AP - State ranking of coal ash pond storage

AP - Gaston Lenotre, considered one of France's best-ever pastry-makers, died Thursday. He was 88.

AP - A U.S. strike inside Pakistan's tribal region has killed two Kenyans said to be among al-Qaida's top operatives on the FBI's most wanted terrorist list, a U.S. counterterrorism official said.

AP - President-elect Barack Obama, trying to enforce strict rules on special-interest influence in his administration, butted up against what some said was inevitable: The perfect person for a top Pentagon post recently lobbied for a major defense contractor.

AP - The decision by Republican Sen. Kit Bond of Missouri to end more than a two-decade run in the Senate had an immediate impact on the political outlook for his home state and made the next election cycle tougher for the national GOP.

AP - The head of the U.N. Development Program, which promotes anti-poverty efforts around the globe, is resigning, the United Nations announced Thursday.

AP - The head of a congressional panel overseeing the $700 billion bailout program said Friday that lawmakers need to 'take a very hard look' at how banks have used the money.

AP - A Navy review board has recommended that the Pentagon continue investigating what happened to a fighter pilot who was the first American lost in the Persian Gulf War almost 20 years ago, saying it's not yet time to close the case.

AP - Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is questioning whether Caroline Kennedy is getting better treatment from the press in her bid for a Senate seat from New York than the battering she says she received as John McCain's running mate on the Republican presidential ticket.

Politico - Congressional Democrats are firing a surprising number of unexpectedly sharp brush-back pitches at President-elect Obama and his staff over policy plans and personnel picks, making him look embattled during what was to be a triumphant debut week in Washington.

AP - A convicted Colombian drug baron with links to two major smuggling cartels was shot dead in a Madrid hospital Thursday, officials said.

AP - Promising to protect the United States while adhering to its core human values, President-elect Barack Obama formally unveiled his intelligence team Friday, praising their integrity, management skills and willingness to tell him the truth.

AP - President-elect Barack Obama says his administration will 'uphold our highest values and ideals' in its approach to fighting terrorism.

AP - He's vowed to change the way business is done in Washington, but that doesn't mean Barack Obama won't be making some political appointments to ambassadorial posts around the world.

AP - NATO's top commander says the global financial crisis could force U.S. allies to scale back their efforts in Afghanistan, or possibly even pull out.

AP - President-elect Barack Obama used his announcement of national security appointments to pay tribute to the country's fighting men and women.

AP - The Supreme Court agreed Friday to hear a constitutional challenge to a key component of the Voting Rights Act, the main federal law for ensuring access to the polls by minorities.

AP - The Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether the Iraqi government has immunity in American courts for the acts of Saddam Hussein's regime.

AP - The Supreme Court is stepping into a reverse discrimination lawsuit over a city's decision to scrap a promotion exam for firefighters because too few minorities scored high enough to move up in rank.

Politico - Can't make it up:

AP - A federal judge has turned down the Bush administration's latest attempt to keep secret the identities of White House visitors.

AP - Vice President-elect Joe Biden on Friday met with Pakistani leaders during an Asian trip meant to show the new administration's interest in the troubled region.

AP - Newly unemployed Americans will have to spend about 30 percent of their jobless benefits on average to pay for health insurance through their former employer, according to a new report.

AP - The Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether Arizona is providing enough money for programs for students who are learning the English language.

AFP - The United Nations on Friday cited witnesses saying Israeli forces evacuated about 110 Palestinians into a house which they then repeatedly shelled 24 hours later, killing about 30 people.

AP - The Bush administration on Friday expressed concern about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza, but officials blamed the militant Hamas movement for Palestinian suffering and said it was difficult for the Israeli military to avoid civilian casualties.

AP - A federal judge on Friday rejected the Bush administration's latest attempt to keep secret the identities of White House visitors and declared that the government illegally deleted Secret Service computer records.

AP - Get ready for the in-law in chief.

AFP - Would-be Illinois senator Roland Burris on Friday lost a legal bid to force state officials to certify his controversial appointment to replace president-elect Barack Obama in the US Senate.

AP - A federal appeals court said Friday it would not review the 'enemy combatant' designation of detainees at Guantanomo Bay.

Politico - The race for chairmanship of the Iowa Republican Party, a key contest because of the state's outsized importance in the presidential nominating process, is heading for a photo finish.

AP - Conrad Black is asking the Supreme Court to overturn his convictions for fraud and obstruction of justice.

AP - Lloyds TSB Bank PLC has agreed to forfeit $350 million for helping customers skirt U.S. sanctions on business transactions with Sudan, Iran and Libya.

Politico - Sen. Arlen Specter and other Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee may want to derail or slow down Eric Holder’s nomination to become the next attorney general, but one of their just departed colleagues is going to bat for the nominee.

Bloomberg - Jan. 9 (Bloomberg) -- The Illinois House of Representatives impeached Governor Rod Blagojevich for abuses of power after federal prosecutors accused him of trying to auction President- elect Barack Obama’s former U.S. Senate seat.

AP - Barack Obama's economic team is talking with the Bush administration about having Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson ask Congress within the next week for access to the $350 billion remaining in the financial bailout fund, officials on both sides said Friday.

AFP - In the latest twist of a political saga, top Democrat Dick Durbin said that the US Senate will not seat the man tapped to replace president-elect Barack Obama.

AP - Days before the first black president takes office, the Supreme Court agreed Friday to consider overturning a key feature of the main federal law that ensures access to the polls by minorities.

AP - Ukraine says it will allow Russian experts to join the EU mission to monitor gas flow through the country as part of a deal that would end a cutoff of Russian gas supplies to Europe.