AP - Stock intended to eventually earn taxpayers a profit as part of the Bush administration's massive bank bailout has lost a third of its value — about $9 billion — in barely one month, according to an Associated Press analysis. Shares in virtually every bank that received federal money have remained below the prices the government negotiated.

AP - With the economy sinking faster, employers are giving more Americans dreaded pink slips right before the holidays.

AP - India's top law enforcement official is admitting government "lapses" in last week's Mumbai attacks.

AP - The government would order a major restructuring of Detroit's struggling Big Three auto companies in exchange for a multibillion-dollar bailout under a plan circulating in Congress.

AP - O.J. Simpson is going to prison; the question is for how long.

AP - Preparing for her new role as secretary of state, Hillary Rodham Clinton is moving to surround herself with a cast of die-hard loyalists and veterans of her husband's administration to help her cope with world crises and backstage Washington power plays.

AP - The Justice Department is readying indictments that could send Blackwater Worldwide guards to prison for at least 30 years for their involvement in the deadly 2007 Baghdad shooting of Iraqi civilians, people close to the case said.

AP - Canada's opposition parties vowed to oust Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government next month after Harper shut down Parliament to avoid almost certain defeat in a confidence vote, but infighting among one of the parties is casting doubt on whether the coalition will hold.

AP - The first NFL game broadcast to theaters live in 3-D fumbled, then recovered Thursday night.

AP - Antonio Pierce is finally going to talk to investigators about what he did on the night Plaxico Burress shot himself.

Reuters - Asia-Pacific policy makers scrambled to prepare fresh measures to prevent further economic deterioration next year as investors awaited a report on Friday expected to show the sharpest U.S. job losses in 26 years.

Reuters - China and the United States pledged on Friday to boost efforts to tackle the turmoil engulfing global markets and to continue high-level cooperation when President-elect Barack Obama takes office.

Reuters - President-elect Barack Obama has begun laying the groundwork for overhauling the troubled U.S. healthcare system, reaching out to interest groups and building grass-roots support for the huge undertaking.

Reuters - There is broad understanding of distress but no consensus yet in Congress to rescue U.S. automakers as industry chiefs hope on Friday to advance their case in a second appearance before lawmakers in two days.

Reuters - India's new home minister admitted on Friday there had been security lapses surrounding last week's Mumbai attacks, which New Delhi has blamed on militants from neighboring Pakistan.

Reuters - The United States has made clear progress in steadying its financial system, thanks in part to a $700 billion bailout fund authorized by Congress, but the rehabilitation process still faces many challenges, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said on Friday.

Reuters - Top U.S. nuclear diplomat Christopher Hill met his North Korean counterpart Friday to try to agree final wording on a deal to dismantle Pyongyang's nuclear program ahead of broader talks in Beijing next week.

Reuters - Thais marked their revered king's birthday on Friday in a solemn mood, concerned for the health of the aging monarch and worried as well over their country's debilitating political deadlock.

AFP - A security scare at New Delhi's international airport on Thursday highlighted jitters after the Mumbai attacks, as Pakistan vowed "strong action" if anyone was shown to be involved from its territory.

AFP - Thousands of stuck travellers were preparing to leave Bangkok's main airport as it resumed full operations, but political uncertainty dragged on after the king cancelled his annual birthday speech.