AP - An agreement among congressional Democrats — including those from auto industry states — to support a 40 percent increase in vehicle fuel efficiency is likely to be the tonic needed to push energy legislation through Congress before Christmas.

AP - A Chad rebel group on Friday declared a 'state of war' against French and other foreign armies, an apparent warning to a European force that will soon deploy to protect refugees fleeing violence in neighboring Darfur.

AP - THE ISSUE: Some in Congress want to assess dairy imports to help pay for U.S. promotions like the '3-A-Day' marketing campaign.

AFP - EU nations on Monday agreed to ease their foot-and-mouth disease restrictions on Britain and Cyprus, as no new cases have been discovered recently, the European Commission said in a statement.

AP - A transgender city council member lost a re-election bid in a runoff Tuesday after a lawsuit that claimed she tried to fool voters by running as a woman.

Reuters - Legislation aimed at fighting climate change by capping greenhouse gas emissions was approved on Wednesday by a Senate committee and is headed for debate in the full Senate.

AP - For the first time, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger released a list of the millionaires and billionaires who pay to send him on lavish overseas trips, offering a glimpse into the elite business and social circles that critics say have unfair access to his power.

Reuters - House of Representatives Democratic leaders are contemplating legislation that would give President George W. Bush $70 billion in new funds for war but without any timetables for withdrawing troops from Iraq, The Washington Post reported on Saturday.

AP - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon received a report Friday confirming a deadlock in negotiations between ethnic Albanians and Serbia's government over the future of Kosovo.

AP - As governor of Arkansas, Mike Huckabee had a hand in twice as many pardons and commutations as his three predecessors combined.

AFP - Democrats Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are locked in a tense dogfight and Republican sensation Mike Huckabee is rocketing upwards, as cliffhanger White House races enter the home stretch.

AP - From behind an anchor desk ringed with empty Budweiser cans and Jack Daniel's bottles, the pundits of 'Red State Update' dissect election politics from the good ol' boy point of view.

AP - State and local governments and other institutions could divest Sudan related investments under legislation passed by the Senate late Wednesday despite administration opposition.

AP - At a key moment during a labor-sponsored debate in August, John Edwards laid down a marker against Hillary Rodham Clinton.

AP - Santa Claus may be coming to town, but lots of people will be leaving or otherwise hard to reach in Iowa and New Hampshire. That makes for plenty of nervous pollsters preparing to take late soundings on the presidential race during the frenzied holiday period.

AP - The Des Moines Register's editorial board is endorsing Republican Sen. John McCain and Democratic Sen. Hillary Clinton ahead of the state's Jan. 3 presidential caucuses, contending they top the field in competence and readiness to lead in a time of dissension at home and distrust and peril abroad.

AP - At opposite sides of New Hampshire, John McCain faced two corporate audiences in two college towns earlier this month. Only one topic came up in both places when he starting taking questions: illegal immigration.

U.S. News & World Report - Republican strategists are taking Barack Obama more seriously in the wake of his impressive performance at yesterday's Democratic presidential debate in Iowa and amid his surge in support among prospective caucusgoers there.

AFP - New campaign advertisements Monday painted Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton as warm and loving, but her surging White House rival Barack Obama countered by raising fresh doubts about her character.

AFP - The European Commission proposed on Wednesday to impose gradually increasing fines on automakers that fail to meet their targets for cutting CO2 emissions from new cars from 2012.

AP - The Security Council asked the U.N. chief on Wednesday to plan for the possible deployment of a United Nations peacekeeping force in Somalia to replace African Union troops.

Reuters - The United States considers Taiwan's planned referendum on joining the United Nations provocative and unhelpful, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Friday.

AP - To hear Mitt Romney tell it, Republican Mike Huckabee shares more with Democrat Bill Clinton than a hometown in Hope, Ark., and a stint as Arkansas governor.

AP - Clashes over land that have killed hundreds of people and other deadly violence are endangering next week's general election, which is shaping up to be the closest in Kenya's history, officials said Friday.

AP - The Security Council voted unanimously Friday to wrap up the U.N. peacebuilding mission in Sierra Leone in September 2008, praising this year's democratic elections and efforts to professionalize its armed forces.

AP - The modest spending increase that Congress approved for a popular children's health insurance program will maintain coverage for those already enrolled. But many lacking insurance will have to look elsewhere.

Reuters - Air Canada has been included in the European Commission's investigation into price fixing on freight services, the airline said on Monday, adding that it might suffer a liability as a result.

AP - After a year of position papers and policy speeches, handshakes in the summer heat and winter snow, advertising that floods mailboxes and TV screens, and too many bites of pork on a stick at too many county fairs, it's time.

AFP - White House foes renew battle Saturday on multiple fronts, through snow piled prairies and a blizzard of political ads, a tantalizing five days before their fates are first put to voters.

AP - Many South Carolina Republicans got a bogus holiday greeting card this week, purported to be from White House hopeful Mitt Romney, that cites some controversial passages of the Book of Mormon.

AP - Supporters of long-shot presidential hopeful Ron Paul say the Montana Republican Party's quirky caucus rules could create an opening for their candidate that other states don't offer.