GAZA (Reuters) - Israel pushed ahead with its offensive in the Gaza Strip on Friday, ignoring a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire to the 14-day-old conflict.

(Reuters) - A report being released on Friday alleges that the U.S. Treasury has failed to reveal its strategy for stabilizing the financial system, not answered questions asked by a government watchdog, and has done nothing to help struggling homeowners, the Wall Street Journal said.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President-elect Barack Obama's economic team is urgently overhauling the $700 billion financial rescue package to broaden its scope beyond Wall Street, The Washington Post reported on Friday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. employers probably cut the most jobs in at least 34 years last month as the global economic crisis gathered pace and moves by policy makers took time to filter through to struggling companies.

AP - In a surprise move, the United States abstained from a U.N. Security Council vote Thursday night urging an immediate cease-fire in Gaza, saying it wanted to see the results of Egyptian-mediated talks with Hamas and Israel before calling for a halt to military action.

AP - The game defied expectations. Tim Tebow fulfilled them.

AP - Trying to survive a deepening recession, employers are cutting their work forces to the bone, leaving more Americans unemployed and with dim prospects of finding a new job any time soon.

AP - Less than a month after its first report, a congressional panel overseeing the Treasury Department's $700 billion financial bailout is demanding more answers.

Reuters - Israel pushed ahead with its offensive in the Gaza Strip on Friday, ignoring a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire to the 14-day-old conflict.

Reuters - U.S. employers probably cut the most jobs in at least 34 years last month as the global economic crisis gathered pace and moves by policy makers took time to filter through to struggling companies.

Reuters - A report being released on Friday alleges that the U.S. Treasury has failed to reveal its strategy for stabilizing the financial system, not answered questions asked by a government watchdog, and has done nothing to help struggling homeowners, the Wall Street Journal said.

Reuters - President-elect Barack Obama's economic team is urgently overhauling the $700 billion financial rescue package to broaden its scope beyond Wall Street, The Washington Post reported on Friday.

AFP - Israel carried out new deadly air raids on the Gaza Strip on Friday as the UN Security Council called for an immediate ceasefire to end the two-week-old conflict in the Palestinian territory.

(Reuters) - A report being released on Friday alleges that the U.S. Treasury has failed to reveal its strategy for stabilizing the financial system, not answered questions asked by a government watchdog, and has done nothing to help struggling homeowners, the Wall Street Journal said.

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

AP - Millions of tons of toxic coal ash is piling up in power plant ponds in 32 states, a practice the federal government has long recognized as a risk to human health and the environment but has left unregulated.

AP - The game defied expectations. Tim Tebow fulfilled them. He rescued No. 1 Florida, running through and throwing over No. 2 Oklahoma for a 24-14 victory Thursday night that gave the Gators their second BCS championship in three years.

Reuters - A report being released on Friday alleges that the U.S. Treasury has failed to reveal its strategy for stabilizing the financial system, not answered questions asked by a government watchdog, and has done nothing to help struggling homeowners, the Wall Street Journal said.

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

AFP - European states deprived of Russian gas amid freezing weather were Friday hoping for a resumption of deliveries after the European Union claimed a breakthrough in the crisis between Moscow and Kiev.

AP - Gov. Rod Blagojevich faces almost certain impeachment by the Illinois House, a historic step that would trigger a trial to determine whether the Democratic governor should be tossed out of office.

AP - Lawmakers are under orders to finish action on President-elect Barack Obama's nearly $800 billion economic recovery plan by mid-February. But already it is plain that a set of serious fissures need to be bridged if the bill is to be completed within five weeks.

AP - Democrats are ushering in what they believe will be a new labor-friendly era in Washington with House votes on two bills aimed at helping women fight pay discrimination in the workplace.

AP - President-elect Barack Obama is completing his national security team by announcing his unusual choices for CIA director and a national intelligence director who may face tough Senate confirmation questioning over how he confronted the Indonesian military when civilian massacres were occurring in East Timor.

AP - Just minutes after George W. Bush took the oath of office eight years ago, he signed papers formally nominating 13 Cabinet-level officials. Several hours later, the Senate, meeting in a special Saturday session, confirmed seven Cabinet secretaries, including the heads of the key posts at State, Treasury and Defense.

AFP - Israel and Hamas launched heavy air strikes and rocket attacks on each other Friday, ignoring a UN Security Council order on the warring rivals to end their conflict.

AFP - The European Union demanded Friday that Russian gas supplies to Europe resume immediately now that details of a mission to monitor the flow through Ukrainian pipelines have been agreed.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Barack Obama's economic team is working on an overhaul the $700 billion financial rescue program with the aim of doing more to spur the flow of credit to the struggling economy, an Obama aide said on Friday.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - An analysis of proposals to overhaul U.S. health care by President-elect Barack Obama and members of Congress suggests it is possible to insure all Americans without significantly raising total health spending.

AP - Israeli jets and helicopters bombarded Gaza Friday and Hamas responded with a barrage of rockets, as Israel's government said it will press forward with its offensive despite a U.N. resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.

AP - Investors showed nervousness Friday ahead of the government's monthly employment report, sending stock futures moderately lower.

AP - A former actor on 'The Sopranos' faces up to 15 years in prison for a botched burglary in the Bronx in which an accomplice shot and killed a police officer.

Reuters - U.S. President-elect Barack Obama's economic team is working on an overhaul the $700 billion financial rescue program with the aim of doing more to spur the flow of credit to the struggling economy, an Obama aide said on Friday.

Reuters - An analysis of proposals to overhaul U.S. health care by President-elect Barack Obama and members of Congress suggests it is possible to insure all Americans without significantly raising total health spending.

AFP - Israel battered Gaza with bombs and shells on Friday, vowing its offensive on Hamas would go on despite an order by the UN Security Council to stop the assault that has killed hundreds of civilians.

AFP - Somali pirates on Friday freed the Sirius Star, a Saudi-owned super-tanker carrying two million barrels of crude oil they hijacked on November in the Indian Ocean, the leader of the pirates told AFP.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The unemployment rate surged to its highest level in nearly 16 years in December as a deepening economic slump forced companies to slash payrolls by more than half a million jobs.

GAZA (Reuters) - Israel rejected a U.N. resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza on Friday and, as jets and tanks again pounded the Palestinian enclave, ministers debated whether to step up their two-week-old campaign against Hamas guerrillas.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury has done nothing to ensure a $700 billion financial bailout fund is used to stabilize the weak mortgage market, which caused the U.S. economic crisis, a congressional watchdog said on Friday.

MOSCOW/KIEV (Reuters) - Russia's gas monopoly Gazprom said a deal to monitor gas exports via Ukraine would be signed Friday, allowing for the resumption of supplies to Europe cut off by Moscow's price row with Kiev.

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani said on Friday Pakistan had sent India a response to evidence from the Mumbai attacks as U.S. vice president-elect Joe Biden arrived on a trip aimed at easing tension in South Asia.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of Iraqis protested against Israel's offensive in the Gaza Strip on Friday and powerful Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr called for revenge attacks on the Jewish state's strongest ally the United States.

AP - The nation's unemployment rate bolted to 7.2 percent in December, the highest level in 16 years, as nervous employers slashed 524,000 jobs, capping one of the worst years in modern history for American workers.

AP - Israeli jets and helicopters bombarded Gaza Friday and Hamas responded with a barrage of rockets on two cities as both sides defied a U.N. call for an immediate cease-fire.

AP - Investors proceeded cautiously Friday, sending stocks lower after the government reported fewer job losses in December than feared, but also an unemployment rate above 7 percent.

Reuters - The unemployment rate surged to its highest level in nearly 16 years in December as a deepening economic slump forced companies to slash payrolls by more than half a million jobs.

Reuters - Israel rejected a U.N. resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza on Friday and, as jets and tanks again pounded the Palestinian enclave, ministers debated whether to step up their two-week-old campaign against Hamas guerrillas.

Reuters - The U.S. Treasury has done nothing to ensure a $700 billion financial bailout fund is used to stabilize the weak mortgage market, which caused the U.S. economic crisis, a congressional watchdog said on Friday.

Reuters - Russia's gas monopoly Gazprom said a deal to monitor gas exports via Ukraine would be signed Friday, allowing for the resumption of supplies to Europe cut off by Moscow's price row with Kiev.

Reuters - Tens of thousands of Iraqis protested against Israel's offensive in the Gaza Strip on Friday and powerful Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr called for revenge attacks on the Jewish state's strongest ally the United States.

AFP - The US economy lost a massive 524,000 jobs in December, sending the unemployment rate to a 16-year high of 7.2 percent, according to official data published Friday.

GAZA (Reuters) - Israel rejected a U.N. resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza on Friday and, as jets and tanks again pounded the Palestinian enclave, announced no decision on whether to step up its two-week-old war on Hamas guerrillas.

MOSCOW/KIEV (Reuters) - The European Union sought to finalize details on Friday of a gas monitoring deal to allow the resumption of gas supplies to Europe via Ukraine, which have been cut off for days over a pricing row.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A top bank industry group said on Friday that it opposes an agreement between financial giant Citigroup Inc and Democratic senators that would rewrite U.S. bankruptcy law to help troubled mortgage borrowers avoid foreclosure.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President-elect Barack Obama named two intelligence outsiders on Friday to head the top U.S. spy agencies and play a leading role in restoring what he has called a tarnished U.S. image abroad.

AP - The Illinois House voted overwhelmingly Friday to impeach Gov. Rod Blagojevich, an unprecedented action that sets up a Senate trial on whether he should be thrown out for allegedly trying to sell President-elect Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat.

AP - Promising to protect the United States while adhering to its core human values, President-elect Barack Obama formally unveiled his intelligence team Friday, praising their integrity, management skills and willingness to tell him the truth.

AP - President-elect Barack Obama called the latest U.S. job losses on Friday 'a stark reminder of how urgently action is needed' to revive the nation's staggering economy. He said he was open to fresh ideas from Congress.

AP - Disgraced money manager Bernard Madoff could find out soon whether he'll be sent to jail while he awaits trial in what is alleged to be largest financial fraud in history.

AP - Somali pirates released an oil-laden Saudi supertanker after receiving a $3 million ransom, a negotiator for the bandits said Friday. The ship owner did not confirm it.

AP - Verizon Wireless said Friday it has completed its $5.9 billion purchase of Little Rock, Ark.-based Alltel Corp., making Verizon the nation's largest mobile phone company.

AP - American troops in Iraq will be allowed to drink beer while watching this year's Super Bowl without fear of court-martial.

Reuters - The Illinois House of Representatives on Friday impeached Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who was accused of abuse of power including an attempt to sell President-elect Barack Obama's former U.S. Senate seat.

Reuters - Israel rejected a U.N. resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza on Friday and jets and tanks again pounded the Palestinian enclave.

Reuters - The European Union sought to finalize details on Friday of a gas monitoring deal to allow the resumption of gas supplies to Europe via Ukraine, which have been cut off for days over a pricing row.

Reuters - A top bank industry group said on Friday that it opposes an agreement between financial giant Citigroup Inc and Democratic senators that would rewrite U.S. bankruptcy law to help troubled mortgage borrowers avoid foreclosure.

Reuters - President-elect Barack Obama named two intelligence outsiders on Friday to head the top U.S. spy agencies and play a leading role in restoring what he has called a tarnished U.S. image abroad.

AFP - US economic conditions are 'dire' and 'deteriorating,' president-elect Barack Obama warned Friday after the release of new job-loss data, but said lawmakers had made progress on a huge stimulus package to jumpstart the economy.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - The Illinois House of Representatives impeached Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Friday for abuse of power, including a charge that he tried to sell President-elect Barack Obama's former U.S. Senate seat.

GAZA (Reuters) - Israel rejected a U.N. resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza on Friday and jets and tanks again pounded the Palestinian enclave.

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - A top bank industry group said on Friday that it opposes an agreement between Citigroup Inc and Democratic senators that would rewrite U.S. bankruptcy law to help troubled mortgage borrowers avoid foreclosure, saying it could make home loans more expensive.

AP - Israeli jets and helicopters bombarded Gaza Friday and Hamas responded with a barrage of rockets on at least two cities as both sides defied a U.N. call for an immediate cease-fire.

AP - The House has passed legislation to assure that employers live up to their four-decade-old legal promise to provide equal pay for equal work.

AP - A former actor on 'The Sopranos' was sentenced Friday to 10 years in prison for a botched burglary in the Bronx in which an accomplice shot and killed an off-duty police officer.

AP - A changing of the guard — and tackles and running backs and receivers — saw 15 first-timers make The Associated Press 2008 NFL All-Pro team announced Friday.

Reuters - The Illinois House of Representatives impeached Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Friday for abuse of power, including a charge that he tried to sell President-elect Barack Obama's former U.S. Senate seat.

Reuters - A top bank industry group said on Friday that it opposes an agreement between Citigroup Inc and Democratic senators that would rewrite U.S. bankruptcy law to help troubled mortgage borrowers avoid foreclosure, saying it could make home loans more expensive.

AFP - Somali pirates said Friday they had freed a Saudi-owned supertanker, whose capture nearly two months ago caused panic in international shipping and spurred the world into tougher anti-piracy action.

(Reuters) - Citigroup Inc said Robert Rubin has retired from the bank.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court said on Friday it would consider a challenge to a central provision of the 44-year-old voting rights law aimed at preventing states and local governments from making it harder for minorities to vote.

AP - Gov. Rod Blagojevich says the Illinois House's decision to impeach him was no surprise because he's been engaged in a struggle with lawmakers since his re-election in 2006. The governor spoke to reporters Friday in Chicago hours after members of the House voted 114-1 to impeach him.

AP - The Illinois Supreme Court says Secretary of State Jesse White doesn't need to sign Roland Burris' appointment to the U.S. Senate to make it valid.

AP - A Texas death row inmate with a history of mental problems pulled out his only good eye and told authorities he ate it.

AP - There are so many parents in this free-spirited, unconventional small town who won't get their kids vaccinated that federal researchers are paying money just to hear their side of things. On Saturday, 80 locals will get $50 apiece to talk about their worries over the risks of childhood shots.

AP - Patrick Swayze has checked himself into the hospital for observation after contracting pneumonia, A&E president Abbe Raven announced at a meeting of the Television Critics Association where Swayze was scheduled to appear Friday to discuss his upcoming police drama 'The Beast.'

AP - A man may have tipped his intentions when he stood in line at an Ohio bank wearing a ski mask before staging a holdup. Police in Stow near Akron say a 24-year-old man was arrested minutes later on Thursday following a brief car chase.

AP - A changing of the guard — and tackles and running backs and receivers — saw 15 first-timers make The Associated Press 2008 NFL All-Pro team announced Friday. While such standbys as three-time NFL Most Valuable Player Peyton Manning and six-time All-Pro Ray Lewis made the squad, there was plenty of room for newcomers. Ten of the 14 offensive players and five of the 13 on defense had never been All-Pros.

Reuters - Robert Rubin, the former U.S. Treasury Secretary, has resigned from Citigroup Inc, following months of criticism of his performance at the bank.

Reuters - President-elect Barack Obama and a key Democratic lawmaker revealed plans on Friday to overhaul the government's $700 billion financial rescue fund as a way to aid struggling homeowners and speed the flow of credit.

Reuters - The U.S. Supreme Court said on Friday it would consider a challenge to a central provision of the 44-year-old voting rights law aimed at preventing states and local governments from making it harder for minorities to vote.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Robert Rubin, a former Treasury Secretary, resigned from Citigroup Inc on Friday following months of criticism of his performance at the giant U.S. bank, whose sinking share price led to a government rescue.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President-elect Barack Obama and a key Democratic lawmaker revealed plans on Friday to overhaul the government's $700 billion financial rescue fund as a way to aid struggling homeowners and speed the flow of credit.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President-elect Barack Obama named two intelligence outsiders on Friday as his top spymasters to play a leading role in restoring what he has called a tarnished U.S. image abroad.

AP - Gov. Rod Blagojevich was impeached Friday by Illinois lawmakers furious that he turned state government into a 'freak show,' setting the stage for an unprecedented trial in the state Senate that could get him thrown out of office.

AP - Israeli jets and ground troops hammered at Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip and Islamic militants fired barrages of rockets at southern Israeli cities Friday, ignoring a U.N. resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire after two weeks of combat.

AP - A staggering 2.6 million jobs disappeared in 2008, the most since World War II, and the pain is only getting worse with 11 million Americans out of work and searching. Unemployment hit a 16-year high of 7.2 percent in December and could be headed for 10 percent or even higher by year's end.

AP - Birders with binoculars and cameras are flocking to a remote state park in search of a small yellow-chested bird that apparently crossed the U.S. border for the first time from its high-mountain habitat to the south.

AP - Patrick Swayze has checked himself into the hospital for observation after contracting pneumonia, A&E President Abbe Raven announced Friday at a meeting of the Television Critics Association.

AP - Baseball authorized nearly 8 percent of its players to use drugs for ADHD last season, which allowed them to take otherwise banned stimulants.

Reuters - Robert Rubin, a former Treasury Secretary, resigned from Citigroup Inc on Friday following months of criticism of his performance at the giant U.S. bank, whose sinking share price led to a government rescue.

AFP - Tanks and warplanes pounded Gaza on Friday after Israel defied a truce order from the UN Security Council as the death toll from the two-week-old conflict against Hamas passed 800.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Citigroup Inc is in advanced talks to sell its Smith Barney brokerage unit to Morgan Stanley, a person familiar with the matter said on Friday, in a move that would further dismantle the financial supermarket that has been bailed out by the U.S. government.

GAZA (Reuters) - Israel pressed on with a punishing Gaza offensive and Hamas sent more rocket salvoes into southern Israeli towns in a two-week-old war that continued to defy international efforts to stop it.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House is talking to the incoming Obama administration about releasing the final allotment of a $700 billion financial market rescue fund, but a final decision has not been made, a spokesperson said on Friday.

AP - Pushed by fellow Democrats, President-elect Barack Obama agreed to modest changes in his proposed tax cuts on Friday after inviting lawmakers to 'just show me' ideas for fixing an economy shedding jobs at an alarming rate.

AP - Gov. Rod Blagojevich was impeached Friday by Illinois lawmakers furious that he turned state government into a 'freak show,' setting the stage for an unprecedented trial in the state Senate that could get him thrown out of office.

AP - Speaking out two years after being embroiled in a gay sex scandal, former evangelical pastor Ted Haggard said Friday his sexual identity is complex and can't be put into 'stereotypical boxes,' but that his relationship with his wife is stronger than ever.

AP - A new lease on life — at 140? That's what a Manhattan lobster got Friday, when the 20-pound crustacean named George was released from a swanky Park Avenue restaurant's tank. City Crab and Seafood agreed to a request from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals to let the lobster return to the Atlantic Ocean.

Reuters - Citigroup Inc is in advanced talks to sell its Smith Barney brokerage unit to Morgan Stanley, a person familiar with the matter said on Friday, in a move that would further dismantle the financial supermarket that has been bailed out by the U.S. government.

Reuters - Israel pressed on with a punishing Gaza offensive and Hamas sent more rocket salvoes into southern Israeli towns in a two-week-old war that continued to defy international efforts to stop it.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Citigroup Inc is in advanced talks to sell its Smith Barney brokerage unit to Morgan Stanley, a person familiar with the matter said on Friday, in a move that would further dismantle the financial supermarket that has been bailed out by the U.S. government.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An outbreak of salmonella food poisoning that has sickened at least 399 people and put 70 or more into the hospital has been linked to peanut butter, officials in Minnesota said on Friday.

AP - Authorities say five people have been shot at a high school on Chicago's South Side.

Reuters - Citigroup Inc is in advanced talks to sell its Smith Barney brokerage unit to Morgan Stanley, a person familiar with the matter said on Friday, in a move that would further dismantle the financial supermarket that has been bailed out by the U.S. government.

Reuters - Minnesota health officials issued a product alert for peanut butter on Friday after finding a jar that was contaminated with a strain of salmonella linked to an outbreak across the United States.

AFP - Israel's offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip was set to enter its third week on Saturday, with both sides brushing off a UN appeal to halt devastating attacks that have claimed over 800 lives.

AP - Officials at the embattled banks Citigroup and Morgan Stanley will negotiate over the weekend about possibly combining their wealth management businesses, a deal mostly aimed at bolstering Citi with much-needed cash.

AP - Five people were shot as spectators left a crowded high school basketball game Friday in what police called a possibly gang-related attack that sent panicked students running into a snowy street on the city's South Side.