AP - Nearing the end of a bitterly fought campaign, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Sunday accused his rivals of trying to frighten voters by depicting him as "a dictator" while distorting the intent of his slate of ballot proposals.

AP - A veteran Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee says he doubts his party will try to block a final vote on President Bush's nomination of conservative jurist Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court.

AP - In showdowns over Iran, North Korea and now Syria, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice seemingly agrees that half a loaf is better than none — an unexpectedly pragmatic streak for a Bush administration better known for going its own way in international affairs.

AP - President Bush's detour to Virginia on his way home from Latin America on Monday shows that, despite all his troubles, he can still be considered an asset in a close political race.

AP - A leading Republican senator said Sunday that the Bush administration is making "a terrible mistake" in opposing a congressional ban on torture and other inhuman treatment of prisoners in U.S. custody.

AP - A veteran Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee says he doubts his party will try to block a final vote on President Bush's nomination of conservative jurist Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court.

AP - Tilly Smith, just 10 years old, put her geography lessons to good use: By quickly recognizing the warning signs of a tsunami, the English schoolgirl saved about 100 people from near-certain death at a Thai resort.

MUMBAI (Reuters) - India's economy could benefit greatly from permitting U.S. and other foreign firms to take a greater ownership role in its financial sector, U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow said on Monday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New mortgage data has not led the Federal Reserve to define clear boundaries between legitimate home loans to riskier customers and loans aimed at cheating borrowers, Fed Gov. Mark Olson said on Monday.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - The United States has re-admitted Israel to the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program after the two allies resolved a dispute over Israeli arms exports to China, Israel's defense minister said on Sunday.

AP - The State Department's internal watchdog agency soon will begin an audit of Al-Hurra, the government's Arabic-language satellite television network broadcasting to the Middle East, the State Department said Friday.

AP - President Bush acknowledged Monday that it would be difficult to push any U.S.-Panama trade deal through Congress, but said getting one completed remains a top priority for his administration.

AP - President Bush's detour to Virginia on his way home from Latin America on Monday shows that, despite all his troubles, he can still be considered an asset in a close political race.

USATODAY.com - In a case that could help determine whether citizen-soldiers have a place in Congress, a federal court on Tuesday will weigh whether a U.S. senator who helps make Pentagon policy and has spoken out on issues such as Iraqi prisoner abuse can also serve as a military judge.

AFP - The US Supreme Court will rule on the legality of the special military courts set up for "war on terror" detainees, following an appeal from a detainee at the Guantanamo Bay prison, Cuba.

AP - Amid growing congressional unease over the situation in Sudan, the State Department's No. 2 official will travel to the East African country next week to seek progress in resolving its multiple crises, including the continuing human mayhem in Darfur.

PANAMA CITY (Reuters) - President George W. Bush said on Monday the United States and Panama were close to completing a free trade agreement as he ended a Latin American tour that fell short of his goal of reviving talks on a hemispheric-wide trade zone.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Supreme Court said on Monday it would decide whether U.S. courts can enforce the rights of foreigners to contact their consulate when they are accused of a crime in this country.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A New York judge on Monday said he may let off the hook a 65-year-old man accused of threatening the life of a fellow New York Stock Exchange seatholder, though he'll have to take a 12-week anger management course first.

AP - Travis County is not so prejudiced against Rep. Tom DeLay that former House majority leader couldn't get a fair trial in the city, a veteran defense attorney said Monday in a sworn court statement.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. voters will go to the polls on Tuesday to decide on the largest number of ballot initiatives in an off-year election in six years that span a range of topics from state budget reform to transportation financing.

NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - Louisiana officials on Monday urged a U.S. Senate Committee to back up to $40 billion in grants and tax-exempt 'hurricane recovery bonds' to help avert a financial disaster for the storm-ravaged communities.

AP - Mayor Michael Bloomberg and his Democratic challenger spent their final campaign hours in a last-minute push for turnout on Election Day, as yet another poll showed the Republican incumbent crushing the underdog.

AP - In any other year, Justices Russell M. Nigro and Sandra Schultz Newman might have coasted to new, 10-year terms on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

AP - A pair of big-spending, notably nasty races for governor in Virginia and New Jersey entered their final hours Monday, as candidates made last-minute blitzes and brought in political heavy-hitters to help campaign.

AP - House Republican leaders' $54 billion deficit reduction package is encountering objections from many GOP lawmakers — and not just the usual moderates upset about cuts to social programs.

AFP - The US Supreme Court said that it would rule on the legality of special military courts set up for "war on terror" detainees after a former driver to Osama bin Laden made the most serious challenge yet to the US administration.

AFP - Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf's decision to postpone the purchase of F-16 jet fighters is a welcome move which will free up money for needy earthquake victims, the United Nations said.

AP - An effort to keep inflation from eating away at poor families' child tax credits has run into obstacles, even though supporters had hoped poverty revealed by Hurricane Katrina might give new urgency to fixing the problem.

AFP - Snow is forecast to hit quake-battered northern Pakistan in coming days and the United Nations warned that survivors urgently need heating to get through the winter alive.

AP - The battle that's been brewing for months over who will become New Jersey's next U.S. senator may well be decided by Jon Corzine, the man who's got the job now.

AP - Chief Justice John Roberts bowed out of a major war powers case on Monday because he had handled it as an appeals court judge. Without Roberts, the Supreme Court could deadlock 4-4.

Reuters - The European Union insisted on Monday that Iran comply with an international resolution that it freeze all sensitive nuclear activities but said it was studying a new offer of talks from Tehran.