AP - A federal judge has dropped an associate and co-defendant of former House majority leader Tom DeLay from a campaign finance lawsuit.

AP - The son of former President Jimmy Carter has launched a Web site soliciting donations for a possible run for U.S. Senate.

AP - The Supreme Court will consider its first abortion rights case under the leadership of Chief Justice John Roberts, with an unpredictable outcome because of the court's changing makeup.

AP - For a few Republican lawmakers, perhaps the biggest battle facing House-Senate negotiators on a huge budget bill isn't a high-profile issue like cutting food stamps and Medicaid or opening a stretch of pristine Alaskan coast to oil drilling. It's milk.

AP - The Supreme Court will consider its first abortion rights case under the leadership of Chief Justice John Roberts, with an unpredictable outcome because of the court's changing makeup.

AP - Excerpts from a 35-page plan the White House issued Wednesday in defense of President Bush's policy in Iraq. The report defines victory and the enemies being fought, and gives a progress report on U.S. action in Iraq along political, economic and security fronts.

AP - Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton on Tuesday defended her vote to authorize war in Iraq amid growing unease among liberal Democrats who could determine the potential 2008 presidential candidate's future.

AP - Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito told senators Wednesday that federal judges must constantly guard against slipping into judicial activism to get the results they want, especially when dealing with the nation's highest law, the U.S. Constitution.

AP - A state lawmaker who didn't live in the district she represents was found guilty of using fake addresses on re-election paperwork and voter registration cards, and must resign.

AP - The main building of the Library of Congress was evacuated Wednesday morning while a hazardous materials team investigated what people in the building said was a suspicious odor.

AP - A familiar sidewalk scene pitting abortion supporters and protesters was in full view once more as the Supreme Court heard new arguments Wednesday involving this complex legal, social and constitutional issue.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The United States and the European Union agreed on Wednesday to join forces to fight soaring trade in counterfeited goods, which the EU's trade chief said could be worth 360 billion euros ($425 million) a year.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Former Hollinger International Inc. executives Jack Boultbee and Peter Atkinson on Wednesday failed to appear in a Chicago federal court to answer U.S. fraud charges, with a prosecutor calling Boultbee's actions an 'unfortunate disrespect for this court.'

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - House of Representatives Minority leader Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday backed a call by Democratic Rep. John Murtha to quickly start the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.

ANNAPOLIS, Maryland (Reuters) - President George W. Bush asked for patience from Americans weary of the rising U.S. death toll in Iraq on Wednesday and said a reduction in U.S. troops may be possible but rejected a pullout timetable.

AP - As a Reagan administration lawyer in 1985, Samuel Alito made clear his hope that the Supreme Court would one day overturn a landmark ruling that established abortion rights.

AP - The White House is experimenting with a nontraditional Christmas tree decoration this year — laboratory test tubes.

AFP - US Senator Hillary Clinton has joined a chorus of Democratic lawmakers calling for US troop reductions in Iraq beginning next year, but linked a withdrawal on the success of upcoming elections there.

AP - A nearly 20-year-old legal fight over protests outside abortion clinics returned to the Supreme Court for the third time Wednesday, with anti-abortion groups arguing that they should be able to demonstrate without fear of lawsuits and large damage awards.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - House of Representatives Minority leader Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday backed a call by Democratic Rep. John Murtha to quickly start the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, and said she believed a majority of her caucus supported it as well.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - First Lady Laura Bush believes U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice would make a great president but predicts she will stay out of the race in 2008.

Corrects sentence in eighth paragraph to read '... Murtha when he stunned colleagues November 17 by advocating' ... instead of . '.. Murtha last week when he stunned colleagues by advocating.'

AP - Reversing course, House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday endorsed a call by a prominent member of her rank-and-file to begin withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq.

AP - President Bush's depiction of Iraqi security forces as "helping to turn the tide" is difficult to square with persistent setbacks in handing control of the country back to its own people.

AP - Reactions to President Bush's speech on Iraq:

AP - The Supreme Court released an audiotape Wednesday immediately after arguments in a New Hampshire case involving abortion rights.

Reuters - U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan will discuss a plan to reform the United Nations Security Council during a visit to China from Dec 4 to 7, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Tuesday.

AP - President Bush came as close as he ever has to admitting mistakes on Iraq Wednesday, acknowledging setbacks and uneven results in the training of Iraqi troops in his latest defense of the war 2 1/2 years after he first declared victory.

AP - Some 55 percent of teenagers do volunteer work, first lady Laura Bush said Wednesday, encouraging adults to follow suit.

AFP - President George W. Bush's Iraq speech failed to allay opposition concerns, as the top Democrat in the US House of Representatives added her name to a short list of lawmakers calling for a quick withdrawal of US troops.

Reuters - The United Nations urged countries against culling wild birds in their fight to halt bird flu, saying the main concern must be tackling the disease in poultry.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. House of Representatives Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday backed a call by Democratic Rep. John Murtha to quickly start the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, and said she believed a majority of her caucus supported it as well.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito, as a Reagan administration lawyer 20 years ago, outlined ways to limit abortion rights without overturning a 1973 Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortion, a memo released on Wednesday showed.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Major U.S. Air Force space programs are unlikely to be canceled despite a review that found most remain over budget and behind schedule, analysts and industry sources said this week.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House has asked the Pentagon to consider ending a $5 billion drive to equip a Boeing Co. 747 aircraft to zap ballistic missiles as part of budget belt-tightening for the coming year, U.S. officials said on Wednesday.

AP - Companies lobbying government, colleges seeking star speakers and groups eager for information or face time paid for $2.3 million in trips over six years for White House officials, a watchdog organization reported Wednesday.

AP - The U.S. military offered a mixed message Wednesday about whether it embraced one of its own programs that reportedly paid a consulting firm and Iraqi newspapers to plant favorable stories about the war and the rebuilding effort.

AP - Excerpts from Wednesday's arguments before the Supreme Court in a case involving New Hampshire's parental notification law on abortion, based on a recording provided by the court:

Reuters - Slobodan Milosevic and U.N. prosecutors both opposed on Tuesday an attempt by the Hague war crimes tribunal to speed up the marathon trial of the former Yugoslav president amid concerns over his health.

AP - The chairman of the House Intelligence Committee has asked committee attorneys to review former Rep. Randy 'Duke' Cunningham's work on the panel to ensure he didn't improperly influence committee actions or decisions.

AP - The state Senate on Wednesday approved some of the most sweeping changes in campaign finance laws in the country, including tight restrictions on contributions and a voluntary, publicly funded election system.

AP - The state Senate on Wednesday approved some of the most sweeping changes in campaign finance laws in the country, including tight restrictions on contributions and a voluntary, publicly funded election system.

AP - Four federal agencies settled a lawsuit with environmental groups Wednesday and agreed to buy thousands of vehicles that run on natural gas, electricity, ethanol, propane and other alternative fuels.