Congressional Democrats sidetrack vote on auto industry bailout, demand Big Three develop plan
AP - 6 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (AP) - Democratic leaders in Congress sidetracked legislation to bail out the auto industry Thursday and demanded the Big Three develop a plan assuring the money would make them economically viable. "Until they show us the plan, we cannot show them the money," Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said at a hastily called news conference in the Capitol.

• Congress rushes jobless-benefits extension to passage, keeping checks flowing through holidays
• Stocks plunge anew as hopes for immediate auto industry loans fade; financials, energy tumble
• Democratic officials: Arizona's Janet Napolitano is leading candidate for Homeland Security
• Judge orders release of 5 terror suspects from Guantanamo; says 6th can be held without charges

Madonna, Ritchie on London divorce docket Friday
AP - 3 hours ago

LONDON (AP) - A judge will likely grant Madonna and Guy Ritchie an initial divorce decree on Friday, according to the schedule for London's High Court.

• Walters on flak from 'some people': 'I resent it'
• Pensions frozen at Random House Inc.
• Ben Affleck tours refugee camps in eastern Congo
• Jennifer Garner wins order against alleged stalker

Bengals: Ocho Cinco will not play against Steelers
AP - 6 hours ago

CINCINNATI (AP) - The Cincinnati Bengals say Chad Ocho Cinco, the wide receiver formerly known as Chad Johnson, will be deactivated for Thursday night's game with the Pittsburgh Steelers for violating a team rule.

• Browns' Quinn has broken finger
• Phillies Utley (hip), Feliz (back) to have surgery
• Yankees control shifts to Steinbrenner's son Hal
• Mussina calls it a career after first 20-win year

Bail denied Pa. woman accused of killing FBI agent
AP - 3 hours ago

PITTSBURGH (AP) - A judge denied bail on Thursday for a woman accused of killing an FBI agent during a drug raid that led to her husband's arrest on cocaine-dealing charges.

• Activists say tobacco settlement is being wasted
• Calif. commuter train in crash; minor injuries
• Army sets date for its first execution since 1961
• Calif. cities consider green alternatives to lawns

World struggles to take on plague of Somali piracy
AP - 44 minutes ago

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) - The U.N., African Union and Arab nations struggled to respond Thursday to a surge of pirate attacks, authorizing more sanctions and calling for international peacekeepers to stop Somali sea bandits who appear undeterred by nonviolent tactics.

• In Congo's remote hills, a struggle to survive
• Shouting and pounding, Iraqis fight over US pact
• Pakistan protests to US over deep missile strike
• Putin grabs spotlight, vows Russia will thrive

Dems are postponing crucial vote on auto bailout
AP - 59 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (AP) - Democratic leaders in Congress sidetracked legislation to bail out the auto industry Thursday and demanded the Big Three develop a plan assuring the money would make them economically viable.

• Citi shares sink despite Saudi prince's investment
• Congress rushes to extend jobless benefits
• Credit market recovery slips on carmaker fears
• Activists say tobacco settlement is being wasted

Dell 3Q profit falls as PC spending slows
AP - 30 minutes ago

ROUND ROCK, Texas (AP) - Dell says its third-quarter profit fell 5 percent as businesses around the world spent less on computers.

• Google's virtual world Lively to die next month
• Web ad sales rise slightly from prior quarter
• Review: New BlackBerrys cool but can't beat iPhone
• Ballmer dismisses Yahoo buyout but open on search

President-elect promised change, picking insiders
AP - 9 hours ago

WASHINGTON (AP) - President-elect Barack Obama promised the voters change but has started his Cabinet selection process by naming several Washington insiders to top posts.

• Politics' next step? Donations go high text
• Early, absentee voting pushed Obama to win in Fla.
• A first for Columbia
• Ted Stevens' fall points to political shift

Scientists say Copernicus' remains, grave found
AP - 24 minutes ago

WARSAW, Poland (AP) - Researchers said Thursday they have identified the remains of Nicolaus Copernicus by comparing DNA from a skeleton and hair retrieved from one of the 16th-century astronomer's books. The findings could put an end to centuries of speculation about the exact resting spot of Copernicus, a priest and astronomer whose theories identified the Sun, not the Earth, as the center of the universe.

• Study shows messiness leads to behavior decline
• Astronauts venture out for spacewalk No. 2
• Winter forecast looks mixed across nation
• Herod may have been buried among lavish artwork

HIV tests not yet as routine as cholesterol checks
AP - 54 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (AP) - Two years after the government urged that HIV tests become as common as cholesterol checks there are small gains but still one in five people infected with the AIDS virus don't know it, scientists said Thursday.

• Teen lives 4 months with no heart, leaves hospital
• Insurers make pitch for health coverage mandate
• Surgeon who did first US heart transplant dies
• Doctors transplant windpipe with stem cells