AP - Even as Detroit's Big Three teeter on collapse, United Auto Workers President Ron Gettelfinger said Saturday that the problem is not the union's contract with the automakers and that getting the automakers back on their feet means figuring out a way to turn around the slumping economy.

Reuters - Astronauts orbiting the Earth aboard the U.S. space shuttle Endeavour unfolded a robotic arm on Saturday to inspect the ship's heat shielding as they sped toward a rendezvous with the International Space Station.

AP - Iraq's Cabinet will vote Sunday on a security pact with Washington that would keep U.S. forces in the country for another three years, a major step in efforts to balance Iraqi demands for national sovereignty with the security concerns of the two allies.

AP - U.S. actress Lindsay Lohan has been pelted with a flour bomb on arrival at a Paris nightclub wearing a fur stole.

AFP - UN special envoy Olusegun Obasanjo arrived in the besieged Congolese town of Goma on Saturday ahead of a meeting with rebel chief Laurent Nkunda aimed at ending months of fighting.

Reuters - Expect plenty of fireworks when the U.S. Congress meets next week for a post-election session focused largely on the ailing U.S. economy.

AP - Firefighters struggled Friday against an out-of-control wildfire that destroyed at least 100 homes in a wealthy, celebrity-studded enclave, flaring up so fast that it caught some terrified residents behind the automatic gates of their mansions.

Reuters - U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton left the door open to becoming secretary of state on Friday, a day after a meeting with President-elect Barack Obama at which a Democratic official said they discussed the job.

AP - President-elect Barack Obama is considering Hillary Rodham Clinton to be his secretary of state, Democrats said Friday, exciting a burst of speculation that he would transform the former first lady and his fierce campaign foe into one of his top Cabinet officials and the nation's chief diplomatic voice.

AP - The worst monthly drop on record for retail sales set off new alarm bells about the economy Friday, stepping up pressure on policymakers to figure out how to combat what increasingly looks to be a severe recession. Confronting opposition by the Bush administration, Democrats in Congress said they would try next week to pass $25 billion in emergency loans for the auto industry, so wobbly that one or more of Detroit's Big Three could go under.

AP - Threats against a new president historically spike right after an election, but from Maine to Idaho law enforcement officials are seeing more against Barack Obama than ever before.

AP - Free-agent season opened Friday with the New York Yankees planning to give CC Sabathia a record offer for a pitcher. The Yankees formulated a proposal to the big lefty that would exceed Johan Santana's $137.5 million, six-year contract with the New York Mets both in total and average, a baseball official familiar with the negotiations said. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to divulge details.

AP - Federal auditors have concluded the Rev. Al Sharpton's 2004 campaign owes the government nearly $500,000 for illegal donations and other financial improprieties.

AP - Nebraska lawmakers got to work Friday in a rare special legislative session designed to repair a unique "safe haven" law that has unintentionally allowed parents to abandon nearly three dozen children as old as 17.

AP - Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman's chances of holding onto his committee chairmanship suffered a blow Friday when two key New England Democratic senators came out against him.

AP - Space shuttle Endeavour stood poised with its crew at the launch pad Friday for an evening flight to the international space station and a home remodeling project by astronauts doubling as kitchen and bathroom installers. The weather was promising: Forecasters said there was just a 30 percent chance that rain or clouds would interfere with the 7:55 p.m. liftoff.

Reuters - Europe officially fell into recession on Friday and the U.S. economy suffered thousands more layoffs and the biggest retail sales dip on record as world leaders headed to Washington to address the worst financial crisis in 80 years.

AP - Joe Jonas is tired of hearing about how he's a bad boyfriend — and now he's trying to defend himself.

Reuters - Sales at U.S. retailers suffered a record decline in October as fears of recession sapped spending, but part of the drop was due to slumping gasoline prices which helped buoy consumer confidence.

Reuters - U.S. stocks fell on Friday after a record drop in retail sales last month heightened fears that American consumers' reluctance to spend will push the economy into an even deeper downturn than currently expected.

Reuters - A top U.S. banking regulator unveiled a plan on Friday to prevent about 1.5 million foreclosures, breaking ranks with the Bush administration by demanding bailout funds be diverted from banks to consumers.

AFP - Leaders from the world's biggest economic powers gathered in Washington on Friday for a crisis summit to recast the global financial order as recession spreads to a growing number of countries.

Reuters - The U.S. Senate plans to take up a $25 billion bailout bill for distressed domestic automakers on Monday, but it remains unclear if proponents can muster the support necessary to pass the legislation.

AFP - Iraq is likely to approve a military pact with a timetable for the withdrawal of all US troops by 2011 and British troops will leave by the end of next year, Iraq's national security adviser said Friday.

Reuters - Violence in Iraq has decreased sharply but al Qaeda, Iranian-backed fighters and other militants remain a serious threat, as this week's bomb attacks showed, Washington's U.N. envoy said on Friday.

Reuters - Global central banks are ready to take further steps to ease market tensions and bolster faltering economic growth, top policymakers said on Friday, as world leaders gathered for talks on the economic crisis.

AP - The nation's financial picture grew darker Thursday, a day marked by breathtaking numbers: a quarter-trillion-dollar budget deficit for a single month and projections of up to $1 trillion for a year, a half-million new applications for unemployment benefits and a 900-point swing on Wall Street.

AP - Republican John McCain implored Georgia voters Thursday to back Sen. Saxby Chambliss in next month's runoff, warning that Democrats will increase taxes and cut defense spending and the GOP needs to strengthen its ranks.