SAN FRANCISCO/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Yahoo Inc said Jerry Yang will step down as chief executive as soon as the board finds a replacement, sending its shares up 4 percent on hopes his departure will clear the way for a deal with Microsoft.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's recession could last even longer than feared, the country's economy minister warned on Tuesday, and reflecting increasing efforts by governments to provide a cushion against a global downturn, Taiwan said it would give its citizens $108-worth of shopping vouchers.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Primary care doctors in the United States feel overworked and nearly half plan to either cut back on how many patients they see or quit medicine entirely, according to a survey released on Tuesday.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Call it an economic and environmental murder mystery in the making: Will a cash-strapped Detroit kill the electric car -- again?

AP - The two top salesmen for a $700 billion financial bailout are in for a grilling by Capitol Hill lawmakers just one week after the administration officially ditched the original strategy behind the rescue.

AP - Yahoo Inc. founder Jerry Yang has never concealed how much he cares about his Internet company.

AP - Sen. Joe Lieberman appears increasingly likely to hold onto his prized chairmanship of the Senate Homeland Security Committee as he meets Tuesday with Democratic colleagues unhappy over his vocal support for GOP nominee John McCain during this year's presidential campaign.

AP - Turns out the Cleveland Browns aren't quitters after all. And they have Phil Dawson to thank for this wild win.

Reuters - Yahoo Inc said Jerry Yang will step down as chief executive as soon as the board finds a replacement, sending its shares up 4 percent on hopes his departure will clear the way for a deal with Microsoft.

Reuters - Japan's recession could last even longer than feared, the country's economy minister warned on Tuesday, and reflecting increasing efforts by governments to provide a cushion against a global downturn, Taiwan said it would give its citizens $108-worth of shopping vouchers.

Reuters - Primary care doctors in the United States feel overworked and nearly half plan to either cut back on how many patients they see or quit medicine entirely, according to a survey released on Tuesday.

Reuters - Call it an economic and environmental murder mystery in the making: Will a cash-strapped Detroit kill the electric car -- again?

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Sales of once-hot gift cards are expected to fall nearly 6 percent this holiday season as shoppers try to stretch their dollars by buying discounted merchandise, according to a survey released by the National Retail Federation on Tuesday.

GAZA (Reuters) - Israel shut border crossings with the Gaza Strip Tuesday citing continued rocket fire at its towns, despite warnings from world aid groups of looming shortages of food and fuel supplies in the coastal territory.

AP - Detroit's Big Three auto makers are begging Congress for a $25 billion government rescue, while the legislation clings to life support on Capitol Hill and top lawmakers and the White House suffer from bailout fatigue.

AP - The bitter general election campaign behind them, President-elect Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain are seeking common ground on a range of issues in hopes of engendering greater bipartisan cooperation in Washington.

Reuters - Sales of once-hot gift cards are expected to fall nearly 6 percent this holiday season as shoppers try to stretch their dollars by buying discounted merchandise, according to a survey released by the National Retail Federation on Tuesday.

Reuters - Israel shut border crossings with the Gaza Strip Tuesday citing continued rocket fire at its towns, despite warnings from world aid groups of looming shortages of food and fuel supplies in the coastal territory.

AFP - Oil-laden Saudi super tanker Sirius Star seized by pirates in an audacious hijacking way out at sea was Tuesday off the coast of Somalia and the crew is unharmed, the US Navy and the ship's operators said.

TOKYO/LONDON (Reuters) - Major world banks showed the unrelenting strain of economic crisis on Tuesday, with Britain's Barclays offering funds to quell shareholder anger and profits in Japan's largest bank tumbling 64 percent.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Any European Union support for automobile companies will be temporary and tied to goals such as improving the sector's environmental performance, EU sources said on Tuesday.

TBILISI (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Barack Obama has called Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili to assure Moscow's outspoken foe of Washington's continued support, the Georgian leader's press service said Tuesday.

AP - Technically, lawmakers are returning to Washington for a final meeting of the old, lame-duck 110th Congress. In reality, the confab on Capitol Hill is nearly all about next year.

AP - Two astronauts face a tedious cleaning and lube job Tuesday, the first of a series of spacewalks to resurrect a massive joint that turns one of the international space station's power-generating solar-panel wings toward the sun.

AP - Turns out the Cleveland Browns aren't quitters after all. And they have Phil Dawson to thank for this wild win.

Reuters - Major world banks showed the unrelenting strain of economic crisis on Tuesday, with Britain's Barclays offering funds to quell shareholder anger and profits in Japan's largest bank tumbling 64 percent.

Reuters - Any European Union support for automobile companies will be temporary and tied to goals such as improving the sector's environmental performance, EU sources said on Tuesday.

Reuters - U.S. President-elect Barack Obama has called Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili to assure Moscow's outspoken foe of Washington's continued support, the Georgian leader's press service said Tuesday.

TOKYO/LONDON (Reuters) - Major world banks showed the strain of economic crisis on Tuesday, with Britain's Barclays altering its fund-raising plans to quell shareholder anger and profits in Japan's largest bank tumbling.

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran's parliament speaker urged Iraqi lawmakers to keep resisting a security pact with the United States, official media said Tuesday, a day after Baghdad signed an accord on U.S. troop presence in Iraq.

AP - The two top salesmen for a $700 billion financial bailout are in for a grilling by Capitol Hill lawmakers just one week after the administration officially ditched the original strategy behind the rescue.

AP - Detroit's Big Three auto makers are begging Congress for a $25 billion government rescue, while the legislation clings to life support on Capitol Hill and top lawmakers and the White House suffer from bailout fatigue.

Reuters - Major world banks showed the strain of economic crisis on Tuesday, with Britain's Barclays altering its fund-raising plans to quell shareholder anger and profits in Japan's largest bank tumbling.

Reuters - Iran's parliament speaker urged Iraqi lawmakers to keep resisting a security pact with the United States, official media said Tuesday, a day after Baghdad signed an accord on U.S. troop presence in Iraq.

LONDON (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Tuesday the number of countries seeking help to cope with a spreading economic crisis was growing every day.

IZHEVSK, Russia (Reuters) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Tuesday he sees new opportunities for improving strained relations with the United States once President-elect Barack Obama takes office.

AP - Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke waged a stout defense on Capitol Hill Tuesday of their management of a $700 billion financial bailout just one week after the administration abandoned the original strategy behind the rescue.

AP - Wholesale prices plunged a record amount in October as energy prices fell by the largest amount in 22 years.

AP - Pirates who seized a Saudi supertanker loaded with $100 million in crude oil anchored the ship within sight of impoverished Somali fishing villages Tuesday, while the U.S. and other naval forces decided against intervention for now.

AP - As diabetes is rapidly becoming one of the world's most common diseases, its financial cost is mounting, too, to well over $200 billion a year in the U.S. alone.

AP - Michael Jackson may be too ill to travel to London to testify in a suit which claims he owes an Arab sheikh $7 million, the pop star's lawyer said Tuesday.

AP - The Pittsburgh Steelers walked off the field Sunday just happy they had won.

Reuters - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Tuesday the number of countries seeking help to cope with a spreading economic crisis was growing every day.

Reuters - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Tuesday he sees new opportunities for improving strained relations with the United States once President-elect Barack Obama takes office.

AFP - Laurent Nkunda's rebel group announced Tuesday it was withdrawing fighters from around a strategic town in the Democratic Republic of Congo to boost a peace mission by the UN special envoy.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Secretary and members of Congress locked horns on Tuesday over a $700 billion financial bailout fund, with lawmakers demanding money to stem foreclosures and Henry Paulson arguing it was meant for investing in financial companies.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Auto executives were set to take their case for a $25 billion industry bailout to the U.S. Congress on Tuesday as they hope to overcome political opposition from influential congressional Republicans and the White House.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Producer prices fell a record 2.8 percent in October as energy prices slid, government data on Tuesday showed, but a measure of core inflation at the farm and factory gate rose more than forecast.

BOSASSO, Somalia (Reuters) - A Saudi supertanker hijacked by pirates with its $100 million oil cargo was anchoring off Somalia on Tuesday, the U.S. navy said.

AP - Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson told Congress on Tuesday that the administration remains firmly opposed to dipping into the government's $700 billion financial bailout fund for a $25 billion rescue package for Detroit's Big Three automakers, no matter how badly they need the help.

AP - The U.S. Navy says a cargo ship has been hijacked off the Somalia coast — the latest in a series of attacks by pirates operating out of the African country.

AP - Smoky skies cleared and once-whipping winds slowed to a standstill Tuesday, as another wave of those who fled Southern California's ferocious weekend wildfires prepared to sort through the remains of their homes.

AP - Two astronauts face a tedious cleaning and lube job Tuesday, the first of a series of spacewalks to resurrect a massive joint that turns one of the international space station's power-generating solar-panel wings toward the sun.

Reuters - The U.S. Treasury Secretary and members of Congress locked horns on Tuesday over a $700 billion financial bailout fund, with lawmakers demanding money to stem foreclosures and Henry Paulson arguing it was meant for investing in financial companies.

Reuters - Auto executives were set to take their case for a $25 billion industry bailout to the U.S. Congress on Tuesday as they hope to overcome political opposition from influential congressional Republicans and the White House.

Reuters - Shares of Yahoo Inc soared nearly 15 percent on Tuesday on hopes that the departure of Jerry Yang, its embattled chief executive, would clear the way for a deal with Microsoft Corp.

Reuters - A Saudi supertanker seized by pirates with a $100 million oil cargo in the world's biggest ship hijacking reached Somalia on Tuesday, and another vessel was captured off the lawless state.

AFP - A hijacked Saudi super-tanker, carrying 100 million dollars of oil, anchored Tuesday off a notorious Somali pirate port, officials said as the international community reeled from the growing threat from sea gangs.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senate Democrats on Tuesday yielded to the wishes of President-elect Barack Obama and allowed Joe Lieberman to keep his committee chairmanship despite having backed Republican John McCain for the White House.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Shares of Yahoo Inc soared 10 percent on Tuesday on hopes that the departure of Jerry Yang, its embattled chief executive, would clear the way for a deal with Microsoft Corp.

AP - Pirates who seized a Saudi supertanker loaded with $100 million in crude anchored the ship within sight of impoverished Somali fishing villages Tuesday, while other bandits took control of an Iranian cargo ship — the seventh vessel hijacked in 12 days.

AP - Sen. Joe Lieberman will keep his chairmanship of the Senate Homeland Security Committee despite hard feelings over his support for GOP nominee John McCain during the presidential campaign.

AP - Two astronauts are out on a spacewalk for an unprecedented cleaning and lube job at the international space station.

AP - Learning the name of a color changes the part of the brain that handles color perception.

AP - A day after giving the National League's Most Valuable Player honor to Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols, the Baseball Writers' Association of America ends its postseason awards run today by naming the American League MVP. Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia, Twins first baseman Justin Morneau and Angels reliever Francisco Rodriguez are expected to be among those drawing support.

Reuters - Senate Democrats on Tuesday yielded to the wishes of President-elect Barack Obama and allowed Joe Lieberman to keep his committee chairmanship despite having backed Republican John McCain for the White House.

Reuters - Shares of Yahoo Inc soared 10 percent on Tuesday on hopes that the departure of Jerry Yang, its embattled chief executive, would clear the way for a deal with Microsoft Corp.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The chief executives of General Motors Corp, Ford Motor Co and Chrysler submitted testimony Tuesday to the U.S. Senate Banking Committee.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - If Sen. Hillary Clinton is to be picked by President-elect Barack Obama as his secretary of state, it may well depend on a review of the business activities of her husband, former President Bill Clinton.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President-elect Barack Obama has decided on Eric Holder to be attorney general, Newsweek said on Tuesday, citing two legal sources close to Obama's transition team.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury defended its handling of the financial bailout on Tuesday as American auto and banking woes reverberated around the globe and the International Monetary Fund said it would need rapidly increasing amounts of extra funding to fight the downturn.

AP - Detroit's Big Three automakers pleaded with Congress on Tuesday for a $25 billion lifeline to save their once-proud companies from collapse, warning of broader peril for the national economy as well.

AP - President-elect Barack Obama's aides have privately asked senators whether Washington attorney Eric Holder would be confirmed as the next attorney general, according to a person involved in the talks.

AP - The top U.S. military officer said Tuesday the Pentagon is developing plans to get troops quickly out of Iraq and into Afghanistan to battle a more confident and successful Taliban.

AP - Taking a big hop forward in marsupial research, scientists say they have unraveled the DNA of a small kangaroo named Matilda. And they've found the Aussie icon has more in common with humans than scientists had thought. The kangaroo last shared a common ancestor with humans 150 million years ago.

AP - The prostitute at the center of the salacious scandal that brought down former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer and generated national headlines is going to dish on her life as a pricey escort.

AP - Chad Toy's escape from jail wasn't what shocked his jailers; it was his plea to be let back in. 'When I rang the bell at the jail and told them who I was, they were surprised,' Toy told The Paducah (Ky.) Sun newspaper. 'I guess they haven't seen that before.'

AP - Boston little man Dustin Pedroia won the AL MVP award Tuesday, becoming the first second baseman to earn the honor in nearly a half-century. Pedroia easily beat out Minnesota slugger Justin Morneau and added to his ever-expanding trophy case. Generously listed at 5-foot-9, the Red Sox star was the top AL rookie last year while winning a World Series ring.

Reuters - The chief executives of General Motors Corp, Ford Motor Co and Chrysler submitted testimony Tuesday to the U.S. Senate Banking Committee.

Reuters - If Sen. Hillary Clinton is to be picked by President-elect Barack Obama as his secretary of state, it may well depend on a review of the business activities of her husband, former President Bill Clinton.

Reuters - President-elect Barack Obama has decided on Eric Holder, a former senior official in the Clinton administration, to be attorney general, Newsweek said on Tuesday.

Reuters - The U.S. Treasury defended its handling of the financial bailout on Tuesday as American auto and banking woes reverberated around the globe and the International Monetary Fund said it would need rapidly increasing amounts of extra funding to fight the downturn.

AFP - A hijacked Saudi super-tanker, carrying 100 million dollars of oil, anchored Tuesday off a notorious Somali pirate port as sea gangs struck again and seized a Hong Kong cargo ship.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. auto executives took their case for a $25 billion industry bailout to Congress on Tuesday, warning that the industry was teetering on the brink of disaster as they work to overcome political opposition.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder has accepted U.S. President-elect Barack Obama's conditional offer to head the Justice Department, a senior Democrat said on Tuesday.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - U.S. Republican Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska, convicted last month on corruption charges, trails his Democratic challenger by 2,374 votes as the vote count for the state's U.S. Senate race nears its end, state election officials said on Tuesday.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Tuesday attacked critics of a pact giving U.S. troops three years to leave Iraq, saying they wanted the Americans to stay just so they could agitate against them.

AP - Washington attorney Eric Holder is President-elect Barack Obama's top choice to be the next attorney general and aides have gone so far as to ask senators whether he would be confirmed, an Obama official and people close to the matter said Tuesday.

AP - A new witness has come forward in the 2005 disappearance of American teenager Natalee Holloway in Aruba, and prosecutors said Tuesday they are seeking more evidence against the only remaining suspect.

AP - Arkansas authorities have taken into protective custody 21 children associated with the Tony Alamo Christian Ministries based on allegations of neglect and physical abuse.

AP - A spacewalking astronaut accidentally let go of her tool bag Tuesday after a grease gun inside it exploded, and helplessly watched as the tote and everything inside floated away. It was one of the largest items ever to be lost by a spacewalker, and occurred during an unprecedented attempt to clean and lube a gummed-up joint on a solar panel.

AP - A man faces a domestic battery charge after allegedly hitting his girlfriend with a sandwich as she was driving on Interstate 95 on Friday. Police said the 19-year-old man became angry and hit the woman in the arm and face with a sandwich, knocking her glasses off.

Reuters - U.S. auto executives took their case for a $25 billion industry bailout to Congress on Tuesday, warning that the industry was teetering on the brink of disaster as they work to overcome political opposition.

Reuters - Former Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder has accepted U.S. President-elect Barack Obama's conditional offer to head the Justice Department, a senior Democrat said on Tuesday.

Reuters - U.S. Republican Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska, convicted last month on corruption charges, trails his Democratic challenger by 2,374 votes as the vote count for the state's U.S. Senate race nears its end, state election officials said on Tuesday.

Reuters - Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Tuesday attacked critics of a pact giving U.S. troops three years to leave Iraq, saying they wanted the Americans to stay just so they could agitate against them.

AFP - Rebels announced Tuesday they would withdraw from two fronts to give peace a 'new chance' in strife-torn eastern Democratic Republic of Congo as government forces faced new charges of looting.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - President-elect Barack Obama moved closer to filling a key spot in his cabinet on Tuesday as his transition team plotted a careful course to shaping the next U.S. administration.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Momentum to name Timothy Geithner as the next U.S. Treasury Secretary seems to be building, both among the country's top business executives and bettors with actual skin in the game.

ANCHORAGE (Reuters) - U.S. Republican Sen. Ted Stevens, convicted last month of political corruption, turned 85 on Tuesday with his re-election bid facing a mounting hurdle.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Al Qaeda is struggling to boost its appeal in Pakistan following President Pervez Musharraf's resignation, a U.S. terrorism expert concludes based on comments by the militant network.

AP - President-elect Barack Obama's top choice for attorney general is Eric Holder, a former No. 2 Justice Department official in the Clinton administration and Obama campaign aide who would become the first African American to serve as the nation's chief lawyer.

AP - Sen. John McCain, whose presidential bid was snuffed out two weeks ago by President-elect Barack Obama, is setting up a political action committee as a first step in running for a fifth term in the Senate.

AP - A new witness has come forward in the 2005 disappearance of American teenager Natalee Holloway in Aruba, and prosecutors said Tuesday they are seeking more evidence against the only remaining suspect.

AP - An 8-year-old boy accused in the shooting deaths of his father and another man said in a police interview released Tuesday that he did not fire the first shots at the men but later shot them so they wouldn't suffer.

AP - Doctors have given a woman a new windpipe with tissue grown from her own stem cells, eliminating the need for anti-rejection drugs. 'This technique has great promise,' said Dr. Eric Genden, who did a similar transplant in 2005 at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. That operation used both donor and recipient tissue. Only a handful of windpipe, or trachea, transplants have ever been done.

Reuters - President-elect Barack Obama moved closer to filling a key spot in his cabinet on Tuesday as his transition team plotted a careful course to shaping the next U.S. administration.

Reuters - Momentum to name Timothy Geithner as the next U.S. Treasury Secretary seems to be building, both among the country's top business executives and bettors with actual skin in the game.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - U.S. Republican Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska, convicted last month on corruption charges, appeared to have lost his re-election bid, trailing his Democratic challenger on Tuesday by more votes than Democrats said remained to be counted.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Twice in the span of a month, wildfires have ravaged the same northeast corner of greater Los Angeles, destroying hundreds of homes and the good life offered by California's scenic beauty at the city's edge.

AP - Sen. Ted Stevens, the longest serving Republican in Senate history, narrowly lost his re-election bid Tuesday, marking the downfall of a Washington political power and Alaska icon who couldn't survive a conviction on federal corruption charges. His defeat to Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich moves Senate Democrats closer to a filibuster-proof 60-vote majority.

AP - Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has engaged three prominent lawyers to help President-elect Barack Obama vet her candidacy for secretary of state even as some insiders criticized the pick and advisers to the former first lady said she was weighing whether to take the job if Obama offered it.

AP - Vice President Dick Cheney and former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales have been indicted on state charges involving federal prisons in a South Texas county that has been a source of bizarre legal and political battles under the outgoing prosecutor.

AP - The Seattle Mariners picked Don Wakamatsu as their new manager, giving the job to the Oakland Athletics bench coach and filling the only opening in the majors. Wakamatsu was chosen Tuesday over several other candidates, a person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because no announcement had been made.

Reuters - U.S. Republican Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska, convicted last month on corruption charges, appeared to have lost his re-election bid, trailing his Democratic challenger on Tuesday by more votes than Democrats said remained to be counted.

Reuters - Al Qaeda is struggling to boost its appeal in Pakistan following President Pervez Musharraf's resignation, a U.S. terrorism expert concludes based on comments by the militant network.

AFP - A Texas grand jury has issued indictments against Vice President Dick Cheney and former attorney general Alberto Gonzalez over abuse at privately run prisons, court documents showed.

AFP - The operators of a hijacked Saudi super-tanker carrying 100 million dollars of oil were waiting Wednesday for further contact from the Somali bandits who staged their biggest act of piracy yet.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - Democrat Mark Begich claimed victory on Tuesday in the race for an Alaska seat in the U.S. Senate, defeating six-term Republican incumbent Ted Stevens.

HOUSTON (Reuters) - A grand jury in South Texas indicted U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney and former attorney General Alberto Gonzales on Tuesday for 'organized criminal activity' related to alleged abuse of inmates in private prisons.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top commander of NATO and U.S. forces in Afghanistan on Tuesday recommended a plan to stem growing violence by empowering local Afghan leaders, including former Taliban members.

AP - Cody Linley won't be graduating 'Dancing with the Stars.'

AP - Don Wakamatsu has his first job as a major league manager, and it's not exactly an easy one.

Reuters - Democrat Mark Begich claimed victory on Tuesday in the race for an Alaska seat in the U.S. Senate, defeating six-term Republican incumbent Ted Stevens.

Reuters - A grand jury in South Texas indicted U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney and former attorney General Alberto Gonzales on Tuesday for 'organized criminal activity' related to alleged abuse of inmates in private prisons.