Bush signs jobless benefits extension (AP)

A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, November 20, 2008. (Shannon Stapleton/Reuters)AP - With no end in sight to economic bad news, President George W. Bush on Friday ensured that millions of laid-off workers will keep getting their unemployment checks as the year-end holidays approach.



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Iraqi Shiites burn Bush effigy to protest US pact (AP)

A protester uses his shoe to strike an effigy of U.S. President George. W. Bush, in an expression of contempt, as thousands of followers of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr converged on Firdous Square in central Baghdad, Iraq for a mass prayer to protest a proposed U.S.-Iraqi security pact on Friday, Nov. 21, 2008.(AP Photo/Karim Kadim)AP - Thousands of followers of a radical Shiite cleric protested a proposed U.S.-Iraqi security deal Friday, burning an effigy of President George W. Bush in the same square where Iraqis beat a toppled Saddam Hussein statue five years ago.



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Gov't: AG gets clean bill of health after collapse (AP)

In this Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2007 file photo, Attorney General Michael Mukasey addresses the American Bar Association's Standing Committee on Law and National Security, at the University Club in Washington.  Mukasey collapsed during a speech Thursday night, Nov. 20, 2008 and was being taken to a hospital. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)AP - A Justice Department spokeswoman says that Attorney General Michael Mukasey has been given a "clean bill of health" by doctors and is expected to check out of the hospital shortly.



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Kenya: Somali pirates make $150M in a year (AP)

Local women sit on the banks of the Suez canal as a Suez Canal Authority pilot boat passes by in Ismailia, Egypt, Thursday, Nov. 20, 2008. Major shipping companies said that they are considering other options including avoiding the passage through the Suez Canal to avoid having to go through the Gulf of Aden due to increasing piracy risks - meaning longer, costlier trips around the southern tip of Africa. (AP Photo)AP - Somali pirates have collected more than $150 million in ransoms over the past year, Kenya's foreign affairs minister said Friday, calling on ship owners not to pay when their vessels are hijacked.



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Neb. lawmakers OK age limit in safe-haven law (AP)

Nebraska state senators are seen in the legislative chamber during debate, in Lincoln, Neb., Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2008.  Nebraska lawmakers are debating A 30-day age limit on children who can be dropped off at hospitals under Nebraska's safe-haven law.(AP Photo/Nati Harnik)AP - Nebraska lawmakers have given final approval to adding a 30-day age limit to the state's safe-haven law.



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Wal-Mart names Duke to succeed Scott as CEO (AP)

In this June 1, 2007 file photo, of Vice Chairman Michael Duke during the annual Wal-Mart shareholders meeting in Fayetteville, Ark. Wal-Mart Stores' board elects Duke, Friday, Nov. 21, 2008, to succeed Lee Scott as president and CEO effective Feb. 1. (AP Photo/April L. Brown, File)AP - Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, unexpectedly announced Friday that its chief executive will retire in February and be replaced by the head of its international division.



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Stocks show moderate decline after sell-off (AP)

Trader Joseph Murray works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Friday, Nov. 21, 2008. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)AP - Wall Street sagged again Friday but took a break from the heavier selling of recent days as energy, utility and technology stocks showed some advances and bank stocks declined.



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Palin pardons turkey while others slaughtered (AP)

AP - Gov. Sarah Palin has granted the traditional Thanksgiving pardon to one lucky turkey, but the video that shocked some viewers captured what was happening in the background.
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Madonna, Ritchie granted preliminary divorce (AP)

In this Dec. 2, 2007 file photo, director Guy Ritchie and his wife Madonna attend a special screening of 'Revolver' in New York. A court schedule says Madonna and Guy Ritchie will be granted the first stage of their divorce in London Friday, Nov. 21, 2008. London's High Court lists 'Ciccone M L v Ritchie G S' as one of 16 cases listed for 'matrimonial and civil partnership causes for pronouncement of decree.'  (AP Photo/Evan Agostini, file)AP - The show-business marriage that began in a Scottish castle came to an end in a drab London courtroom Friday as Madonna and Guy Ritchie were granted a preliminary decree of divorce.



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For toilet-less Vermont library, a new chapter (AP)

Librarian Susan D'Amico stands in the doorway of the bathroom at the Roxbury Free Library in Roxbury, Vt., Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2008. For decades, when you had to go at the Roxbury Free Library, you really had to go -- somewhere else, that is. The one-room clapboard building had no restrooms. When nature called, patrons either had to hold it, walk next door to the Roxbury Union Congregational Church or go home. No more: a toilet was finally installed last Friday. (AP Photo/Toby Talbot)AP - When you gotta go, you gotta go. But for decades, when you had to go in the Roxbury Free Library, you really had to go — somewhere else, that is.



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Obama on track to name Clinton as top diplomat (Reuters)

President-elect Barack Obama and Senator Hillary Clinton attend a campaign rally in Orlando, Florida, October 20, 2008. (Jim Young/Reuters)Reuters - Retired Marine Gen. James Jones emerged as a leading contender for White House national security adviser as President-elect Barack Obama worked on Thursday to assemble his foreign policy team.



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Pressure grows on Obama as world economy deteriorates (Reuters)

European Central Bank (ECB) Governing Council member Ewald Nowotny addresses the media during a news conference in Vienna November 21, 2008. (Heinz-Peter Bader/Reuters)Reuters - US stocks recovered some ground on opening on Friday, though Citigroup fell further, amid continued fear that central bank moves to stabilize financial markets might not be enough to prevent a prolonged global recession.



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Mukasey had fainting spell: official (Reuters)

U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey addresses the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco, California in this March 27, 2008 file photo. (Robert Galbraith/Files/Reuters)Reuters - U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey was doing well in hospital on Friday after an apparent "fainting spell" that caused his collapse during a speech the night before, a spokeswoman said.



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Bush signs law extending unemployment insurance (Reuters)

People search for jobs on computers at the Verdugo Jobs Center, in Glendale, California, November 7, 2008. (Fred Prouser/Reuters)Reuters - President George W. Bush on Friday signed into law an extension of unemployment benefits, the White House said.



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Thousands protest in Iraq against U.S. troops pact (Reuters)

Demonstrators chant slogans during a rally at Firdos square in Baghdad November 21, 2008. (Ceerwan Aziz/Reuters)Reuters - Followers of Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr marched on Friday against a pact letting U.S. forces stay in Iraq until 2011, toppling an effigy of President George W. Bush where U.S. troops once tore down a statue of Saddam Hussein.



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Citigroup shares drop as CEO plans to keep Smith Barney (Reuters)

A Citibank branch in San Francisco, June 23, 2008. (Robert Galbraith/Reuters)Reuters - Citigroup Inc shares tumbled for a fifth straight day, as Chief Executive Vikram Pandit tried to downplay speculation the banking giant might sell major businesses to restore its health and investor confidence.



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Verizon staff had unauthorized access to Obama's cell (Reuters)

President-elect Barack Obama on the phone with a potential voter during his visit to a campaign field office in Charlotte, North Carolina, November 3, 2008. (Jason Reed/Reuters)Reuters - Verizon Wireless said on Thursday that some employees had gained unauthorized access and viewed a personal cell phone account held by President-elect Barack Obama that is now inactive.



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Islamists on trail of Somali pirates (Reuters)

A video grab from undated television footage shows pirates walking on the beach in the town of Eyl, in the north of Somalia. (Reuters TV/Reuters)Reuters - Dozens of Somali Islamist insurgents stormed a port on Friday hunting the pirates behind the seizure of a Saudi supertanker that was the world's biggest hijack, a local elder said.



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Use of nuclear weapons more likely in future: US intelligence (AFP)

US soldier searches for insurgents during a patrol of Afghanistan's Kandahar province in 2007. The National Intelligence Council (NIC) report is vague about the outcome of current conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan.(AFP/File/Nicolas Asfouri)AFP - The use of nuclear weapons will grow increasingly likely by 2025, according to a bleak US intelligence report that warns that US global dominance is likely to weaken over the next two decades.



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Thousands of Sadrists protest Iraq-US military pact (AFP)

Iraqi Shiites protest in central Baghdad. Thousands of Shiite followers of the firebrand anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr gathered in Baghdad to protest a security accord that would allow US troops to remain in Iraq until 2011.(AFP/Ali al-Saadi)AFP - Thousands of Shiite followers of firebrand anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr gathered in Baghdad on Friday to protest a security accord that would allow US troops to remain in Iraq until 2011.



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