Calm

TEHRAN - The black-market money changers are lying low these days here in Iran's capital, feeling the heat of a government that has singled them out for much of the blame in the free fall of the national currency, the rial. "Money trading on the sidewalk has become like illicit drug trafficking," one trader, Asghar, said Sunday in a small shop near the British Embassy. "But it will not remain so. " Asghar, like others interviewed, asked that his last name not be used, fearing arrest.

Showtime threw a relaxed and low-key pre-Emmy party on Saturday night at the Sunset Tower that gave no hint of the excitement that would unfold for the network at the ceremony the following evening. The fete kicked off at 7 with red carpet arrivals including Damian Lewis and Claire Danes (wearing a stunning turquoise Jason Wu dress), who would soon win the Emmys for lead actor and actress in a drama series. "Homeland" would also take the award for outstanding drama series in what is being lauded as a sweep for the show and a coup for the Showtime network.

After a day off for the start of fall semester classes, USC players begin game-week preparations for Hawaii, one of three home games that USC already has announced as sellouts. Trojans quarterback Matt Barkley expects Saturday's atmosphere at the Coliseum to be similar to what it was during much of the Pete Carroll era, when the Trojans regularly played before capacity crowds at home and on the road. "Those are games that I grew up going to," he said recently. "You look up and everyone's just rocking.

TAMPA, Fla. -- Even with the threat of a hurricane, this host city had many familiar signs of a political convention. Political star-sightings were prevalent at the Tampa airport, including a Republican senator (Thad Cochran of Mississippi) and a freshman congressman (Steve Womack of Arkansas). Greeters welcomed convention-goers making their way to baggage claim and car rentals. Billboards along the freeway shouted political leanings: "Hope didn't work," said one for conservative author Glenn Beck, in a presumed jab at President Obama's 2008 campaign theme.

Barbara Farkas is certain about what happens after death. It is the end, she says; there is no heaven, no hell, no journey that lies ahead. Her conviction hasn't changed, no matter how many times she has sat with the dying. Holding Taylor Hall's hand, she could tell he would be around for a while. She felt his grip and looked into his bright blue eyes. He was getting a fairly light dosage of morphine, at least for now, she thought. Hall had been admitted to the hospital two days earlier, consigned to a hospice room, and as soon as Farkas got the news, she scheduled time to keep him company.

CAIRO — Egyptian President-elect Mohamed Morsi on Monday moved into the palace of the man who once jailed him. His swift settling in to deposed leader Hosni Mubarak's office was a potent symbol as Morsi begins forming a Cabinet and works to calm a politically divided and economically frayed nation. Declared the country's first freely elected president on Sunday, Morsi also met with advisors to discuss strategies for strengthening his hand against Egypt's military leaders, who remain suspicious of his Islamist leanings.

Dustin Penner was living the life, playing on a line with his running mates Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf and their future looked incredibly bright with the Ducks. How many Stanley Cups would the kids win together? One, two … three? Penner, Getzlaf and Perry combined to help win a Cup in 2007. And now Penner is poised to win one without them as the Kings hold a three-games-to-two lead in the best-of-seven Stanley Cup Final against the New Jersey Devils. Game 6 was played Monday night at Staples Center.

NEWARK, N.J. - The Kings had been shoved from their lofty postseason perch and landed squarely in hell. That's what it looked like. That's what it felt like. The lights at the Prudential Center went dim, the scoreboard glowed red, the speakers blared "Highway to Hell" while thousands of fans sang an ominous curse. PHOTOS: Kings vs. Devils, Game 1 The Kings were on the verge of being crushed by Devils. They had lost their lead, lost their composure, and should have lost this Stanley Cup Final opener in regulation, but New Jersey's Mark Fayne missed an open corner of the net with 10 minutes remaining.

KATMANDU, Nepal - Nepal announced the formation of a caretaker government Tuesday and settled into a tense calm after a weekend constitutional crisis led the prime minister to call elections, some four years and several shaky governments after the country set out to write its crucial, if elusive, national blueprint. But it wasn't clear whether the caretaker government would survive until the Nov. 22 election, after three allies left the ruling coalition Monday amid calls for Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai's resignation.

MADRID - Spaniards laze at sidewalk cafes on a street dotted with banks. The biggest bank bailout in Spanish history doesn't seem to have affected this weekend crowd: There are no lines of people trying to take out their money. But if Europe's debt crisis has barely diminished the crowds in Madrid's popular tapas bars and shops, Spain's own banking crisis just might. Investors are holding their breath for a run on Spanish banks, as depositors quietly worry whether their money is safe.