GAZA (Reuters) - Israeli warplanes bombed targets across the Gaza Strip on Thursday and tanks advanced on Palestinian guerrillas as U.S. backing for a truce proposal raised expectations of an end to the offensive.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Several explosions were heard in northern Israel on Thursday and Israel suspected they were caused by rockets fired from Lebanon, Israeli media reported.

NEW YORK/SINGAPORE (Reuters) - A fresh wave of profit warnings and job cuts soured investor sentiment on Thursday after an employment report suggested U.S. job losses in December could be the worst in almost 60 years.

AP - Pink slips are piling higher as companies scramble to cut costs even deeper to survive the country's economic and financial storms.

AP - Protests over the fatal shooting of an unarmed man by a Bay Area Rapid Transit police officer turned violent Wednesday night with windows broken, fires set and train stations closed.

AP - Jeremy Lin scored 27 points to lead Harvard to an 82-70 upset over No. 17 Boston College on Wednesday night, three days after the Eagles upset previously top-ranked North Carolina.

Reuters - At least four rockets fired from Lebanon exploded in northern Israel on Thursday, wounding two people, police and medics said, in an attack likely linked to Israel's offensive against Hamas Islamists in the Gaza Strip.

Reuters - President-elect Barack Obama will call for quick action on a fiscal stimulus package in a speech on Thursday aimed at reassuring Americans that he is determined to stem the economic crisis.

Reuters - A fresh wave of profit warnings and job cuts soured investor sentiment on Thursday after an employment report suggested U.S. job losses in December could be the worst in almost 60 years.

Reuters - It took war, the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression and the collapse of some of New York's famed investment banks, but Manhattan apartment prices are finally falling.

AFP - The Israeli army fired into northern Lebanon on Thursday after rockets were fired at the Jewish state, an army spokeswoman told AFP.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - At least three rockets fired from Lebanon exploded in northern Israel on Thursday, wounding two people, police and medics said, in an attack seen as linked to Israel's offensive against Hamas Islamists in the Gaza Strip.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President-elect Barack Obama will call for quick action on a fiscal stimulus package in a speech on Thursday aimed at reassuring Americans that he is determined to stem the economic crisis.

NEW YORK/SINGAPORE (Reuters) - A fresh wave of profit warnings and job cuts soured investor sentiment on Thursday after an employment report suggested U.S. job losses in December could be the worst in almost 60 years.

HYDERABAD, India (Reuters) - India vowed to strengthen laws to prevent corporate fraud after Satyam Computer, the country's fourth-largest software company, shocked investors by revealing profits had been falsely inflated for years.

MOSCOW/KIEV (Reuters) - The two top gas executives from Russian and Ukraine held talks in Moscow on Thursday, in the first face-to-face contact since their row choked off supplies to EU countries in bitter winter weather.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - It took war, the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression and the collapse of some of New York's famed investment banks, but Manhattan apartment prices are finally falling.

(Reuters) - Citigroup Inc is leading other lenders in advanced talks with key U.S. senators on legislation that would allow judges to set new repayment terms for millions of mortgage holders who wind up in bankruptcy court, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people involved in the talks.

AP - Lebanese militants fired at least three rockets into northern Israel early Thursday, threatening to open a second front for the Jewish state as it pushed forward with its offensive in the Gaza Strip. Gaza militants fired a rocket barrage into southern Israel almost simultaneously.

Reuters - A fresh wave of profit warnings and job cuts soured investor sentiment on Thursday after an employment report suggested U.S. job losses in December could be the worst in almost 60 years.

Reuters - India vowed to strengthen laws to prevent corporate fraud after Satyam Computer, the country's fourth-largest software company, shocked investors by revealing profits had been falsely inflated for years.

Reuters - Russian gas flows via Ukraine were halted for a second straight day on Thursday, hitting 18 countries ranging from large European Union members such as Germany to small ex Soviet Moldova.

AFP - Several rockets slammed into northern Israel from Lebanon on Thursday with the army returning fire, as the Jewish state entered the 13th day of a massive offensive on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Several rockets fired from Lebanon struck northern Israel Thursday, slightly wounding two people, police and medics said, in attacks seen as linked to Israel's war on Hamas Islamists in the Gaza Strip.

HYDERABAD, India (Reuters) - India vowed to strengthen laws to prevent corporate fraud after Satyam Computer, the country's fourth-largest software company, shocked investors by revealing profits had been falsely inflated for years.

AP - Illinois Republicans are promising tough questions Thursday for Senate-appointee Roland Burris on why he accepted a position offered by disgraced Gov. Rod Blagojevich and whether he promised the governor anything in return.

AP - Israeli representatives arrived in Cairo Thursday for Egyptian-brokered talks on a cease-fire proposal after the U.N. Security Council failed to agree on action to end the escalating crisis in Gaza.

AP - More than 30,000 people were urged to leave their flood-endangered western Washington homes as swollen rivers, mudslides and avalanches engulfed neighborhoods and roadways.

AP - The United States and its partners have shortchanged Afghanistan by focusing on short-term goals pursued without a cohesive strategy or a clear understanding of the way the poor, decentralized country works, an independent study concludes.

AP - Standing next to the crystal football, Bob Stoops was the picture of Mr. Agreeable. Any pose the photographers wanted, the Oklahoma coach gave them. Looking to the right, gazing to the left, smiling straight ahead. That is, until a shutterbug told Stoops to hold up one finger — a 'we're No. 1' shot. No chance, pal.

Reuters - Several rockets fired from Lebanon struck northern Israel Thursday, slightly wounding two people, police and medics said, in attacks seen as linked to Israel's war on Hamas Islamists in the Gaza Strip.

Reuters - India vowed to strengthen laws to prevent corporate fraud after Satyam Computer, the country's fourth-largest software company, shocked investors by revealing profits had been falsely inflated for years.

Reuters - Gas talks overnight between Ukraine's state energy firm Naftogaz and Russia's gas export monopoly, Gazprom, ended with no concrete results, the head of Naftogaz was quoted as saying on Thursday.

AFP - Rockets fired into northern Israel from Lebanon on Thursday jolted efforts to end the war in Gaza where Israeli jets carried out mass strikes on smuggling tunnels.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President-elect Barack Obama will seek Thursday to rally support for a massive fiscal stimulus package by warning that the United States could remain mired in recession for years without bold action.

(Reuters) - Citigroup forecast a synchronized global recession in 2009 and said developed economies may 'flirt' with deflation while emerging market economies will slow sharply, adding that global corporate earnings were only a quarter of the way through an expected 50 percent drop.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The incoming administration of President-elect Barack Obama will name Cass Sunstein, a Harvard Law School professor who pioneered efforts to design regulation around the ways people behave, as regulatory czar, the Wall Street Journal reported.

LONDON (Reuters) - The Bank of England cut interest rates by half a percentage point to a record low of 1.5 percent on Thursday as it battles to keep Britain from falling into a deep and lasting downturn.

MOSCOW/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Russia and Ukraine failed to resolve a gas row at a meeting in Moscow but will continue talks to end the dispute which has choked off supplies to Europe, a senior Ukrainian gas official said on Thursday.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher arrived in New Delhi Thursday to discuss the progress of investigations into the Mumbai attacks and douse tensions sparked by sharp exchanges between India and Pakistan.

AP - President-elect Barack Obama said Thursday that the nation's recession could 'linger for years' unless Congress acts to pump unprecedented sums from Washington into the U.S. economy, making his highest-profile case yet on an issue certain to define his early presidency.

AP - Retailers are reporting dismal sales for December, confirming fears that the holiday season was the weakest in four decades.

AP - The Oklahoma Sooners and the Florida Gators meet tonight for the BCS championship. It's a matchup that includes a pair of Heisman Trophy winners, an SEC vs. Big 12 debate and more than its share of trash talk.

Reuters - President-elect Barack Obama will seek Thursday to rally support for a massive fiscal stimulus package by warning that the United States could remain mired in recession for years without bold action.

Reuters - Citigroup forecast a synchronized global recession in 2009 and said developed economies may 'flirt' with deflation while emerging market economies will slow sharply, adding that global corporate earnings were only a quarter of the way through an expected 50 percent drop.

Reuters - The incoming administration of President-elect Barack Obama will name Cass Sunstein, a Harvard Law School professor who pioneered efforts to design regulation around the ways people behave, as regulatory czar, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Reuters - The Bank of England cut interest rates by half a percentage point to a record low of 1.5 percent on Thursday as it battles to keep Britain from falling into a deep and lasting downturn.

Reuters - Russia and Ukraine failed to resolve a gas row at a meeting in Moscow but will continue talks to end the dispute which has choked off supplies to Europe, a senior Ukrainian gas official said on Thursday.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc led U.S. retailers in posting disappointing December same-store sales on Thursday, and it cut its quarterly earnings forecast despite being the store of choice in a recession.

LONDON (Reuters) - Bleak economic data in Europe and disappointing December retail sales figures in the United States unsettled financial markets on Thursday, strengthening the case for more government stimulus and encouraging rate cuts.

AP - The number of people continuing to seek unemployment benefits has risen sharply, according to government data released Thursday, indicating that laid-off workers are having a harder time finding new jobs as the recession enters its second year.

AP - Wall Street's worries about weak consumer spending revived Thursday, sending stocks lower as bad news from Wal-Mart Stores Inc. signaled that even the stronger U.S. retailers struggled during the holiday shopping season.

Reuters - Wal-Mart Stores Inc led U.S. retailers in posting disappointing December same-store sales on Thursday, and it cut its quarterly earnings forecast despite being the store of choice in a recession.

Reuters - Bleak economic data in Europe and disappointing December retail sales figures in the United States unsettled financial markets on Thursday, strengthening the case for more government stimulus and encouraging rate cuts.

AFP - Rockets fired into northern Israel from Lebanon on Thursday sparked a new military alert as Israeli jets carried out mass strikes on smuggling tunnels in Gaza.

GAZA (Reuters) - Palestinians faced even grimmer conditions in the Gaza Strip on Thursday after a U.N. aid agency halted work, saying its staff were at risk from Israeli forces fighting Hamas militants, after two drivers were killed.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc led U.S. retailers in disappointing December same-store sales and profit warnings on Thursday, sparking fresh recession concerns that hit stock and currency markets.

HYDERABAD, India (Reuters) - India's Satyam Computer faces a crisis of 'unimaginable proportions,' its interim chief executive said a day after the chairman revealed profits had been falsely inflated for years.

MOSCOW/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Russia's state-controlled gas monopoly said on Thursday it would restore supplies to Europe through Ukraine, cut off after a dispute between Moscow and Kiev, as soon as international monitors are in place.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Pakistan has made a promising start into the Mumbai attack investigations and on tackling militancy, but still had a long way to go in eliminating the threat, a senior U.S. official said on Thursday.

AP - A Palestinian health official says the bodies of 35 people have been found in the rubble of a Gaza Strip battle zone.

AP - Mayor Ron Dellums urged residents to remain calm after protests turned violent in the fatal shooting of an unarmed black man by a transit police officer.

AP - The Illinois House committee investigating Gov. Rod Blagojevich released a draft report Thursday saying the panel believes the Democratic governor has abused his power and recommending the full chamber vote on impeachment.

AP - John Travolta and family were expected to host a private memorial service Thursday for their son, 16-year-old Jett Travolta, at their gated-community home in central Florida.

Reuters - President-elect Barack Obama said on Thursday he would offer working families a $1,000 tax cut and improve energy efficiency in millions of American homes in order to create jobs and stimulate the economy.

Reuters - Palestinians faced even grimmer conditions in the Gaza Strip on Thursday after a U.N. aid agency halted work, saying its staff were at risk from Israeli forces fighting Hamas militants, after two drivers were killed.

Reuters - India's Satyam Computer faces a crisis of 'unimaginable proportions,' its interim chief executive said a day after the chairman revealed profits had been falsely inflated for years.

Reuters - Russia's state-controlled gas monopoly said on Thursday it would restore supplies to Europe through Ukraine, cut off after a dispute between Moscow and Kiev, as soon as international monitors are in place.

AFP - Key players in the Russia-Ukraine gas dispute held emergency talks in Brussels on Thursday amid signs of an easing in the tension which is putting many European countries into a winter energy crisis.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President-elect Barack Obama sought to rally support on Thursday for a massive fiscal stimulus package by warning that the United States could remain mired in recession for years without bold action.

GAZA (Reuters) - Palestinians faced even grimmer conditions in the Gaza Strip on Thursday after a U.N. aid agency halted work, saying its staff were at risk from Israeli forces fighting Hamas militants, after two drivers were killed.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Unemployment benefit rolls swelled to a 26-year high in the last week of December, data showed on Thursday, while retailers, including market leader Wal-Mart, reported poor sales as the year-long economic slump deepened.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A search of accused swindler Bernard Madoff's office desk revealed he had signed checks totaling more than $173 million ready to be sent, U.S. prosecutors said in court papers on Thursday asking a judge to jail him.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A criminal probe into the CIA's destruction of videotapes showing harsh interrogations of terrorism suspects is almost finished, court papers made public this week show.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - North Korea may have begun developing nuclear arms after deciding the United States was unlikely to use nuclear weapons to eliminate its development program, a senior Pentagon adviser said on Thursday.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Former Sen. Larry Craig has ended his effort to void the guilty plea he made following his 2007 arrest in a men's toilet sex-sting operation, his lawyer said on Thursday.

AP - President-elect Barack Obama's proposed tax cuts ran into opposition Thursday from senators in his own party who said they wouldn't do much to stimulate the economy or create jobs.

AP - Congress has officially declared Barack Obama the next President of the United States after tallying electoral college votes in a centuries old tradition.

AP - Prosecutors said Thursday that investigators found 100 signed checks worth $173 million in Bernard Madoff's office desk that he was ready to send out to his closest family and friends at the time of his arrest last month.

AP - John Smoltz has reached preliminary agreement on a contract with the Boston Red Sox, who also agreed Thursday to a one-year contract with outfielder Rocco Baldelli.

Reuters - Palestinians faced even grimmer conditions in the Gaza Strip on Thursday after a U.N. aid agency halted work, saying its staff were at risk from Israeli forces fighting Hamas militants, after two drivers were killed.

Reuters - A search of accused swindler Bernard Madoff's office desk revealed he had signed checks totaling more than $173 million ready to be sent, U.S. prosecutors said in court papers on Thursday asking a judge to jail him.

Reuters - Economic weakness in Europe worsened and disappointing sales from Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, knocked financial markets lower on Thursday, strengthening the case for government stimulus and new rate cuts.

Reuters - A criminal probe into the CIA's destruction of videotapes showing harsh interrogations of terrorism suspects is almost finished, court papers made public this week show.

AFP - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday said Moscow will resume gas supplies to Europe via Ukraine after it has struck an agreement with Ukraine on the transit, Russian news agencies reported.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President-elect Barack Obama warned on Thursday that the U.S. economy could stay mired in recession for years without bold action and he urged lawmakers to work day and night to pass a massive stimulus plan.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Financial giant Citigroup Inc has agreed to support a controversial rewrite of U.S. bankruptcy law aimed at helping troubled mortgage borrowers, three Democratic senators said on Thursday.

GAZA (Reuters) - Palestinians in the Gaza Strip faced worsening conditions on Thursday after two aid drivers were killed and their U.N. agency halted work, saying staff were at risk from Israeli forces fighting Hamas militants.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Accused swindler Bernard Madoff had signed checks totaling more than $173 million in his office desk ready to be sent out before his arrest, U.S. prosecutors said in court papers on Thursday asking a judge to jail him.

NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) - Economic weakness in Europe worsened and disappointing sales from Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, knocked financial markets lower on Thursday, strengthening the case for government stimulus and new rate cuts.

AP - President-elect Barack Obama's proposed tax cuts ran into opposition Thursday from senators in his own party who said they wouldn't do much to stimulate the economy or create jobs. Senators from both parties agreed that Congress should do something to stimulate the economy. But Democratic senators emerging from a private meeting of the Senate Finance Committee criticized business and individual tax cuts in Obama's stimulus plan.

AP - The U.N. and the Red Cross curtailed aid shipments in the Gaza Strip on Thursday after accusing Israeli forces of firing on their drivers, killing one. The threat of a wider conflict arose when militants in Lebanon fired two rockets into northern Israel.

AP - Prosecutors said Thursday that investigators found 100 signed checks worth $173 million in Bernard Madoff's office desk that he was ready to send out to his closest family and friends at the time of his arrest last month.

AP - Tom Daschle told former Senate colleagues on Thursday that as health secretary he would learn from Bill Clinton's failed attempt to overhaul health care, an effort criticized as too long, secretive and hard to understand.

AP - Researchers at Cornell University have discovered that Aedes aegypti mosquitoes — the ones that spread diseases like yellow and dengue fever — alter their wing vibrations in a mating signal.

AP - John Travolta and his family were expected to host a private memorial service Thursday for their son, 16-year-old Jett Travolta, at their home in a central Florida gated community.

AP - A 60-year-old man has been causing flat tires for two years by tossing roofing nails onto the driveways of people he didn't like, police said Thursday. Michael Delisio, of West Haverstraw, has been charged with harassment, criminal tampering and mischief, said Stony Point police Lt. Peter Quinn.

AP - After more than two decades with the Atlanta Braves, John Smoltz is likely to finish his stellar career wearing a different uniform. In a stunning end to one of baseball's longest runs, Smoltz reached preliminary agreement on a contract with the Boston Red Sox after failing to work out a deal to return for his 22nd season with the Braves.

Reuters - President-elect Barack Obama warned on Thursday that the U.S. economy could stay mired in recession for years without bold action and he urged lawmakers to work day and night to pass a massive stimulus plan.

Reuters - Financial giant Citigroup Inc has agreed to support a controversial rewrite of U.S. bankruptcy law aimed at helping troubled mortgage borrowers, three Democratic senators said on Thursday.

Reuters - Palestinians in the Gaza Strip faced worsening conditions on Thursday after two aid drivers were killed and their U.N. agency halted work, saying staff were at risk from Israeli forces fighting Hamas militants.

Reuters - Accused swindler Bernard Madoff had signed checks totaling more than $173 million in his office desk ready to be sent out before his arrest, U.S. prosecutors said in court papers on Thursday asking a judge to jail him.

Reuters - Russia has agreed the deployment of monitors to oversee gas supplies to the European Union via Ukraine, clearing the way for the resumption of gas supplies, the Czech EU presidency said in a statement on Thursday.

Reuters - The U.S. nuclear deterrent that kept a tense peace during the Cold War is in danger of losing credibility among allied nations that look to the United States for security, a Pentagon panel said on Thursday.

AFP - The main UN Palestinian relief agency halted work in Gaza on Thursday after a driver was killed and the death toll from Israel's war on Hamas rose to more than 760 after dozens of bodies were found in the rubble.

AFP - EU-sponsored talks collapsed Thursday between Russia and Ukraine on resolving a gas dispute that has cut supplies to Europe in the midst of a bitterly cold winter, with Moscow blamed for the failure.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Financial giant Citigroup Inc has agreed to support a controversial rewrite of U.S. bankruptcy law aimed at helping troubled mortgage borrowers avoid foreclosure, lawmakers said on Thursday.

GAZA (Reuters) - Recovery teams ventured into battlegrounds of the Gaza Strip on Thursday to gather bodies from the rubble, and Hamas officials said the Palestinian toll in Israel's 13 day-old offensive rose to 765 dead.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Moscow has agreed to deployment of international monitors to oversee the transit of Russian gas to EU states via Ukraine, clearing the way for the resumption of European gas supplies, the Czech EU presidency said.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. nuclear deterrent that kept a tense peace during the Cold War is in danger of losing credibility among allied nations that look to the United States for security, a Pentagon panel said on Thursday.

NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) - Economic weakness in Europe worsened and U.S. jobless rolls swelled as disappointing sales from Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, and other retailers on Thursday showed that consumers are still wary about opening up their pocketbooks in an uncertain economy.

AP - President-elect Barack Obama implored Congress to 'act boldly and act now' on Thursday to fix an economy growing perilously weaker, and leading lawmakers set an informal goal of mid-February for enacting tax cuts and government spending that could cost as much as $1 trillion.

AP - U.S. Senate appointee Roland Burris said Thursday he's never been involved in an improper deal in his two decades in government and didn't strike any agreement to become embattled Gov. Rod Blagojevich's pick for the U.S. Senate.

AP - The U.N. suspended aid shipments in the Gaza Strip on Thursday and the Red Cross restricted its convoys after their trucks came under Israeli fire. The threat of a wider conflict arose when militants in Lebanon fired two rockets into northern Israel.

AP - It is perhaps the most intriguing unsolved mystery from the gaudy gangland career of John Gotti: Whatever happened to the neighbor who accidentally ran over and killed the mobster's 12-year-old son — and then vanished?

AP - 'Horrific' is how Tom Cruise described the sudden death of the son of his friend, John Travolta. Cruise struggled to maintain his composure as he spoke on 'The View' about last week's death of 16-year-old Jett Travolta. 'John just adored him, both of his children,' Cruise said haltingly. '... It's something that I don't have the words for.'

AP - Police in upstate New York say a man has been sprinkling roofing nails on the driveways of people he didn't like to cause flat tires for two years. Stony Point police Lt. Peter Quinn said Michael Delisio was arrested Tuesday after an officer staking out one victim's home saw nails being thrown from Delisio's car.

Reuters - Financial giant Citigroup Inc has agreed to support a controversial rewrite of U.S. bankruptcy law aimed at helping troubled mortgage borrowers avoid foreclosure, lawmakers said on Thursday.

Reuters - Recovery teams ventured into battlegrounds of the Gaza Strip on Thursday to gather bodies from the rubble, and Hamas officials said the Palestinian toll in Israel's 13 day-old offensive rose to 765 dead.

Reuters - Moscow has agreed to deployment of international monitors to oversee the transit of Russian gas to EU states via Ukraine, clearing the way for the resumption of European gas supplies, the Czech EU presidency said.

Reuters - Economic weakness in Europe worsened and U.S. jobless rolls swelled as disappointing sales from Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, and other retailers on Thursday showed that consumers are still wary about opening up their pocketbooks in an uncertain economy.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President-elect Barack Obama named Tim Kaine as head of the Democratic Party on Thursday, rewarding an early supporter with a high-profile political post even as he continues to serve as Virginia governor.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - A legislative committee on Thursday recommended the impeachment of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, citing widespread abuse of power including allegations he tried to sell the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc and other top U.S. retailers delivered disappointing December same-store sales and profit warnings on Thursday, sparking fresh recession concerns that hit stock and currency markets.

MOSCOW/KIEV (Reuters) - Europe on Friday looked for a swift restoration of gas supplies, after striking a deal with Moscow on monitoring gas shipments via Ukraine that have been halted by a rancorous pricing dispute with Kiev.

AP - A key panel unanimously recommended Thursday that Gov. Rod Blagojevich be impeached for abusing his power, mismanaging Illinois government and committing possible criminal acts.

AP - Vice President Dick Cheney said Thursday that he sees no reason for President George W. Bush to pre-emptively pardon anyone at the CIA involved in harsh interrogations of suspected terrorists. 'I don't have any reason to believe that anybody in the agency did anything illegal,' he said.

AP - The U.N. suspended food deliveries to Gaza and the Red Cross accused Israel of blocking medical assistance after forces fired on aid workers, killing two, as the threat of a wider conflict emerged with Lebanon.

AP - The many Bernard Madoff investors who withdrew money from their accounts over the years are now wrestling with an ethical and legal quandary.

AP - In grainy cell-phone videos played over and over on the Internet, police officers force an unarmed black man to the ground and hold him face-down on a crowded train platform. Suddenly one of the officers draws his gun and fatally shoots the man in the back — then looks up.

AP - John Smoltz and Brad Penny are on their way to the Red Sox. Rocco Baldelli was already in Boston, holding up his new jersey.

Reuters - President-elect Barack Obama named Tim Kaine as head of the Democratic Party on Thursday, rewarding an early supporter with a high-profile political post even as he continues to serve as Virginia governor.

Reuters - A legislative committee on Thursday recommended the impeachment of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, citing widespread abuse of power including allegations he tried to sell the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama.

Reuters - Wal-Mart Stores Inc and other top U.S. retailers delivered disappointing December same-store sales and profit warnings on Thursday, sparking fresh recession concerns that hit stock and currency markets.

Reuters - Europe on Friday looked for a swift restoration of gas supplies, after striking a deal with Moscow on monitoring gas shipments via Ukraine that have been halted by a rancorous pricing dispute with Kiev.

AFP - Diplomatic efforts to end the Gaza conflict intensified Friday with Western and Arab diplomats agreeing to call for an immediate ceasefire as the death toll from the two-week-old war rose past 760.

AFP - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin agreed Thursday on the terms for the deployment of gas monitors in Ukraine, paving the way for an end to a Europe-wide energy crisis, the EU presidency said.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Financial giant Citigroup Inc will support a proposal in Congress to rewrite U.S. bankruptcy law to help troubled mortgage borrowers avoid foreclosure, Chief Executive Vikram Pandit said on Thursday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States and its allies share some interests with Iran when it comes to stabilizing Afghanistan, Army Gen. David Petraeus, head of the U.S. military's Central Command, said on Thursday.

AP - The U.N. Security Council has approved a resolution calling for an immediate and durable cease-fire between Hamas militants and Israeli forces now fighting in the Gaza Strip. Thursday night's vote was 14-0 with the United States abstaining.

AP - A key panel unanimously recommended impeachment for Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Thursday, setting up a vote that could make him the first governor to face such fate in Illinois' sordid political history. Blagojevich should lose his job for abusing power, mismanaging government and committing possible criminal acts, including federal allegations he tried to sell off a U.S. Senate seat, the special committee concluded.

AP - An 82-year-old businessman was charged Thursday with running a Ponzi scheme that took in at least $17 million from a clientele gleaned largely through ads in Catholic newspapers.

AP - A funeral home might be a place for eternal rest, but police say an Arkansas man saw an opportunity to build a methamphetamine lab undisturbed by the living. There was just one problem — the funeral home was across the street from the sheriff's office.

AP - Two Heisman Trophy-winning quarterbacks couldn't produce a point in the first quarter of the BCS championship game. Tim Tebow and No. 1 Florida and Sam Bradford and No. 2 Oklahoma were scoreless after the first 15 minutes at Dolphin Stadium on Thursday night.

Reuters - Financial giant Citigroup Inc will support a proposal in Congress to rewrite U.S. bankruptcy law to help troubled mortgage borrowers avoid foreclosure, Chief Executive Vikram Pandit said on Thursday.

Reuters - The United States and its allies share some interests with Iran when it comes to stabilizing Afghanistan, Army Gen. David Petraeus, head of the U.S. military's Central Command, said on Thursday.

AFP - The UN Security Council voted to call for an 'immediate, durable' ceasefire in the Gaza Strip leading to the 'full withdrawal' of Israeli forces, but the United States abstained.

AFP - Hopes for a quick resumption of Russian gas supplies to Europe were rising Friday after Russia agreed on the terms for the deployment of monitors in Ukraine.

UNITED NATIONS/GAZA (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council called for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip but Israeli warplanes launched intermittent attacks on Friday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Al Qaeda's operations chief in Pakistan and a top aide are believed to be dead, a U.S. counterterrorism official said on Thursday, in what appeared to be the latest results of a campaign targeting the militant group's leadership.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Some friends of accused swindler Bernard Madoff considered him a 'warm and charming' man, and one of his alleged victims praised him just before his death in 2005, Fox Business Network reported on Thursday.

CHICAGO/SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea followed Britain by cutting interest rates to record low levels on Friday, while Wal-Mart and other U.S. retailers reported disappointing sales as the global economic crisis drains consumer confidence and jobs.

AP - The U.N. Security Council called for an 'immediate' and 'durable' cease-fire in Gaza in a resolution Thursday night even as fighting between Israel and Hamas raged — with early morning airstrikes killing seven Palestinians and pushing the death toll to about 760 in the near two-week conflict.

AP - Tim Tebow gave Florida the jolt it needed, and the Gators toughed out a second BCS title in three years. Their 24-14 win over No. 2 Oklahoma in a choppy, sloppy affair Thursday night made them a national champion.

Reuters - The U.N. Security Council called for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip but Israeli warplanes launched intermittent attacks on Friday.

Reuters - Al Qaeda's operations chief in Pakistan and a top aide are believed to be dead, a U.S. counterterrorism official said on Thursday, in what appeared to be the latest results of a campaign targeting the militant group's leadership.

Reuters - Some friends of accused swindler Bernard Madoff considered him a 'warm and charming' man, and one of his alleged victims praised him just before his death in 2005, Fox Business Network reported on Thursday.

AFP - Israel was under intense pressure Friday to end its two-week-old offensive in the Gaza Strip after the UN Security Council called for an immediate ceasefire as the death toll from the war rose past 760.