GUANTANAMO BAY U.S. NAVAL BASE, Cuba (Reuters) - Hours after taking office on Tuesday, U.S. President Barack Obama ordered military prosecutors in the Guantanamo war crimes tribunals to ask for a 120-day halt in all pending cases.

(Reuters) - Treasury Secretary-nominee Timothy Geithner requested Congress to pass a robust stimulus plan to revive the economy and pledged to 'reform' the government's $700 billion bailout program, Bloomberg said, citing prepared testimony for a Senate Finance Committee hearing.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli forces completed a withdrawal from the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, three days after Israel and Hamas declared separate ceasefires, a military spokesman said.

AP - The U.S. moved Tuesday to halt the Guantanamo war crimes trials, filing motions to suspend proceedings for 120 days until President Barack Obama's administration completes a review of the system for prosecuting suspected terrorists.

Reuters - Hours after taking office on Tuesday, U.S. President Barack Obama ordered military prosecutors in the Guantanamo war crimes tribunals to ask for a 120-day halt in all pending cases.

Reuters - Treasury Secretary-nominee Timothy Geithner requested Congress to pass a robust stimulus plan to revive the economy and pledged to 'reform' the government's $700 billion bailout program, Bloomberg said, citing prepared testimony for a Senate Finance Committee hearing.

Reuters - Israeli forces completed a withdrawal from the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, three days after Israel and Hamas declared separate ceasefires, a military spokesman said.

AFP - Barack Obama Wednesday started the job of hauling his crisis-weary nation out of its 'winter of hardship' by settling into the Oval Office, a day after his historic inauguration as the United States' first black president.

AFP - Israeli troops have completed their withdrawal from the Gaza Strip after a 22-day offensive against the Islamist Hamas movement, an army spokesman told AFP on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Barack Obama, fresh from the pageantry of his historic inauguration, will turn on Wednesday toward his goals of rescuing the economy, charting a new course for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and shaping his approach to the Middle East conflict.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's nominee for U.S. Treasury secretary, Timothy Geithner, though tarnished by disclosures of his failure to pay taxes, is likely too uniquely qualified for Congress to reject amid hopes to contain the worst economic downturn in decades.

(Reuters) - Frank DiPascali Jr, a key lieutenant of Bernard Madoff, is a potential point man in the investigation of the alleged fraud Madoff ran for decades, the Wall Street Journal said, citing a criminal complaint and people familiar with the matter.

KABUL (Reuters) - U.S. General David Petraeus met Afghan President Hamid Karzai overnight, U.S. officials said on Wednesday, after the regional military chief said deals had been made on new transport routes into Afghanistan from Central Asia.

AP - President Barack Obama is turning from the star-studded, crowd-pleasing pomp of his inauguration to the workaday task of governing a hurting nation of 304 million and meeting the soaring expectations that he and others have put on his shoulders.

AP - Military judges will consider Wednesday whether to halt the Guantanamo war crimes trials after President Barack Obama ordered prosecutors to request a 120-day suspension during a review of the system used to try suspected terrorists.

AP - Israel withdrew the last of its troops from the Gaza Strip before dawn Wednesday, the military said, and pursued diplomatic efforts to stanch the flow of arms into the Hamas-ruled territory.

AP - Iraq is willing to have the U.S. withdraw its troops and assume security for the country before the end of 2011, the departure date agreed to by former President George W. Bush, the Iraqi prime minister's spokesman said.

AP - Mike Bibby scored nine of his season-high 31 points in the final five minutes, and the Atlanta Hawks beat the Chicago Bulls 105-102 Tuesday to complete a three-game season sweep.

Reuters - Barack Obama, fresh from the pageantry of his historic inauguration, will turn on Wednesday toward his goals of rescuing the economy, charting a new course for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and shaping his approach to the Middle East conflict.

Reuters - President Barack Obama's nominee for U.S. Treasury secretary, Timothy Geithner, though tarnished by disclosures of his failure to pay taxes, is likely too uniquely qualified for Congress to reject amid hopes to contain the worst economic downturn in decades.

Reuters - Frank DiPascali Jr, a key lieutenant of Bernard Madoff, is a potential point man in the investigation of the alleged fraud Madoff ran for decades, the Wall Street Journal said, citing a criminal complaint and people familiar with the matter.

Reuters - U.S. General David Petraeus met Afghan President Hamid Karzai overnight, U.S. officials said on Wednesday, after the regional military chief said deals had been made on new transport routes into Afghanistan from Central Asia.

AFP - Israeli troops have completed their withdrawal from the Gaza Strip after a 22-day offensive against the Islamist Hamas movement, an army spokesman told AFP on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's nominee for U.S. Treasury secretary, Timothy Geithner, though tarnished by disclosures of his failure to pay taxes, is likely too uniquely qualified for Congress to reject amid hopes to contain the worst economic downturn in decades.

DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Corp Chief Operating Officer Fritz Henderson said the automaker expected to receive a delayed U.S. government loan payment in the next several days that it needs to avoid running out of cash.

AP - With the country facing a worsening economic crisis, President Barack Obama is hoping to win quick approval of his choice of Timothy Geithner to be Treasury secretary, but first Geithner has to explain how he missed paying $34,000 in payroll taxes earlier in the decade.

AP - After an enthusiastic welcome from thousands of cheering Texans in two cities, George W. Bush spent his first night out of office at his Crawford ranch.

AP - Divers hope to resume their search of the frigid, murky Hudson River on Wednesday for the most coveted piece of debris from the plane that safely splashed down in the river last week: The missing left engine.

AP - Police Chief Richard Watson admits his department's newest patrol car is a curious departure from its big-horsepower Ford Crown Victorias. But the four-cylinder Pontiac Vibe GT has plenty of pep for policing, he said, and gets twice the gas mileage.

Reuters - President Barack Obama's nominee for U.S. Treasury secretary, Timothy Geithner, though tarnished by disclosures of his failure to pay taxes, is likely too uniquely qualified for Congress to reject amid hopes to contain the worst economic downturn in decades.

Reuters - General Motors Corp Chief Operating Officer Fritz Henderson said the automaker expected to receive a delayed U.S. government loan payment in the next several days that it needs to avoid running out of cash.

AFP - Barack Obama Wednesday started the job of hauling his crisis-weary nation out of its 'winter of hardship' by settling into the Oval Office, a day after his historic inauguration as the first black US president.

AFP - The last Israeli soldier withdrew from the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, the fourth day of a ceasefire that ended a 22-day blitz on the Islamist Hamas movement in which 1,300 Palestinians were killed.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Many U.S. troops in Iraq were overjoyed to see President Barack Obama take his oath, but some were unhappy about one thing the Democrat has promised to do: permit gay and lesbian soldiers to serve openly.

AP - The last Israeli troops left the Gaza Strip before dawn Wednesday, the military said, as Israel dispatched its foreign minister to Europe in a bid to rally international support to end arms smuggling into the Hamas-ruled territory.

AP - President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle capped their historic day with a speedy tour through 10 inaugural balls before retiring, at last, for their first night in the White House.

AP - Roger Federer and Marat Safin rolled to easy victories Wednesday against first-time opponents to reach the Australian Open's third round, where the familiarity factor will be much higher: They'll be playing each other.

Reuters - Many U.S. troops in Iraq were overjoyed to see President Barack Obama take his oath, but some were unhappy about one thing the Democrat has promised to do: permit gay and lesbian soldiers to serve openly.

AFP - Barack Obama Wednesday began the job of hauling his crisis-weary nation out of its 'winter of hardship' by taking action to halt Guantanamo trials and convening top economic and foreign policy aides.

GUANTANAMO BAY U.S. NAVAL BASE, Cuba (Reuters) - Hours after taking office, U.S. President Barack Obama ordered military prosecutors in the Guantanamo war crimes tribunals to ask for a 120-day halt in all pending cases and a judge granted the request on Wednesday in the case against a young Canadian.

KHARTOUM (Reuters) A Sudanese man on Wednesday denied murdering a U.S. diplomat and his driver in Khartoum, but he told a court he thought killing 'American unbelievers' was honorable.

AP - A judge on Wednesday quickly granted President Barack Obama's request to suspend the war crimes trial of a young Canadian in what may be the beginning of the end for the Bush administration's system of trying alleged terrorists.

AP - On his first full day in office, President Barack Obama summoned economic advisers and top military officials to the White House on Wednesday in quick steps toward delivering the change he promised as a candidate.

AP - The last Israeli troops left the Gaza Strip before dawn Wednesday, the military said, as Israel dispatched its foreign minister to Europe in a bid to rally international support to end arms smuggling into the Hamas-ruled territory.

AP - General Motors sold fewer cars globally than Toyota last year, as the Japanese automaker passed the Detroit company for the first time.

AP - Bus drivers in northwest Pakistan have begun removing audio and video equipment from their vehicles after Taliban militants threatened suicide attacks against those who played music or movies for their passengers, an industry official said Tuesday.

AP - Voters for 2008's worst movies love Mike Myers. They really love him. Myers' comedy flop 'The Love Guru' led the field Wednesday for the Razzies with seven nominations, among them worst picture and worst-acting slots for Myers, Jessica Alba, Verne Troyer and Academy Award winner Ben Kingsley.

Reuters - Hours after taking office, U.S. President Barack Obama ordered military prosecutors in the Guantanamo war crimes tribunals to ask for a 120-day halt in all pending cases and a judge granted the request on Wednesday in the case against a young Canadian.

Reuters - KHARTOUM (Reuters) A Sudanese man on Wednesday denied murdering a U.S. diplomat and his driver in Khartoum, but he told a court he thought killing 'American unbelievers' was honorable.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama, acting swiftly on his first full day in office, summoned his economic team and war council on Wednesday to press ahead on plans for rescuing the economy and withdrawing from Iraq.

DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Corp on Wednesday said its global vehicle sales for 2008 had dropped 11 percent, allowing rival Toyota Motor Corp to surpass it as the world's largest automaker for the first time.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's nominee for Treasury secretary, Timothy Geithner, told Congress on Wednesday forceful action was needed to combat the U.S. recession and he vowed to overhaul the government's $700 billion financial rescue program.

ZURICH (Reuters) - Switzerland is ready to consider taking in detainees from the U.S. prison for terrorism suspects at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba if that helps to shut it down, the Swiss government said on Wednesday.

KHARTROUM (Reuters) - Two Sudanese men on Wednesday denied murdering a U.S. diplomat and his driver in Khartoum, but told a court they thought killing 'American unbelievers' was honorable.

AP - President Barack Obama stepped into the Oval Office for the first time as chief executive on Wednesday and summoned economic advisers and top military officials to separate meetings aimed at delivering the change he promised as a candidate.

AP - Treasury Secretary-designate Tim Geithner said Wednesday he was careless in failing to pay $34,000 in Social Security and Medicare taxes earlier this decade and apologized to Congress.

AP - Sen. Edward M. Kennedy has been released from the hospital after suffering a seizure during an inaugural luncheon.

AP - The judge in the Sept. 11 war crimes case at Guantanamo has agreed to President Barack Obama's request to suspend the case pending a 120-day review.

AP - The last Israeli troops left the Gaza Strip before dawn Wednesday, the military said, as Israel dispatched its foreign minister to Europe in a bid to rally international support to end arms smuggling into the Hamas-ruled territory.

AP - Japan's Toyota Motor Corp. sold more cars and trucks last year than General Motors Corp., stripping the Detroit automaker of the No. 1 global sales crown for the first time in 78 years.

AP - Two days after declaring they found the right man for the job, the New York Jets introduced Rex Ryan as their coach.

Reuters - U.S. President Barack Obama, acting swiftly on his first full day in office, summoned his economic team and war council on Wednesday to press ahead on plans for rescuing the economy and withdrawing from Iraq.

Reuters - General Motors Corp on Wednesday said its global vehicle sales for 2008 had dropped 11 percent, allowing rival Toyota Motor Corp to surpass it as the world's largest automaker for the first time.

Reuters - President Barack Obama's nominee for Treasury secretary, Timothy Geithner, told Congress on Wednesday forceful action was needed to combat the U.S. recession and he vowed to overhaul the government's $700 billion financial rescue program.

Reuters - A U.S. military judge on Wednesday halted the trial of five prisoners accused of plotting the September 11 attacks, giving President Barack Obama the time he sought to decide whether to scrap the Guantanamo war crimes tribunals.

Reuters - Two Sudanese men on Wednesday denied murdering a U.S. diplomat and his driver in Khartoum, but told a court they thought killing 'American unbelievers' was honorable.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama, acting swiftly on his first full day in office, plunged into Middle East peace diplomacy and summoned his economic and national security teams on Wednesday to confront the financial crisis and the unpopular Iraq war.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Treasury Secretary-nominee Timothy Geithner on Wednesday said the government's response to the financial crisis would be made in the coming weeks and he apologized for 'careless mistakes' in underpaying taxes.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Hillary Clinton headed toward confirmation as U.S. secretary of state on Wednesday despite renewed Republican concerns about potential conflicts of interest raised by her husband's foreign fundraising.

GUANTANAMO BAY U.S. NAVAL BASE, Cuba (Reuters) - A U.S. military judge on Wednesday halted the trial of five prisoners accused of plotting the September 11 attacks, giving President Barack Obama the time he sought to decide whether to scrap the Guantanamo war crimes tribunals.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama pledged on Wednesday to pursue Middle East peace, telephoning Israeli and Palestinian leaders after Israel completed a troop withdrawal from the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Three executives at News Corp's Dow Jones & Co headquarters received envelopes containing white powder and another 10 were discovered in the mail room, a company spokesman said on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Ailing Sen. Edward Kennedy, 76, was released from a hospital on Wednesday, a day after suffering a seizure at an inaugural lunch for President Barack Obama, a Kennedy spokeswoman said.

MIAMI (Reuters) - In a suicide note left for his family, missing Florida fund manager Arthur Nadel expressed guilt for losing clients' money and felt someone might try to kill him, according to police documents released on Wednesday.

AP - President Barack Obama announced on his first day in office Wednesday that he is freezing the pay of the about a hundred White House employees who make over $100,000 a year.

AP - President Barack Obama called four Middle East leaders on Wednesday, weighing in for the first time about the Gaza crisis by pledging to support a fragile cease-fire.

AP - The new Obama administration circulated a draft executive order Wednesday that calls for closing the controversial detention center at Guantanamo Bay within a year and halting any war crimes trials in the meantime.

AP - Sen. Edward M. Kennedy was released from the hospital on Wednesday morning after suffering a seizure during an inaugural luncheon.

AP - Japan's iconic Hello Kitty has been recruited to help calm anxious mothers at a maternity hospital in Taiwan where the cartoon image adorns everything from walls to newborns' blankets .

AP - Jeff Kent plans to announce his retirement from baseball on Thursday at Dodger Stadium.

Reuters - U.S. President Barack Obama, acting swiftly on his first full day in office, plunged into Middle East peace diplomacy and summoned his economic and national security teams on Wednesday to confront the financial crisis and the unpopular Iraq war.

Reuters - Treasury Secretary-nominee Timothy Geithner on Wednesday said the government's response to the financial crisis would be made in the coming weeks and he apologized for 'careless mistakes' in underpaying taxes.

Reuters - Hillary Clinton headed toward confirmation as U.S. secretary of state on Wednesday despite renewed Republican concerns about potential conflicts of interest raised by her husband's foreign fundraising.

Reuters - A U.S. military judge on Wednesday halted the trial of five prisoners accused of plotting the September 11 attacks, giving President Barack Obama the time he sought to decide whether to scrap the Guantanamo war crimes tribunals.

Reuters - U.S. President Barack Obama pledged on Wednesday to pursue Middle East peace, telephoning Israeli and Palestinian leaders after Israel completed a troop withdrawal from the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.

Reuters - Three executives at News Corp's Dow Jones & Co headquarters received envelopes containing white powder and another 10 were discovered in the mail room, a company spokesman said on Wednesday.

AFP - President Barack Obama Wednesday plunged into the multiple economic and national security crises afflicting the United States, as grim realities intruded on historic inauguration euphoria in his first full day in the Oval Office.

AFP - Congolese troops shut out UN peacekeepers, aid workers and media Wednesday from witnessing a joint operation with Rwandan troops to hunt down a Rwandan Hutu militia.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama on Wednesday plunged into Middle East peace diplomacy on his first full day in office and looked poised to order the closing of the internationally condemned military detention camp at Guantanamo within a year.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican lawmakers on Wednesday forced the Senate Judiciary Committee to postpone for one week a vote on U.S. attorney general-nominee Eric Holder.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday charged missing fund manager Arthur Nadel with defrauding investors at six Florida-based hedge funds.

AP - In a first-day flurry of activity, President Barack Obama set up shop in the Oval Office, summoned advisers to begin dealing with war and recession and ordered new ethics rules for 'a clean break from business as usual.' He also froze salaries for top White House staff members, placed phone calls to Mideast leaders and had aides circulate a draft executive order that would close the detention center at Guantanamo Bay within a year.

AP - The Guantanamo Bay war crimes court came to an abrupt halt Wednesday as military judges granted President Barack Obama's request to suspend proceedings while he reviews his predecessor's strategy for prosecuting terrorists.

AP - Treasury Secretary-designate Timothy Geithner said Wednesday he was careless in failing to pay $34,000 in Social Security and Medicare taxes earlier this decade but declared 'I have paid what I owed.' He apologized to Congress.

AP - Argentine President Cristina Fernandez met with Cuba's ailing former leader Fidel Castro on Wednesday, easing rumors that his health had badly deteriorated. Castro looked well and spoke about new U.S. President Barack Obama, Fernandez told reporters before leaving the Cuban capital, Havana.

AP - Officials in New York City say divers have found the jet engine that broke off a US Airways plane that crash-landed in the Hudson River. New York City and State Police said the divers confirmed Wednesday afternoon that an object detected by sonar near the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum is the missing engine.

AP - Even though Akon has a birth certificate, he says his age is still a mystery — and he'd rather keep it that way. 'All it's going to do is depress me,' he told The Associated Press in a recent interview. 'I don't want to know I'm getting older. Then I'll start to think about getting checkups and insurance. I don't want that.'

AP - Jeff Kent plans to announce his retirement from baseball on Thursday at Dodger Stadium. Kent spent 17 years in the major leagues and leaves as the career home-run leader among second basemen with 351, 74 more than Ryne Sandberg.

Reuters - U.S. President Barack Obama on Wednesday plunged into Middle East peace diplomacy on his first full day in office and looked poised to order the closing of the internationally condemned military detention camp at Guantanamo within a year.

Reuters - Bank of America Corp Chief Executive Kenneth Lewis spent about $1.2 million to buy 200,000 common shares on Tuesday, four days after the largest U.S. bank posted its first quarterly loss in 17 years.

AFP - US President Barack Obama plunged straight into the Middle East conflict on his first day in office on Wednesday, calling regional leaders including the Palestinian president, just hours after the last Israeli soldier left Gaza.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama on Wednesday plunged into Israeli-Palestinian peace diplomacy on his first full day in office and looked poised to order the closing of the internationally condemned military detention camp at Guantanamo.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama will lay out a comprehensive plan in the next few weeks to attack the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, Timothy Geithner, his nominee to head the U.S. Treasury, said on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Hillary Clinton won U.S. Senate approval as secretary of state on Wednesday despite renewed Republican concerns about potential conflicts of interest created by her husband's foreign fundraising.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bank of America Corp Chief Executive Kenneth Lewis spent about $1.2 million to buy 200,000 common shares on Tuesday, four days after the largest U.S. bank posted its first quarterly loss in 17 years.

AP - In a first-day whirlwind, President Barack Obama showcased efforts to revive the economy on Wednesday, summoned top military officials to chart a new course in Iraq and eased into the daunting thicket of Middle East diplomacy. 'What an opportunity we have to change this country,' said the 47-year-old chief executive, who also issued new ethics rules for his administration and hosted a reception at the presidential mansion for 200 inauguration volunteers and guests selected by an Internet lottery.

AP - The Senate confirmed Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of state Wednesday as President Barack Obama moved to make his imprint on U.S. foreign policy, mobilizing a fresh team of veteran advisers and reaching out to world leaders.

AP - Israel's last troops left the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, although the cease-fire was frayed when its navy opened fire toward beaches in northern Gaza, and smugglers' tunnels that were targeted in the 23-day campaign against Hamas were active again at the Egyptian border.

AP - Fidel Castro watched the U.S. inauguration on television and said Wednesday that Barack Obama seems 'like a man who is absolutely sincere,' Argentina's president said after meeting with the ailing Cuban icon. 'Fidel believes in Obama,' Cristina Fernandez said.

AP - Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is going on the offensive against news organizations and bloggers she says are perpetuating malicious gossip about her and her children. But political observers say the former Republican vice presidential candidate can't have it both ways: trotting out the children to showcase her family values, then trying to shield them from scrutiny.

AP - Cleaner air over the past two decades has added nearly five months to average life expectancy in the United States, according to a federally funded study. Researchers said it is the first study to show that reducing air pollution translates into longer lives.

AP - Authorities said an Oldsmar man crashed into a parked pick-up truck, a business, a fence and a tree before he finally landed in the Pinellas County Jail. According to a news release, a 42-year-old man left a liquor store Tuesday night, climbed into his car and backed into the truck. He then rammed the truck through the front window of the business he had just left.

Reuters - U.S. President Barack Obama on Wednesday plunged into Israeli-Palestinian peace diplomacy on his first full day in office and looked poised to order the closing of the internationally condemned military detention camp at Guantanamo.

Reuters - U.S. President Barack Obama will lay out a comprehensive plan in the next few weeks to attack the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, Timothy Geithner, his nominee to head the U.S. Treasury, said on Wednesday.

Reuters - Hillary Clinton won U.S. Senate approval as secretary of state on Wednesday despite renewed Republican concerns about potential conflicts of interest created by her husband's foreign fundraising.

AFP - President Barack Obama Wednesday dived into the treacherous diplomacy of the Middle East, promised a new era of ethical politics and froze the salaries of top staff in a frenetic first day in office.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Caroline Kennedy told New York Gov. David Paterson on Wednesday that she is withdrawing from consideration to replace Hillary Clinton in the U.S. Senate, New York media reported on Wednesday, citing unnamed sources.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The chief executives of Bank of America Corp and JPMorgan Chase & Co bought some of their companies' stock in the last week, a sign of confidence as the banking sector struggles with soaring credit losses and a deep recession.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - White powder in about a dozen envelopes sent to Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones executives turned out to be harmless, the New York Police Department said on Wednesday.

AP - President Barack Obama plans to sign an executive order Thursday to close the Guantanamo Bay detention center within a year and halt military trials of terror suspects held there, a senior administration official said. The executive order was one of three expected imminently on how to interrogate and prosecute al-Qaida, Taliban or other foreign fighters believed to threaten the United States.

AP - In a first-day whirlwind, President Barack Obama showcased efforts to revive the economy on Wednesday, summoned top military officials to the White House to chart a new course in Iraq and eased into the daunting thicket of Middle East diplomacy. 'What an opportunity we have to change this country,' said the 47-year-old chief executive, who also issued new ethics rules for his administration and hosted a reception at the presidential mansion for 200 inauguration volunteers and guests selected by an Internet lottery.

AP - Israel's last troops left the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, although the cease-fire was frayed when its navy opened fire toward beaches in northern Gaza, and smugglers' tunnels that were targeted in the 23-day campaign against Hamas were active again at the Egyptian border.

AP - Investigators said Wednesday they have found the remains of what may be a bird in the engine of the US Airways jet that made a dramatic landing in New York's Hudson River. The National Transportation Safety Board said an examination of the Airbus 320's right engine revealed evidence of 'soft body damage' and that 'organic material' was found in the engine and on the wings and fuselage.

AP - A previously unknown fault in eastern Arkansas could trigger a magnitude 7 earthquake with an epicenter near a major natural gas pipeline, a scientist said Wednesday.

Reuters - Caroline Kennedy told New York Gov. David Paterson on Wednesday that she is withdrawing from consideration to replace Hillary Clinton in the U.S. Senate, New York media reported on Wednesday, citing unnamed sources.

Reuters - The chief executives of Bank of America Corp and JPMorgan Chase & Co bought some of their companies' stock in the last week, a sign of confidence as the banking sector struggles with soaring credit losses and a deep recession.

Reuters - White powder in about a dozen envelopes sent to Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones executives turned out to be harmless, the New York Police Department said on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An $825 billion economic stimulus package sought by Democrats cleared a key hurdle on Wednesday as a House of Representatives panel approved major portions of the spending initiatives in the plan that President Barack Obama wants enacted by mid-February.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama is ready to issue orders on Thursday to close Guantanamo prison and overhaul the treatment of terrorism suspects, in a swift move to restore a U.S. image hurt by charges of torture.

AP - Published reports say Caroline Kennedy is withdrawing from her effort to join the U.S. Senate in the seat once held by her uncle, slain Sen. Bobby Kennedy. The New York Times and New York Post reported Wednesday that Kennedy has ended her monthlong bid to succeed Hillary Rodham Clinton, who was confirmed as secretary of state.

AP - President Barack Obama will begin overhauling U.S. national security policy Thursday with orders to close the Guantanamo Bay detention center, review military trials of terror suspects and end harsh interrogations, two government officials said.

AP - After the flub heard around the world, President Barack Obama has taken the oath of office. Again. Chief Justice John Roberts delivered the oath to Obama on Wednesday night at the White House — a rare do-over. The surprise moment came in response to Tuesday's much-noticed stumble, when Roberts got the words of the oath a little off, which prompted Obama to do so, too.

Reuters - An $825 billion economic stimulus package sought by Democrats cleared a key hurdle on Wednesday as a House of Representatives panel approved major portions of the spending initiatives in the plan that President Barack Obama wants enacted by mid-February.

Reuters - President Barack Obama is ready to issue orders on Thursday to close Guantanamo prison and overhaul the treatment of terrorism suspects, in a swift move to restore a U.S. image hurt by charges of torture.

AFP - Hillary Clinton on Wednesday became US President Barack Obama's top diplomat after pledging to fight climate change, push hard for Arab-Israeli peace and take a new approach to US foes like Iran.

TOKYO/BEIJING (Reuters) - Japanese exports plunged a record amount in December and China's economy slowed sharply in the fourth quarter as recessions in rich nations hammered the demand that Asia's top two economies rely on for growth.

AP - President Barack Obama will begin overhauling U.S. national security policy Thursday with orders to close the Guantanamo Bay detention center, review military trials of terror suspects and end harsh interrogations, two government officials said.

AP - After wavering briefly, Caroline Kennedy renewed her determination Wednesday to win appointment to the U.S. Senate seat once held by her slain uncle, Bobby Kennedy, a person close to the decision said.

AP - A female student was stabbed to death Wednesday night on Virginia Tech's campus, the first killing at the school since a deadly mass shooting there in 2007.

AP - Fidel Castro watched the U.S. inauguration on television and said Wednesday that Barack Obama seems 'like a man who is absolutely sincere,' Argentina's president said after meeting with the ailing Cuban icon.

AP - Serena Williams ignored pain and frustration to reach the third round of the Australian Open with a straight sets win over Gisela Dulko on Thursday. It was far from routine.

Reuters - Japanese exports plunged a record amount in December and China's economy slowed sharply in the fourth quarter as recessions in rich nations hammered the demand that Asia's top two economies rely on for growth.