AFP - The US Senate will vote on the controversial Supreme Court nomination of judge Samuel Alito in January, a month later than the White House had wished, senators said.

AP - A battle over cuts to popular federal programs like Medicaid and food stamps promises to intensify next week in the House despite relatively smooth sailing in the Senate.

AP - A new judge has been appointed to preside over Rep. Tom DeLay's campaign finance trial after two judges stepped away from their involvement in the case because of their own political contributions.

USATODAY.com - Republican Jerry Kilgore and Democrat Tim Kaine are the candidates for governor in this state, but their fates hang to a large extent on two people who aren't running: President Bush and Gov. Mark Warner.

AP - Gubernatorial candidate Doug Forrester aired a TV commercial featuring a quote from his opponent's ex-wife that Sen. Jon S. Corzine 'let his family down, and he'll probably let New Jersey down, too.'

Reuters - Three U.N. human rights investigators said on Monday they would turn down a long-awaited U.S. invitation to visit Guantanamo prison camp in Cuba unless they were permitted to interview the detainees.

AP - President Bush sidestepped questions Friday about whether he owes the American people an apology for the role of administration officials in the CIA leak case. He also refused to comment on calls for a staff shakeup.

AP - The 2008 Democratic National Convention will be held from Monday, Aug. 25, through Thursday, Aug. 28, after the Summer Olympics in Beijing, Democratic chairman Howard Dean announced Friday.

AP - President Bush would get millions of dollars more than he requested for worldwide efforts to fight AIDS but less than he sought for Iraq reconstruction and a key program to encourage global development, under a bill the House approved Friday.

AP - The nation's most comprehensive survey of housing, demographic and socio-economic data was saved Friday when a congressional committee rejected a plan to cut the Census Bureau's budget.

AP - The opinions of Samuel Alito on abortion, privacy and other contentious issues have been dissected for clues on how he might rule on the Supreme Court. But what do his views on nuclear weapons say?

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Another Republican lawmaker urged the oil industry on Friday to donate some of its record profits to help poor American families pay winter heating bills, a proposal the Bush administration has rejected as too much like a tax.

MAR DEL PLATA, Argentina (Reuters) - The United States on Friday offered little help to Argentina in its quest for more-flexible terms from the International Monetary Fund, as they prepare for talks on a new economic program.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives cleared a final $20.9 billion foreign aid bill with more money than President George W. Bush sought to fight AIDS abroad but significantly less than he wanted for Iraq and his program to reward reform-minded countries.

SAN ANTONIO (Reuters) - He won't be eating bugs or vying to work for Donald Trump, but humorist and Texas gubernatorial candidate Kinky Friedman plans to put his own stamp on reality television.

AP - Several governors are fuming over a Bush administration suggestion that the active military take a greater role in disaster response, calling it an attempt to usurp state authority over National Guard units.

AP - For two tense hours last month, it looked as if a tragic new chapter in Philadelphia's long history of corruption was about to be written when a councilman under federal investigation climbed to the City Hall observation deck 500 feet above the street and set off a suicide scare.

AP - Rep. Bob Ney of Ohio has been subpoenaed by the Justice Department to provide documents related to the government's investigation of indicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff, Ney's office said Friday.

AFP - Indian Foreign Minister Natwar Singh said he was ready for any probe into charges that he benefited from deals linked to the United Nations' oil-for-food programme for Iraq.

AP - For some true-blue New York Democrats, just the thought of voting Republican makes them wince. But when the Republican is Mayor Michael Bloomberg, they can make themselves pull the GOP lever.

AP - The Senate is wasting no time putting White House economist Ben Bernanke in place to succeed Alan Greenspan upon the Federal Reserve chairman's retirement Jan. 31.

AP - The Federal Railroad Administration has called for more detailed inspections of some railroad tracks in response to deadly train derailments in 2002 and 2004.

AP - Some demographics and details about the AP-Ipsos poll on attitudes about Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito. The results are taken from a poll of 1,006 adults taken Oct. 31-Nov. 2 and have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points, larger for subgroups. The poll was conducted for the AP by Ipsos, an international polling firm.

AP - The Tom DeLay case appeared to finally have a judge Friday, after a judicial merry-go-round that illustrated the complications that can result when judges are elected and the charges are politically sensitive.

AP - Vice President Dick Cheney's office triggered abuse of Iraqi prisoners with word that filtered down to soldiers in the field that interrogations were not providing needed intelligence, a former senior State Department official has alleged.

AP - Democratic Sen. John Kerry said Friday that science is under attack by right-wing ideologues and the Bush administration, citing their "rigid refusal to listen to what the Earth is trying to tell us."

AP - The World Bank said Friday that it is putting the finishing touches on a plan to provide up to $500 million to poor countries to help them combat the bird flu.

Reuters - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad knows what he must do to avoid a potentially disastrous showdown with the United Nations -- move against powerful members of his inner circle, analysts said on Tuesday.

SAN DIEGO (Reuters) - Will San Diego's former police chief or a surf shop owner lead the city as its new mayor from the financial abyss?

DETROIT (Reuters) - The U.S. manufacturing sector, and domestic automakers in particular, desperately need help easing health-care costs and other burdens to ensure their viability, Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm said on Friday.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, the United States' only Hispanic governor, said on Friday Democrats should not take the Hispanic vote for granted and doing so may already have cost them the White House.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - Alaska Gov. Frank Murkowski came under fire on Friday after proposing sweeping changes to the state's oil-tax structure as a part of negotiations for a natural gas pipeline contract with the major North Slope oil producers.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Trade Representative could no longer craft trade deals making it harder to import American-made pharmaceuticals from nations such as Canada under a measure approved by congressional negotiators on Friday.

AP - The Tom DeLay case appeared to finally have a judge Friday, after a judicial merry-go-round that illustrated the complications that can result when judges are elected and the charges are politically sensitive.

AP - Counting the days to 2008, New Hampshire Democrats are shopping for the ideal presidential candidate — and finding plenty to check out in person.

AP - Both major-party candidates in the race for New Jersey governor rebutted allegations of sexual affairs Friday, a day after the release of a controversial television commercial that quoted one candidate's ex-wife.

AFP - Military-ruled Myanmar, the world's second-largest grower of opium after Afghanistan, has again slashed its production of opium, the United Nations said.

AP - Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger warned against an early withdrawal of U.S.-led coalition forces from Iraq, saying such a move would bolster insurgents and terrorists worldwide, causing instability across the Middle East.

AP - Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tim Kaine was fined Friday for distributing campaign fliers made to resemble GOP mailings, while Democrats lobbed the same complaint against his Republican opponent.