AFP - Democratic Republic of Congo President Joseph Kabila and Rwandan President Paul Kagame have agreed to attend an emergency summit on the crisis in Congo, the EU development and humanitarian aid commissioner Louis Michel said Friday.

Politico - John McCain poked fun at his running mate, Barack Obama and his own campaign's dwindling assets in an appearance Saturday on the opening sequence of NBC's 'Saturday Night Live.'

AP - Obama's fist bump. Palin's lipstick. McCain's plumber. Clinton's tears.

Reuters - Riding a wave of resentment against Republican President George W. Bush, Democrats headed toward winning possibly their biggest majorities in the U.S. Congress in decades in Tuesday's elections, polls showed.

Politico - Once upon a time, the thought of Barack Obama becoming president was downright audacious.

AP - Is Sarah Palin the answer for defeated Republicans? After a historic rebuke at the polls, the Republican Party is staggering into an uncertain tomorrow with the White House and Congress in Democratic hands, no certain leader in sight and its membership divided over what it means to be a Republican.

Politico - As Barack Obama faces mounting pressure to announce his economic team, Democrats are split over two of the leading candidates for Treasury secretary: New York Federal Reserve Chairman Timothy Geithner and former Clinton Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers.

AP - The Democrats have gained another foot soldier in Congress: Democrat Frank Kratovil has won an open seat in the U.S. House from Maryland's 1st District.

AP - Germany says it plans to send a government minister to Iraq early next year — the first since the 2003 US-led invasion.

AFP - Fighting between rebels and pro-government forces in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo opened up on a new front Sunday, as Kinshasa warned it may deploy Angolan troops raising fears of igniting the Great Lakes region.

AP - St. Louis County keeps election ballots in the courthouse attic. Anoka County keeps them locked in the basement. Hennepin County relies on its cities to keep ballots safe.

AP - With pension funds facing billions of dollars in shortfalls as markets plunge, a range of companies from Ford to Verizon are pushing Congress to suspend portions of a two-year old law they say could force them to make job cuts as they shift scarce money into ailing retirement pools.

AP - Alaska Republican Don Young has won a 19th term in the House after the toughest fight of his long political career.

AP - Tagg Romney was in his office the other day when the door opened and in popped his father, Mitt Romney, dropping off the family dog.

AP - The top-ranked teams at the 38th Chess Olympiad advanced in the second round in both the open and women's section.

AP - So your member of Congress has declared a first-come, first-served policy on handing out hard-to-get tickets to Barack Obama's presidential swearing-in. Sounds fair enough.

AP - A bailout for the nation's ailing automobile industry tops the agenda as lawmakers return to work this week to name leaders and reorganize committees for the new Congress convening in January.

AP - Gov. Sarah Palin, heralded by some conservatives as the future of the Republican Party, faces some cold political realities in present-day Alaska.

AP - President-elect Barack Obama appears to have settled on Congressional Budget Office chief Peter Orszag to be his budget director, Capitol Hill Democrats said Tuesday.

AP - Former President Bill Clinton has agreed to publicly disclose the names of most donors to his presidential foundation and library, a significant concession aimed at helping smooth the path for his wife to become the next secretary of state.

AP - Jarred by new jobless alarms, Congress raced to approve legislation Thursday to keep unemployment checks flowing through the December holidays and into the new year for a million or more laid-off Americans whose benefits are running out.

Politico - President-elect Barack Obama has answered bipartisan calls for the disbandment of the White House office central to the Karl Rove-style politics the Democrat condemned as a candidate. The office stays.

AP - Two of the top qualities Robert Gibbs brings to the job of White House press secretary aren't found on his resume: He won't flinch at telling it like it is to the next president or telling it like he thinks it ought to be to the media.

AP - Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday prayed that no political ideology would ever again cost people their freedom and dignity, as he recalled the millions who died from famine in Ukraine and other Soviet regions under dictator Josef Stalin.

AP - Pushing the calendar, and maybe his luck, President-elect Barack Obama is urging rapid approval of a massive economic stimulus package meant to calm turbulent financial markets.

AP - Barack Obama's campaign credo: Change is good. President-elect Barack Obama's credo: When it comes to war and peace, maybe wisdom is better.

AP - President George W. Bush is suspending a key trade pact with Bolivia, saying the South American country failed to cooperate with U.S. anti-drug efforts.

AP - A new exhibit of Greek and Roman antiquities at Berlin's Pergamon museum puts 170 sculptures, vases and other works on display in Germany for the first time in six decades.

AP - U.S. officials are worried about a possible surge in violence between India and Pakistan after the bloody attacks in Mumbai that killed at least 195 people, including five Americans. To ease tensions, intelligence officials are searching urgently for clues that might identify the attackers even as Indian officials claim 'elements in Pakistan' were involved.

Politico - As part of a startling roster of concessions to President-elect Obama, former President Bill Clinton has agreed to release the long-secret list of donors to his presidential library by the end of this year, according to a Democratic official.