AP - They call themselves Main Street Republicans, moderates consigned to the back alleys of politics by their own party. But despite a severe bruising in the fall election, this minority within a minority finds itself with new avenues to explore, including working more closely with Democrats.

AP - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger first announced his candidacy on 'The Tonight Show With Jay Leno.' Might Barack Obama, who is considering a run for president, do the same?

AP - Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the target of never-ending presidential speculation despite his repeated insistence that he's not running, admitted in a magazine interview that the buzz is favorable, even if it's not serious.

AP - Robert Gates, President Bush's choice to replace Donald H. Rumsfeld as defense secretary, may bring more of a change in style than substance to the Pentagon and the fractious debate over Iraq, judging from his statements and the assessment of associates.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Robert Gates, U.S. President George W. Bush's choice to take over the Pentagon as the Iraq war grinds on, goes before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday for what is expected to be quick hearing ahead of likely Senate confirmation later this week.

AP - Serbia's war crimes prosecutor said Monday his office is investigating a mass grave containing up to 750 bodies as part of an inquiry into killings of civilians in eastern Bosnia at the start of the 1992-95 war.

AP - As Americans flee the cities for the suburbs, many are failing to leave poverty behind.

HONG KONG (Reuters) - The United States sees potentially escalating trade friction with China next year as Beijing is stepping up restrictions on foreign investment and recent U.S. Congressional elections create uncertainty, a U.S. trade official said on Friday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate, just minutes before a midnight deadline, on Friday passed legislation to keep the U.S. government running through February 15 after the outgoing Republican-led Congress failed to approve a series of regular spending bills.

AP - U.S. Rep. William Jefferson easily defeated his fellow Democratic opponent in a runoff election Saturday, despite an ongoing federal bribery investigation.

BEIJING (Reuters) - Six-party talks aimed at dismantling North Korea's nuclear programs will resume on December 18 after more than a year's suspension, China's Foreign Ministry said on Monday.

Reuters - Jeane Kirkpatrick, a leading player in former President Ronald Reagan's conservative foreign policy as ambassador to the United Nations, has died at the age of 80.

SAN ANTONIO, Texas (Reuters) - Democrats claimed another seat in the House of Representatives on Tuesday in a runoff election that pitted two Latinos against each other, capping the party's recapture of Congress last month.

BEIJING (Reuters) - China needs to do more to address its trade deficit with the United States or risk a backlash from protectionist elements in the newly Democrat-controlled legislature, former President George Bush said on Thursday.

AP - Americans spend more time watching TV, listening to the radio, surfing the Internet and reading newspapers than anything else except breathing.

AP - Democratic Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana will not seek the presidency in 2008, saying he believes the odds of a successful run were too great to overcome.

DHAKA (Reuters) - Bangladesh's interim government has failed to act neutrally ahead of January elections, the U.S. ambassador said on Sunday, echoing criticism of a multi-party alliance that has demanded electoral reforms.

BEIJING (Reuters) - Six-country talks on scrapping North Korea's nuclear arms resumed on Monday after a one-year standoff, but hopes for progress were not high after Pyongyang made clear that its priority was ending a U.S. cash squeeze.

AP - A key Democratic senator asked the Justice Department on Monday for an update on its progress prosecuting government employees who were accused in at least 17 cases of abusing detainees in Iraq and Afghanistan.

BEIJING - Days after China and the United States held talks to narrow rifts, an official Chinese newspaper said the two nations have yet to find a way to resolve deepening trade disputes, and it accused Washington of 'meddling' in Beijing's policies.

AP - The chief prosecutor in Saddam Hussein's trial presented memos Monday from the ousted president's office approving chemical attacks against Kurdish villages, the most serious evidence against him in his genocide trial.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush on Thursday signed into law legislation restricting aid to the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority until it recognizes Israel's right to exist, makes financial reforms and takes other steps.

AP - It took Defense Secretary Robert Gates just five days on the job and a whirlwind trip to Iraq to get to work mapping out a new course for the war.

AP - President Bush, who is spending Christmas at the Camp David presidential retreat, called 10 members of the U.S. military on Sunday to thank them for their service and wish them a happy holiday.

AP - Defense contractors as well as Pennsylvania businesses and universities seeking federal funding have worked to raise money for a charity started by an aide to Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., The Washington Post reported Sunday.

AP - Democrats may have declared a one-year moratorium on pet projects treasured by members of Congress, but the move will hardly stop horse trading in Washington or moves by lawmakers to try to steer taxpayer money back home.

AP - President Bush on Tuesday night called the late President Ford a 'great American' who helped heal the nation after Richard Nixon resigned in disgrace over the Watergate scandal.

AP - Indonesia rushed tents, food and other emergency aid to flood-ravaged parts of Sumatra island on Monday, and the United Nations pledged $2 million for survivors.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan is set to agree to a U.S. proposal that the two countries protect classified military information in a move to further strengthen security ties, a Japanese newspaper reported on Friday. The agreement, set to be finalized in the first half of next year, will allow Tokyo and Washington to share more highly confidential information and have more Japanese companies take on tasks such as repairing U.S. navy vessels, the Asahi Shimbun said.

AP - President Bush said Friday that Saddam Hussein's execution marks the 'end of a difficult year for the Iraqi people and for our troops' and cautioned that his death will not halt the violence in Iraq.

AP - Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards says he opposes a U.S. troop increase in Iraq, as advocated forcefully by GOP Sen. John McCain and being considered by President Bush, and refers to the proposal as the 'McCain doctrine.'