (AP) _ Lexus once again stands alone atop a closely watched list of vehicle dependability after Buick slipped from the No. 1 spot it shared with the Japanese luxury brand last year, J.D. Power and Associates said Thursday. It’s the 14th straight year Toyota Motor Corp.’s high-end brand has held the highest ranking in the annual study, which measures problems experienced by the original owners of vehicles after three years. Lexus had 120 problems per 100 vehicles, down from 145 last year.

LOS ANGELES (AP) _ Google Inc. said Wednesday that it has launched a music search service in China that allows users to access music legally online in a forum backed by some record labels and supported by advertising revenue. Paid music downloads in China are virtually nonexistent, and Apple Inc.’s iTunes digital music store is not offered there. Downloadable pirated versions of songs are widely available for free online.

NEW YORK (AP) _ Federal prosecutors have decided not to pursue a criminal case into how Heath Ledger obtained the powerful painkillers that contributed to his overdose death this year, a law enforcement official said Wednesday. Prosecutors in the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan had been overseeing a Drug Enforcement Administration probe into whether the painkillers found in Ledger’s system were obtained illegally. But the prosecutors have bowed out “because they don’t believe there’s a viable target,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because no charges have been filed.

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) _ Brett Favre’s journey from retirement and back has finally ended _ in New York. The Green Bay Packers reached an agreement Wednesday night to trade their three-time MVP and Super Bowl-winning quarterback to the New York Jets, ending an emotionally grinding month of indecision over Favre’s future. The move ends a remarkably ugly split between Green Bay and one of its most beloved players, allows the Packers to move forward with new starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers and gives Favre a fresh start _ although not exactly the one he wanted, as Favre’s first choice was widely believed to be the Minnesota Vikings.