GAZA (Reuters) - An Israeli air strike killed a senior commander of Hamas's armed wing on Saturday while the Islamist group's leader warned the Israeli army, currently massing on the border, would be defeated if it invaded Gaza.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Chrysler LLC on Friday received an initial $4 billion emergency loan from the U.S. government, two days after the government completed a parallel payout to its larger rival General Motors Corp.

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia has rejected all U.S. requests so far to resettle detainees from Guantanamo Bay, the most recent being on Friday night, Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard said on Saturday.

HAVANA (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Barack Obama appears to be an honest and sincere man, but his election has awakened 'excessive hopes' that the United States will change, Cuban President Raul Castro said in a television interview broadcast on Friday.

AP - Undefeated and uninvited. Led by Brian Johnson and a swarming defense, No. 7 Utah completed its perfect season by upsetting fourth-ranked Alabama 31-17 in the Sugar Bowl on Friday night.

Reuters - An Israeli air strike killed a senior commander of Hamas's armed wing on Saturday while the Islamist group's leader warned the Israeli army, currently massing on the border, would be defeated if it invaded Gaza.

Reuters - Australia has rejected all U.S. requests so far to resettle detainees from Guantanamo Bay, the most recent being on Friday night, Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard said on Saturday.

Reuters - U.S. President-elect Barack Obama appears to be an honest and sincere man, but his election has awakened 'excessive hopes' that the United States will change, Cuban President Raul Castro said in a television interview broadcast on Friday.

AP - President George W. Bush says any cease-fire in the Mideast must be fully respected, Hamas rocket attacks on Israel stopped and the flow of smuggled weapons into Gaza cut off.

AP - An autopsy is planned for John Travolta's teenage son, who died after apparently hitting his head on the bathtub while the family was vacationing at their home in the Bahamas, authorities said.

AP - Sri Lankan air force jets and helicopters bombed a series of rebel targets in the north and northeast, the military said Saturday, as soldiers pressed deeper into Tamil Tiger territory a day after capturing the rebels' de facto capital.

AFP - Missiles demolished a school in Gaza on Saturday as the Israeli assault on Hamas entered its second week, with truce bids stalled and Islamists vowing a 'black destiny' if ground troops move in.

KIEV (Reuters) - European Union countries were on alert on Saturday for further disruption to their gas supplies after Russia cut off Ukraine in a row over pricing, and accused it of stealing gas bound for western markets.

AP - Israeli warplanes and gunboats blasted more than two dozen Hamas targets Saturday, including weapons storage facilities, training centers and leaders' homes as Israel's offensive against Gaza's Islamic militant rulers entered a second week.

Reuters - European Union countries were on alert on Saturday for further disruption to their gas supplies after Russia cut off Ukraine in a row over pricing, and accused it of stealing gas bound for western markets.

GAZA (Reuters) - Israeli forces bombed the Gaza Strip from the air and sea on Saturday, killing a senior Hamas commander, and desperate residents of the Palestinian enclave sheltered in their homes as the offensive entered a second week.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - President-elect Barack Obama on Saturday said the struggling U.S. economy could face more challenges and urged lawmakers to act quickly on recovery proposals even as some Republicans expressed concerns about plans for a huge stimulus package.

KIEV (Reuters) - Russian gas flows to Bulgaria dropped on Saturday in a fresh sign that Moscow's decision to cut off its neighbor Ukraine in a row over pricing was disrupting supplies to some European Union members.

AP - President-elect Barack Obama urged congressional leaders Saturday to move quickly on an economic recovery plan, even as some Republicans are saying they want more time to review the details.

Reuters - Israeli forces bombed the Gaza Strip from the air and sea on Saturday, killing a senior Hamas commander, and desperate residents of the Palestinian enclave sheltered in their homes as the offensive entered a second week.

Reuters - President-elect Barack Obama on Saturday said the struggling U.S. economy could face more challenges and urged lawmakers to act quickly on recovery proposals even as some Republicans expressed concerns about plans for a huge stimulus package.

Reuters - Democratic lawmakers will pack greater clout when the new Congress convenes on Tuesday but they face enormous expectations from voters as they grapple with two wars, a financial crisis and record budget deficits.

Reuters - Russian gas flows to Bulgaria dropped on Saturday in a fresh sign that Moscow's decision to cut off its neighbor Ukraine in a row over pricing was disrupting supplies to some European Union members.

AFP - John Atta-Mills, 64, will be the next leader of Ghana, the electoral commission declared Saturday as it announced the outcome of a presidential run-off in the West African nation.

GAZA (Reuters) - Israeli forces bombed the Gaza Strip from the air and sea on Saturday, killing a senior Hamas commander, and desperate residents of the Palestinian enclave sheltered in their homes as the offensive entered a second week.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic lawmakers will pack greater clout when the new Congress convenes on Tuesday but they face enormous expectations from voters as they grapple with two wars, a financial crisis and record budget deficits.

KIEV/MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian gas flows to four European Union countries were below normal levels on Saturday after Moscow cut off supplies to Ukraine in a pricing dispute, and there were no talks in sight to resolve the dispute.

AP - Israeli warplanes and gunboats blasted more than two dozen Hamas targets Saturday, including weapons storage facilities, training centers and leaders' homes as Israel's offensive against Gaza's Islamic militant rulers entered a second week.

AP - A senior Ukrainian official says European consumers will see serious natural gas shortages in only two weeks if Moscow and Kiev don't solve their dispute over gas supplies.

AP - James Howarth is a little confused by two letters he has received from the Internal Revenue Service.

Reuters - Israeli forces bombed the Gaza Strip from the air and sea on Saturday, killing a senior Hamas commander, and desperate residents of the Palestinian enclave sheltered in their homes as the offensive entered a second week.

Reuters - Former U.S.-installed Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi has denounced the policies of President George W. Bush as an 'utter failure' that gave rise to the sectarian venom that ravaged his country.

Reuters - Russian gas flows to four European Union countries were below normal levels on Saturday after Moscow cut off supplies to Ukraine in a pricing row, and there were no talks in sight to resolve the dispute.

AFP - Israeli air strikes claimed a Hamas military commander and destroyed a Gaza school on Saturday as an assault on Gaza which has so far killed more than 440 Palestinians entered its second week.

GAZA (Reuters) - Israeli artillery shelled the Gaza Strip on Saturday, stepping up the offensive against Hamas militants in the Palestinian enclave as tanks and troops waited on the border for a possible ground offensive.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The U.S. military took a step toward pulling combat troops from Iraqi cities on Saturday, moving out of a Baghdad base that Iraqi officials said would be dismantled and converted back into a shopping mall.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrats will pack greater clout when the new Congress convenes on Tuesday but they face enormous expectations from voters as they grapple with two wars, a financial crisis and record budget deficits.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Former U.S.-installed Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi has denounced the policies of President George W. Bush as an 'utter failure' that gave rise to the sectarian venom that ravaged his country.

AP - Palestinian medical officials say an Israeli airstrike on a mosque in the Gaza Strip has killed 10 people and wounded dozens.

Reuters - Israeli artillery shelled the Gaza Strip on Saturday, stepping up the offensive against Hamas militants in the Palestinian enclave as tanks and troops waited on the border for a possible ground offensive.

Reuters - The U.S. military took a step toward pulling combat troops from Iraqi cities on Saturday, moving out of a Baghdad base that Iraqi officials said would be dismantled and converted back into a shopping mall.

Reuters - Democrats will pack greater clout when the new Congress convenes on Tuesday but they face enormous expectations from voters as they grapple with two wars, a financial crisis and record budget deficits.

AFP - At least 13 Palestinians, including two boys, were killed on Saturday when an Israeli air raid struck a mosque during prayers in the northern town of Jabaliya, medics and witnesses said.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli ground forces which entered the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip on Saturday will take control of some of the areas used by Palestinian factions to fire rockets at Israel, the military said.

AP - Israel's military says ground forces are crossing the Gaza border in an escalation of Israel's week-old offensive against the territory's militant Hamas rulers.

AP - A top Ukrainian official warned Saturday that European customers could see serious natural gas disruptions in about two weeks if the energy dispute between Russia and Ukraine is not resolved, and the Russian gas monopoly Gazprom accused Ukraine of boycotting contract negotiations.

AP - Five years after the NASA rover Spirit landed on Mars, the six-wheel robotic geologist and its twin Opportunity are still on the job.

AP - Former New York Giant Mark Ingram was arrested in Michigan, nearly a month after he disappeared on the day he was scheduled to begin serving a prison sentence for bank fraud and money laundering.

Reuters - A column of Israeli tanks, some firing their weapons, rolled into the northern Gaza Strip on Saturday, a Palestinian witness said, in what appeared to be the beginning of a ground offensive against Islamist Hamas.

Reuters - An autopsy is planned in the Bahamas for actor John Travolta's 16-year-old son, who died suddenly during a vacation at his family's resort home, authorities said.

AFP - Israeli artillery on Saturday bombarded the Gaza Strip in a dramatic escalation of the campaign against Hamas after a week of air attacks which have left more than 440 Palestinians dead.

GAZA (Reuters) - Israeli troops clashed with Hamas fighters as they advanced into Gaza on Saturday in the first ground combat of an eight-day offensive on the Palestinian enclave, witnesses and the Israeli army said.

NASSAU (Reuters) - An autopsy is planned in the Bahamas for actor John Travolta's 16-year-old son, who died suddenly during a vacation at his family's resort home, authorities said.

AP - Tens of thousands of people demonstrated in European cities on Saturday against Israel's bombardment of Gaza, including protesters who hurled shoes at the tall iron gates outside the British prime minister's residence in London.

AP - Acting on widespread complaints from its troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Marine Corps has ordered major modifications to its body armor to improve comfort, mobility and safety, The Associated Press has learned.

AP - The recession has reached the ritzy Rainbow Room, the special-occasion spot that overlooks midtown Manhattan from high above the tourist-attracting Rockefeller Center skating rink.

AP - The Bahamas will use two pathologists to ensure a careful autopsy on John Travolta's son, who died at the actor's vacation home in Grand Bahama, the territory's health minister said Saturday.

AP - Matt Ellis scored a pair of goals to lead the Buffalo Sabres to a 4-2 win over Boston on Saturday, snapping the Bruins' 10-game winning streak and handing them their first home loss since late October.

Reuters - Israeli troops clashed with Hamas fighters as they advanced into Gaza on Saturday in the first ground combat of an eight-day offensive on the Palestinian enclave, witnesses and the Israeli army said.

AFP - Israeli tanks rolled into Gaza on Saturday and engaged in night-time battles with Hamas forces after more than a week of air strikes that left hundreds of Palestinians dead and widespread destruction.

AFP - Relations between Iraq and Iran are developing in a number of ways, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said during a visit to Iran on Saturday.

GAZA (Reuters) - Israel launched a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, sending tanks and infantry into battle with Hamas fighters who have defied eight days of deadly air strikes with salvoes of rocket fire into Israeli towns.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Michael Bennet, head of the Denver public school system, was named to replace Sen. Ken Salazar, the Colorado Democrat who is leaving the Senate to become secretary of the interior in the Obama administration, Colorado's governor said on Saturday.

AP - The United Nations Security Council has scheduled emergency consultations to address the escalation of violence in Gaza.

AP - Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter on Saturday named Denver's public schools superintendent as his choice to fill a Senate vacancy that will be created by the promotion of Sen. Ken Salazar to interior secretary in the Obama administration.

AP - A federal judge in Brooklyn has rejected a Liberian woman's religious reasons for smuggling endangered monkey meat into the country.

AP - Matt Ellis scored a pair of goals to lead the Buffalo Sabres to a 4-2 win over Boston on Saturday, snapping the Bruins' 10-game winning streak and handing them their first home loss since late October.

Reuters - Israel launched a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, sending tanks and infantry into battle with Hamas fighters who have defied eight days of deadly air strikes with salvoes of rocket fire into Israeli towns.

Reuters - Michael Bennet, head of the Denver public school system, was named to replace Sen. Ken Salazar, the Colorado Democrat who is leaving the Senate to become secretary of the interior in the Obama administration, Colorado's governor said on Saturday.

AFP - Israeli tanks rolled into Gaza late Saturday and troops clashed with Hamas fighters in a step-up to an eight-day offensive that has killed hundreds of Palestinians and caused widespread destruction.

AP - Thousands of Israeli troops backed by columns of tanks and helicopter gunships launched a ground offensive in Gaza Saturday night with officials saying they expected a lengthy fight in the densely populated territory after eight days of punishing airstrikes failed to halt militant rocket attacks on Israel.

AP - The U.N. Security Council scheduled emergency consultations Saturday night to address the escalation of violence in Gaza, and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged an immediate halt to Israel's ground operation.

AP - Killings dropped by a third here last year, making Wisconsin's largest city among the nation's most successful in tackling its 2008 murder rate.

AP - Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Anquan Boldin injured his left hamstring on a 71-yard touchdown play in the second quarter of their wild-card playoff game against the Atlanta Falcons on Saturday.

Reuters - Israeli tanks and infantry battled Hamas fighters in the Gaza Strip on Sunday in a ground offensive launched after eight days of deadly air strikes failed to halt the Islamist group's rocket attacks on Israel.

GAZA (Reuters) - Israeli tanks and infantry battled Hamas fighters in the Gaza Strip on Sunday in a ground offensive launched after eight days of deadly air strikes failed to halt the Islamist group's rocket attacks on Israel.

AP - Thousands of Israeli troops backed by columns of tanks and helicopter gunships launched a ground offensive in Gaza Saturday night, with officials saying they expected a lengthy fight in the densely populated territory after eight days of punishing airstrikes failed to halt militant rocket attacks on Israel.

AP - Arab nations demanded Saturday that the United Nations Security Council call for an immediate cease-fire following Israel's launch of a ground offensive in Gaza, a view echoed by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

AP - On the day that Donald Peters died, he unknowingly provided financial security for his wife of 59 years and their family.

AP - Peyton Manning guided Indianapolis on an 81-yard scoring drive, giving the Colts a 7-0 first-quarter lead over the San Diego Chargers in their wild-card playoff game Saturday night.

AP - The Arizona Cardinals have consecutive home playoff victories — 61 years apart. Kurt Warner opened with a 42-yard touchdown pass to Larry Fitzgerald and connected with Anquan Boldin on a 71-yard scoring play as the Cardinals beat Atlanta 30-24 Saturday before a raucous, towel-waving crowd.

AFP - Invading Israeli ground forces fought fierce battles with Hamas in Gaza on Sunday after escalating an eight-day bombing blitz that killed hundreds of Palestinians and wreaked widespread destruction.

AP - The United States late Saturday blocked approval of a U.N. Security Council statement calling for an immediate cease-fire in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel and expressing concern at the escalation of violence between Israel and Hamas.

AP - Peyton Manning has his MVP award and nothing more, outdone again in January by the San Diego Chargers.

AFP - The UN Security Council ended its meeting without reaching an agreement on a statement on the situation in the Gaza Strip, the French ambassador said.