AP - The Bush administration backed off proposed crackdowns on no-money-down, interest-only mortgages years before the economy collapsed, buckling to pressure from some of the same banks that have now failed. It ignored remarkably prescient warnings that foretold the financial meltdown, according to an Associated Press review of regulatory documents.

AP - Artist Mark Leckey has won Britain's prestigious Turner Prize for a piece of work that draws in Homer Simpson and the Titanic movie.

AFP - Democrats lost a closely-watched US Senate run-off election in the state of Georgia, US media reported, thwarting their chances of reaching the critical threshold of 60 seats that would prevent Republican filibustering or stalling maneuvers in the 100-seat chamber.

AP - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Thursday the Pakistani government must mount a 'robust response' to the terror bombings in India, which blames the carnage on terrorists operating from neighboring Pakistan.

AP - Not surprisingly, neither the outgoing Bush administration, President-elect Barack Obama nor the Democratic leaders of Congress wants to be blamed for the loss of a once-proud domestic auto industry and the disappearance of hundreds of thousands of jobs.

AP - Georgia's leaders ousted the defense minister and foreign minister Friday in a shake-up some observers saw as reflecting dissatisfaction with the West as the country struggles to recover from its disastrous war with Russia.

CQPolitics.com - The 2008 election year, overwhelmingly favorable to the Democratic Party, came to an improbable end Saturday as indicted nine-term Democratic Rep. William J. Jefferson lost his seat in Louisiana's 2nd Congressional District to Republican Anh 'Joseph' Cao, a little-known lawyer. With all precincts reporting, Cao led Jefferson by 50 percent to 47 percent.

Politico - In the three Congressional races decided since Barack Obama defeated John McCain on November 4, the president-elect has kept his distance from the Democratic candidates.

AP - Cities with largest unemployment increases

AP - In recent years, millions of asthma patients have started using long-acting drugs to help them breathe more normally, allowing for nights of uninterrupted sleep or workouts at the gym.

AFP - The House of Representatives approved a 14-billion-dollar government lifeline for the teetering US auto industry, but the proposal now faces stiff Republican opposition in the Senate.

AP - President-elect Barack Obama says he will release in a matter of days the results of an internal investigation into what conversations his aides and advisers may have had with embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

AP - Defense Secretary Robert Gates urged Middle East nations Saturday to help fight the spread of violent extremism by funding and training Afghan security forces and reaching out more aggressively to the fledgling government in Iraq.

AP - A French neurosurgeon denied Saturday a newspaper report that he has treated North Korean leader Kim Jong Il or that he has any information about Kim's health.

AFP - Irish punters voted with their wallets this weekend, strongly tipping the Yes campaign in an EU referendum re-run confirmed Friday -- but analysts warned the new poll remains a huge political gamble.

CQPolitics.com - The still-to-be-decided Minnesota Senate race enters its pivotal phase on Tuesday as state officials begin reviewing more than a thousand ballots challenged by the two campaigns.

AP - The Federal Reserve has slashed its target interest rate to nearly zero and is taking a number of other unprecedented moves in an effort to battle a severe financial crisis and worsening recession. Consumers trying to buy a house or finance a car loan could be the big winners, but analysts caution that any upturn in the economy is still months away.

AP - President-elect Barack Obama is set to name a veteran of the Securities and Exchange Commission to lead the agency as it faces growing criticism for its failure to protect investors and detect trouble on Wall Street.

CQPolitics.com - The day after Mark Begich's protracted Senate race against Alaska Republican Sen. Ted Stevens concluded, the resumes began rolling in.

AP - The South may have inched toward Democrats in November, but that progress isn't showing in President-elect Barack Obama's Cabinet selections. Obama hasn't nominated a single Southerner among his 15 Cabinet secretaries. So far, Obama's only pick from the region is a borderline Southerner in a relatively low-profile position: former Dallas mayor Ron Kirk for U.S. trade representative.

AP - Three Danish soldiers and one from the Netherlands were killed in separate incidents in Afghanistan on Friday, losing their lives just as the commitment of some countries to the fight in Afghanistan begins to wane.

AP - Hair salon owner Barry Fletcher sent Michelle Obama a 17-minute DVD about himself. Hairdresser Keith Harley uploaded his resume to President-elect Barack Obama's Web site. And salon owner Nicole Cober-Blake plans to get her name in by sending a welcome basket with bath gels, hair products and a robe.

Politico - Vice President-elect Joe Biden is worried about the “exceedingly high expectations” the world community has for Barack Obama’s presidency.

Politico - Barack Obama’s right-hand woman Valerie Jarrett thought the prospect of embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich scoring a seat in Obama’s cabinet was “ridiculous,” an Obama lawyer said Tuesday.

AP - President George W. Bush is spending Christmas at Camp David, the 12th time he and his family have celebrated the Yuletide holiday at the Maryland presidential retreat.

AP - Barack Obama will inherit two wars and the worst economic conditions in three generations when he takes the oath of office on Jan. 20. Ironically, that challenge might be a blessing for the president-elect — unemployment is so high and consumer confidence so low that even modest improvements will let him claim progress.

Politico - Top aides from the incoming Obama administration and First Lady Laura Bush will make the rounds on this Sunday's talk shows, the last of 2008.

Reuters - Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon hopes a U.N. inquiry into the assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto can be set up in the near future, the United Nations said on Friday.

AP - As a young Navy swift boat commander in Vietnam, Sen. John Kerry was no stranger to the perils of hot pursuit in combat.

AP - Israel's military onslaught against the militant Hamas movement will probably make it harder for President-elect Barack Obama to fulfill a campaign pledge of early and vigorous Mideast peacemaking, and the pre-inauguration timing may frustrate any effort he plans to establish new footing among Arab partners.

AFP - The corruption-tainted governor of Illinois defied Democratic party leaders by appointing a prominent African-American statesman to the US Senate seat vacated by president-elect Barack Obama.