WASHINGTON (Reuters) - When Republican Party insiders pick a new leader on Friday, he will have to be more than just a nuts-and-bolts manager by rallying the faithful after two disastrous elections that transformed U.S. politics.

AP - The government will provide a snapshot of the battered labor market Thursday when it reports how many people filed first-time claims for jobless benefits last week.

AP - Dinara Safina has advanced to the Australian Open final, beating fellow Russian Vera Zvonareva.

Reuters - When Republican Party insiders pick a new leader on Friday, he will have to be more than just a nuts-and-bolts manager by rallying the faithful after two disastrous elections that transformed U.S. politics.

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama's $825 billion stimulus plan cleared its first Congressional hurdle as the Federal Reserve eyed more extreme measures to ease credit market strains, boosting Asian stocks despite deep skepticism that a global slowdown can be reversed quickly.

(Reuters) - U.S. government officials seeking to revamp the financial bailout have discussed spending another $1 trillion to $2 trillion to help restore banks to health, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter.

AP - President Barack Obama's economic stimulus legislation is headed for the Senate after a surprisingly partisan vote in the House in which Republicans united in opposition and 11 mostly conservative Democrats defected.

AP - Senior officials in the Islamic group Hamas are indicating a willingness to negotiate a deal for a long-term truce with Israel as long as the borders of Gaza are opened to the rest of the world.

AP - States are not doing what it takes to keep good teachers and remove bad ones, a national study found.

AP - More than a million people stranded in darkness Thursday in the wake of an icy winter storm could face a lengthy wait for electricity to course through their frosty homes, even as federal help was promised to two states hit hardest by the blast.

AFP - Spiralling violence near Gaza threatened on Thursday to shatter ceasefires that ended a war in the Hamas-run enclave as US envoy George Mitchell headed for talks with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas.

AFP - Strikes delayed French commuter traffic but, initially at least, the promised 'Black Thursday' protest against President Nicolas Sarkozy's government was less dramatic than expected.

LONDON (Reuters) - German unemployment rose more than expected, Japanese firms felt more pain from the financial crisis and a big Russian bank said on Thursday its worst case scenario was that 10 percent of its loans were bad.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq will not renew the license of Blackwater Worldwide, the private security firm accused of killing Iraqi civilians while protecting U.S. diplomats, U.S. and Iraqi officials said Thursday.

AP - After days of studiously avoiding the impeachment trial that could remove him from office, Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich has reversed course, saying he wants to offer a closing argument Thursday.

AP - Walter Noel Jr. and his wife Monica had it all: Luxurious houses on Connecticut's wealthy coast, Palm Beach and the Hamptons, a Park Avenue pied-a-terre and, most of all, a hilltop retreat on an exclusive island in the Caribbean named after a goddess. They hobnobbed with Mick Jagger and Tommy Hilfiger, who sounded a bit jealous of their view.

AP - For Serena Williams, it's two Russians down, one to go. Calm, collected and cool — with the Rod Laver Arena roof closed to keep out Melbourne's oppressive heat wave — the second-seeded American ended Olympic champion Elena Dementieva's 15-match winning streak with a 6-3, 6-4 victory Thursday to reach the Australian Open final.

Reuters - Officials of U.S. President Barack Obama's administration are drafting a letter to Iran from the president aimed at unfreezing U.S.-Iranian relations and opening the way for face-to-face talks, Britain's Guardian newspaper reported on Thursday.

Reuters - German unemployment rose more than expected, Japanese firms felt more pain from the financial crisis and a big Russian bank said on Thursday its worst case scenario was that 10 percent of its loans were bad.

Reuters - Iraq will not renew the license of Blackwater Worldwide, the private security firm accused of killing Iraqi civilians while protecting U.S. diplomats, U.S. and Iraqi officials said Thursday.

AFP - Handing US President Barack Obama his first big win, the divided House of Representatives approved a huge stimulus bill he touted as vital to saving the US economy from collapse.

DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) - Policymakers sounded the alarm about the growing threat of protectionism on Thursday as new data showed a sharp fall in air freight traffic that signaled a broader slowdown in world trade.

LONDON (Reuters) - Officials in U.S. President Barack Obama's administration are drafting a letter to Iran from the president aimed at unfreezing relations and opening the way for direct talks, Britain's Guardian newspaper reported on Thursday.

LONDON (Reuters) - The European Central Bank could cut interest rates to new record lows, its president said on Thursday, as German unemployment showed its biggest rise in nearly four years and eurozone economic sentiment worsened.

AP - Ford Motor Co. said Thursday it lost $5.9 billion in the fourth quarter as auto sales slumped, but it has no plans to seek federal aid unless economic conditions worsen.

AP - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says that while critics may quibble with some elements of spending in the $819 billion economic rescue plan, Democrats were willing to act — and Republicans were not.

AP - President Barack Obama's Mideast envoy turned his attention to the Western-backed Palestinian government in the West Bank on Thursday as rockets thudded into southern Israel and Israeli warplanes attacked new targets in Gaza.

AP - Google Inc. and two nonprofit partners Wednesday launched a Web site that lets consumers test their Internet connections to reveal possible interference and traffic management by service providers.

AP - Roger Federer moved within one victory of his 14th Grand Slam title with another dominating victory, ousting Andy Roddick 6-2, 7-5, 7-5 Thursday to reach the Australian Open final.

Reuters - Policymakers sounded the alarm about the growing threat of protectionism on Thursday as new data showed a sharp fall in air freight traffic that signaled a broader slowdown in world trade.

Reuters - The European Central Bank could cut interest rates to new record lows, its president said on Thursday, as German unemployment showed its biggest rise in nearly four years and eurozone economic sentiment worsened.

AFP - A surge in Germany's unemployment rate and more widespread Asian job cuts plunged the world economy deeper in the mire Thursday as Barack Obama's plan to cushion the impact on the US passed its first hurdle.

DETROIT (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co posted a deeper than expected quarterly net loss on Thursday, but said it would have sufficient cash to fund its turnaround without seeking government loans, and shares rose in premarket trade.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Jobless rolls jumped to a record peak in mid-January, while new orders for durable goods fell for a fifth straight month in December, data showed on Thursday, underscoring the deepening economic malaise.

GAZA (Reuters) - Palestinian rocket attacks and Israeli air strikes threatened on Thursday to undermine efforts by President Barack Obama's Middle East envoy to reinforce a fragile Gaza ceasefire.

AP - The number of people receiving unemployment benefits has reached an all-time record, the government said Thursday, and more layoffs are spreading throughout the economy.

AP - Hours before a possible vote to remove him from office, Gov. Rod Blagojevich is ending his boycott of his Senate impeachment trial Thursday, planning a 'passionate' speech in a last-ditch attempt to hold on to his job.

AP - Swiss police said Thursday they stumbled across a large marijuana plantation while using Google Earth, the search engine company's satellite mapping software.

Reuters - Jobless rolls jumped to a record peak in mid-January, while new orders for durable goods fell for a fifth straight month in December, data showed on Thursday, underscoring the deepening economic malaise.

Reuters - U.S. envoy George Mitchell said on Thursday that opening the Gaza Strip to commercial goods would help to choke off the smuggling that Israel fears could replenish Hamas's weapons stocks.

AFP - US envoy George Mitchell called for a durable truce in Gaza on Thursday as spiralling violence threatened to shatter ceasefires that ended a devastating war in the Hamas-run enclave.

AFP - The United Nations will launch a 613 million dollar appeal to meet the 'massive' needs of those hit by Israel's 22-day war in Gaza, UN chief Ban Ki-moon said Thursday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of jobless claiming benefits jumped to a record in mid-January, while new orders for durable goods fell for a fifth straight month in December, according to data on Thursday that showed the economy in steep decline.

DETROIT (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co posted a deeper-than-expected $5.9 billion quarterly loss on Thursday but said it would have the cash to survive the worst downturn in auto sales in decades without a U.S. government bailout.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama signed his first bill into law on Thursday, handing his labor and women's rights backers a victory by reversing a 2007 U.S. Supreme Court decision that made it harder to sue for pay discrimination.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - More than 770,000 homes and businesses were still without power Thursday morning after snow and ice storms on January 27-28 left more than 1.3 million customers in the dark from Oklahoma to Pennsylvania, local utilities reported.

RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - U.S. envoy George Mitchell said on Thursday that opening the Gaza Strip to commercial goods would help to choke off the smuggling that Israel fears could replenish Hamas's weapons stocks.

MOSUL, Iraq (Reuters) - An election in two days in Iraq's most violent province, where al Qaeda and other insurgents are making a last stand, could bring Sunni Arabs back into power and ease resentment that has fueled the bloodshed.

AP - The prosecutor in the impeachment trial of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich says he's proven 'a pattern of abuse of power.'

AP - President Barack Obama signed an equal-pay bill into law Thursday before cheering labor and women leaders who fought hard for it and the woman whose history-making lawsuit gave impetus to the cause.

AP - Elisabeth Hasselbeck of 'The View' and her husband, Tim, who played for the Arizona Cardinals, are about to be outnumbered. Hasselbeck announced Thursday on the ABC daytime chat show that she's pregnant with her third child, due in August. She said: 'We are thankful for such great news and will begin planning our zone defense strategy immediately.'

AP - When an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes at George W. Bush last month at a Baghdad press conference, the attack spawned a flood of Web quips, political satire and street rallies across the Arab world. Now it's inspired a work of art. A sofa-sized shoe statue was unveiled Thursday in Tikrit, the hometown of the former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

Reuters - The number of jobless claiming benefits jumped to a record in mid-January, while new orders for durable goods fell for a fifth straight month in December, according to data on Thursday that showed the economy in steep decline.

Reuters - Ford Motor Co posted a deeper-than-expected $5.9 billion quarterly loss on Thursday but said it would have the cash to survive the worst downturn in auto sales in decades without a U.S. government bailout.

Reuters - President Barack Obama signed his first bill into law on Thursday, handing his labor and women's rights backers a victory by reversing a 2007 U.S. Supreme Court decision that made it harder to sue for pay discrimination.

Reuters - More than 770,000 homes and businesses were still without power Thursday morning after snow and ice storms on January 27-28 left more than 1.3 million customers in the dark from Oklahoma to Pennsylvania, local utilities reported.

Reuters - An election in two days in Iraq's most violent province, where al Qaeda and other insurgents are making a last stand, could bring Sunni Arabs back into power and ease resentment that has fueled the bloodshed.

AFP - Iraq said on Thursday it was banning controversial US security outfit Blackwater from operating in the country over a 2007 Baghdad shooting involving its guards in which 17 civilians were killed.

AFP - More than a million French public sector workers staged a massive strike Thursday, as anger at President Nicolas Sarkozy's handling of the economic crisis erupted in a day of protest.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of Americans claiming jobless benefits hit a record high in mid-January, while orders for long-lasting factory goods fell for a fifth month in December, according to data on Thursday that showed the economy in steep decline.

DETROIT (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co posted a deeper-than-expected $5.9 billion quarterly loss on Thursday but said it would have the cash to survive the worst downturn in auto sales in decades without a U.S. government bailout.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republicans in the Senate accepted on Thursday President Barack Obama's offer to search for a compromise on an economic stimulus bill that could end up costing around $900 billion, as long as tax cuts play a large role.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama signed his first bill into law on Thursday, handing his labor and women's rights backers a victory by reversing a 2007 Supreme Court decision that made it harder to sue for pay discrimination.

AP - In a long-shot attempt to save his job, Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich insisted Thursday that he had done nothing wrong and should not be removed from office over unproven criminal charges and complaints about his management decisions.

AP - The number of people receiving unemployment benefits has reached an all-time record, the government said Thursday, and more layoffs are spreading throughout the economy.

AP - Ford Motor Co. said Thursday it lost $5.9 billion in the fourth quarter and burned through $5.5 billion in cash, pushing the automaker to the worst annual loss in its 105-year history as sales slumped worldwide.

AP - More than a million homes and businesses were left in the cold without power Thursday in the wake of an icy winter storm could face a lengthy wait for electricity to come back, even as federal help was promised to two states hit hardest by the blast.

Reuters - The number of Americans claiming jobless benefits hit a record high in mid-January, while orders for long-lasting factory goods fell for a fifth month in December, according to data on Thursday that showed the economy in steep decline.

Reuters - Ford Motor Co reported a record $14.6 billion full-year loss on Thursday but said it would have the cash to survive the worst downturn in auto sales in decades without a U.S. government bailout.

Reuters - The chief judge for the Guantanamo war crimes court on Thursday refused President Barack Obama's request to delay court proceedings against a prisoner charged with plotting an attack that killed 17 U.S. sailors.

Reuters - President Barack Obama signed his first bill into law on Thursday, handing his labor and women's rights backers a victory by reversing a 2007 Supreme Court decision that made it harder to sue for pay discrimination.

AFP - Pakistani police said Thursday they had arrested a nine-member gang wanted for multiple bombings, including a deadly attack outside the Danish embassy, and for links to Al-Qaeda and the Taliban.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republicans in the Senate accepted on Thursday President Barack Obama's offer to search for a compromise on an economic stimulus bill that could end up costing around $900 billion, as long as tax cuts play a large role.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of Americans claiming jobless benefits hit a record high in mid-January, while orders for long-lasting factory goods fell for a fifth month in December, according to data on Thursday that showed the economy in steep decline.

DETROIT (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co reported a record $14.6 billion full-year loss on Thursday but said it would have the cash to survive the worst downturn in auto sales in decades without a U.S. government bailout.

MIAMI (Reuters) - The chief judge for the Guantanamo war crimes court on Thursday refused U.S. President Barack Obama's request to delay proceedings against a Saudi charged with plotting an attack that killed 17 U.S. sailors.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Governor Rod Blagojevich, mired in scandal since he was charged with trying to sell the U.S. Senate seat once held by President Barack Obama, begged Illinois lawmakers on Thursday not to toss him out of office, saying he has had no chance to prove his innocence.

DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) - Iran promised a positive response on Thursday if the United States makes genuine policy changes and held out hopes of a breakthrough in a long-running dispute over its nuclear ambitions.

AP - The Illinois Senate has started debating whether to remove Gov. Rod Blagojevich from office. Democratic Sen. William Haine of Alton began deliberations by pointing out that Blagojevich presented no evidence to defend himself on the abuse-of-power charges.

AP - President Barack Obama says it is irresponsible and shameful for Wall Street bankers to be paid huge bonuses at a time when the American public is dealing with economic hardship. The president reacted harshly Thursday to reports that corporate employees got paid more than $18 billion in bonuses last year.

AP - Caution returned to Wall Street Thursday as unemployment claims reached a record high and new home sales hit a record low — two glaring signs that the economy is still slumping.

AP - Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano says if you're a criminal and you're not entitled to be in the United States, she wants you out of the country.

AP - Suicides among U.S. soldiers rose last year to the highest level in decades, the Army announced Thursday. At least 128 soldiers killed themselves in 2008. But the final count is likely to be considerably higher because 15 more suspicious deaths are still being investigated and could also turn out to be self-inflicted, the Army said.

AP - After crushing defeats in back-to-back elections, the top Senate Republican warned Thursday that the GOP risks remaining out of power in the White House and Congress unless it better explains its core principles to woo one-time faithful and new loyalists.

AP - Three women in New Jersey are accused of abandoning a former friend in the woods in 8-degree weather even though she was wearing just a dress and one shoe. North Bergen police say the victim suffered serious frostbite on both feet and may need surgery.

AP - A chemical that affects people's moods also can transform easygoing desert locusts into terrifying swarms that ravage the countryside, scientists report. 'Here we have a solitary and lonely creature, the desert locust. But just give them a little serotonin, and they go and join a gang,' observed Malcolm Burrows of the University of Cambridge in England.

AP - Dressing as a girl to take a high school Regents exam in place of another student landed a 17-year-old upstate New York boy in some serious detention. Deandre Ellis, 17, of Schenectady was arrested on a felony charge after the incident Tuesday. City school officials said a monitor verifying that each student was taking the proper exam suspected something was amiss when the name on the test and the person taking it didn't match.

AP - US Airways pilot Chesley 'Sully' Sullenberger and the crew from Flight 1549 will be honored by the NFL before the Super Bowl. Sullenberger, co-pilot Jeffrey B. Skiles and flight attendants Doreen Walsh, Sheila Dail and Donna Dent will be recognized before the start of Sunday's game between the Arizona Cardinals and Pittsburgh Steelers.

Reuters - Republicans in the Senate accepted on Thursday President Barack Obama's offer to search for a compromise on an economic stimulus bill that could end up costing around $900 billion, as long as tax cuts play a large role.

Reuters - The number of Americans claiming jobless benefits hit a record high in mid-January, while orders for long-lasting factory goods fell for a fifth month in December, according to data on Thursday that showed the economy in steep decline.

Reuters - Governor Rod Blagojevich, mired in scandal since he was charged with trying to sell the U.S. Senate seat once held by President Barack Obama, begged Illinois lawmakers on Thursday not to toss him out of office, saying he has had no chance to prove his innocence.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - The Illinois state senate on Thursday convicted Governor Rod Blagojevich of abuse of power, removing him from office amid charges that he tried to sell the U.S. Senate seat once held by President Barack Obama.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration aims to roll out a menu of options next week to help stabilize the U.S. banking industry, with government aid tailored to individual banks' needs, a source familiar with the administration's thinking told Reuters on Thursday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Army said on Thursday it was withdrawing some 16,400 sets of body armor, even though it considers them safe, because a Pentagon watchdog found that the designs had not been properly tested.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Suicides in the U.S. Army jumped 11 percent to a all-time high in 2008, as the stress of ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan took a greater toll on U.S. soldiers, the armed service said Thursday.

AP - Gov. Rod Blagojevich was convicted at his impeachment trial and thrown out of office Thursday, ending a nearly two-month crisis that erupted with his arrest on charges he tried to sell Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat.

AP - The U.S. Justice Department is acknowledging it perpetrated a hoax on its own employees to see if they were gullible enough to divulge personal information over the Internet.

AP - Blackwater Worldwide, which guards American diplomats in Iraq, said Thursday it would be prepared to leave that country within 72 hours after Iraqi officials denied the North Carolina-based company an operating license because of a deadly shooting spree in Baghdad.

AP - A 19-year-old woman who thought she was going to a party was instead driven to a rural wooded area and abandoned in 8-degree weather in a long-planned attack by three friends angry with her over an insurance claim, police said Thursday.

AP - A small group gathered for a closed-door meeting at NFL headquarters two years ago in December, as it had regularly since 2003. The topic: identifying minority candidates for coaching jobs.

Reuters - The Illinois state senate on Thursday convicted Governor Rod Blagojevich of abuse of power, removing him from office amid charges that he tried to sell the U.S. Senate seat once held by President Barack Obama.

Reuters - The Obama administration aims to roll out a menu of options next week to help stabilize the U.S. banking industry, with government aid tailored to individual banks' needs, a source familiar with the administration's thinking told Reuters on Thursday.

Reuters - The U.S. Army said on Thursday it was withdrawing some 16,400 sets of body armor, even though it considers them safe, because a Pentagon watchdog found that the designs had not been properly tested.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich was convicted of impeachment charges and removed from office on Thursday, eight weeks after he was arrested on charges of trying to sell the U.S. Senate seat once held by President Barack Obama.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration aims to roll out a menu of options next week to help stabilize the U.S. banking industry, with government aid tailored to individual banks' needs, a source familiar with the administration's thinking told Reuters on Thursday.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A U.S. grand jury indicted high-profile New York lawyer Marc Dreier on charges of securities fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy in a purported $400 million investment scheme, according to court documents.

AP - Gov. Rod Blagojevich was thrown out of office Thursday without a single lawmaker rising in his defense, ending a nearly two-month crisis that erupted with his arrest on charges he tried to sell Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat. Blagojevich becomes the first U.S. governor in more than 20 years to be removed by impeachment.

AP - Stressed by war and long overseas tours, U.S. soldiers killed themselves last year at the highest rate on record, the toll rising for a fourth straight year and even surpassing the suicide rate among comparable civilians.

AP - The sister of a girl who was allegedly molested and impregnated four times by their father says she waited until she turned 18 to come forward because she was afraid of being placed in state custody. 'My dad was doing all this crazy stuff,' the 18-year-old told The Associated Press in an interview Thursday. 'I got fed up with it until I finally ran my mouth. ... I couldn't see my sister suffer anymore. That's why I wanted her out.'

AP - A lab company president called to testify before Congress in the salmonella outbreak investigation said Thursday that manufacturers 'can't retest away a positive result.'

Reuters - Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich was convicted of impeachment charges and removed from office on Thursday, eight weeks after he was arrested on charges of trying to sell the U.S. Senate seat once held by President Barack Obama.

Reuters - The Obama administration aims to roll out a menu of options next week to help stabilize the U.S. banking industry, with government aid tailored to individual banks' needs, a source familiar with the administration's thinking told Reuters on Thursday.

Reuters - A U.S. grand jury indicted high-profile New York lawyer Marc Dreier on charges of securities fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy in a purported $400 million investment scheme, according to court documents.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich was removed from office on Thursday after the state Senate unanimously convicted him on impeachment charges, including an accusation he tried to sell the U.S. Senate seat once held by President Barack Obama.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate on Thursday voted to expand a popular health program to provide coverage for about 11 million children and raise taxes on cigarettes and other tobacco products to pay for it.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A U.S. grand jury indicted high-profile New York lawyer Marc Dreier on charges of securities fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy in a purported $400 million investment scheme, according to court documents.

AP - Gov. Rod Blagojevich was thrown out of office Thursday without a single lawmaker coming to his defense, brought down by a government-for-sale scandal that stretched from Chicago to Capitol Hill and turned the foul-mouthed politician into a national punchline.

AP - The sister of a girl who was allegedly molested and impregnated four times by their father says she waited until she turned 18 to come forward because she was afraid of being placed in state custody.

AP - Blackwater Worldwide, denied an operating license in Iraq, said Thursday it could leave the country within 72 hours but cautioned that such a move would cause more harm to the American diplomats it protects than the company itself.

AP - Kalin Lucas tied a career-high with 24 points and No. 9 Michigan State cruised past Iowa 71-56 on Thursday night for its fifth straight Big Ten road victory.

Reuters - Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich was removed from office on Thursday after the state Senate unanimously convicted him on impeachment charges, including an accusation he tried to sell the U.S. Senate seat once held by President Barack Obama.

Reuters - The U.S. Senate on Thursday voted to expand a popular health program to provide coverage for about 11 million children and raise taxes on cigarettes and other tobacco products to pay for it.

Reuters - A U.S. grand jury indicted high-profile New York lawyer Marc Dreier on charges of securities fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy in a purported $400 million investment scheme, according to court documents.

AFP - North Korea announced Friday it is scrapping all political and military agreements with South Korea, accusing Seoul of pushing relations to the brink of war.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama is considering picking Republican Senator Judd Gregg of New Hampshire as commerce secretary, a Democratic source said on Thursday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate unanimously passed another bill on Thursday to delay the national transition to digital television.

HAVANA (Reuters) - Ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro demanded on Thursday that President Barack Obama return the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo to Cuba without conditions, and he accused the new U.S. leader of supporting 'Israeli genocide' against Palestinians.

AP - An imprisoned ex-CIA spy and his son have been charged with renewing contact with the father's former Russian handlers to get more money — and perhaps a 'pension' — for his espionage.

AP - Anybody who thinks it's tough playing the halftime show at the Super Bowl with 150 million people watching should try serenading Barack Obama with the majestic granite visage of Abraham Lincoln staring over your shoulder.

AP - The Orlando Magic are looking more and more like a contender in the Eastern Conference.

Reuters - President Barack Obama is considering picking Republican Senator Judd Gregg of New Hampshire as commerce secretary, a Democratic source said on Thursday.

Reuters - The U.S. Senate unanimously passed another bill on Thursday to delay the national transition to digital television.

Reuters - Ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro demanded on Thursday that President Barack Obama return the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo to Cuba without conditions, and he accused the new U.S. leader of supporting 'Israeli genocide' against Palestinians.