A surprising political move. Alaska governor Sarah Palin is calling it quits. Palin will resign from office near the end of the month.

Could a run for president be the reason?

UPDATE: Saturday, July 4 in North Korea so far has meant four missile launches off of its eastern coast.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff says three went early Saturday morning in the country. The fourth came around noon.

South Korea news agencies say all are short-range. The Scuds can travel about 300 miles.

More activity may be coming. The communist country warned shipping to stay away from its east coast until July 10th.

The date of the launches is not surprising. The North has a record of doing missile launch tests on the US holiday.

A news report says North Korea has fired two mid-range missiles off it eastern coast.

Yonhap news agency's report says the launches appeared to be of Scud missiles.

The agency quotes a South Korean government official it did not identify.

The official says the missiles fired were estimated to have a range of about 300 miles.

North Korea fired four short-range missiles off the east coast on Thursday. Speculation has been high that the communist country might launch more missiles in coming days.

UPDATE: Saying "only dead fish go with the flow," Sarah Palin announced she would no longer be governor. Palin says since she is not seeking re-election, she decided to step down earlier and transfer powers to her lieutenant governor.

Hear a little of what she had to say in front of her home this morning.

Former Vice Presidential Candidate Sarah Palin, is stepping down as governor of Alaska. She made the announcement earlier today.

Few details are released yet, but her last day is expected to be July 26.

Palin was for many, a surprise selection to be John McCain's running mate in the 2008 presidential election. The former beauty queen and athlete's first term as governor will expire next year.

She has 5 children, and was often a target during the election. One topic, was accusations of ethics violations when she fired a public safety official, allegedly because he refused to fire her sister's ex-husband. Yesterday, a group of newspaper columists picked Palin for the Sitting Duck Award, given to the person who is most ridicules in the US.

But there is speculation that she is clearing the way, for a run at the presidency in 2012.

Already, the chair of the committee who investigated and cleared Palin, Sen. Hollis French, says he is interested in taking her job.

WASHINGTON (AP) - A search is under way in eastern Afghanistan for a soldier apparently being held by Taliban insurgents after he walked off his base without his body armor or weapon.

Officials say the military has intercepted communications in which insurgents said they had captured an American. But several officials declined to say whether there has been any direct communications with the insurgents or whether any demands had been made for the return of the soldier.

He's said to be a private first class. The military has released few details about the abduction, which is believed to be the first such abduction of a U.S. service member in the nearly eight-year-old war.

I think that Michael Jackson will go down in history as one of our greatest entertainers," said President Barack Obama.

He brought a lot of joy to a lot of people. That's what President Obama said about the late singer during an interview with the Associated Press.