AP - Barack Obama is signaling a shift in tactics and temperament as he moves from candidate to president-elect, picking sharp-elbowed Washington insiders for top posts. His choice Thursday for White House chief of staff — Rahm Emanuel, a fiery partisan who doesn't mind breaking glass and hurting feelings — is a significant departure from the soft-spoken, low-key aides that "No-Drama Obama" has surrounded himself with during his campaign.

AP - President Bush and Barack Obama on Monday will hold their first substantive talks about the nation's daunting priorities as the transition to a Democratic administration accelerates.

Reuters - Britain and Europe slashed interest rates on Thursday amid recession fears deepened by some of the worst U.S. retail sales in decades and an IMF forecast for an economic contraction not seen since World War Two.

AP - Wall Street plunged for a second day, triggered by computer gear maker Cisco Systems warning of slumping demand and retailers reporting weak sales for October. Concerns about widespread economic weakness sent the major stock indexes down more than 4 percent Thursday, including the Dow Jones industrial average, which tumbled more than 440 points.

AP - As president-elect, Barack Obama faces a tricky task as he begins dealing ever more directly with the economic meltdown, grappling with the worst financial crisis in seven decades but not yet wielding the power to do much about it.

AP - A wintry blast of punishing wind and more than 3 feet of snow in places pummeled the Northern Plains on Thursday, knocking out power to thousands and forcing highways to close. As much as 40 inches of snow fell in higher elevations of western South Dakota's Black Hills as the early season blizzard caused havoc. Drifts as deep as 6 feet covered roads in Spearfish.

Reuters - Top executives of the three U.S. automakers lobbied House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday for up to $25 billion in additional aid and access to the Federal Reserve's borrowing window, industry sources said.

Reuters - A senior Iraqi official on Thursday explicitly backed U.S. President-elect Barack Obama's plans to withdraw combat troops from the country by mid-2010, Baghdad's clearest endorsement yet of Obama's exit strategy.

AFP - Barack Obama will make his first visit to the White House as president-elect on Monday for talks with President George W. Bush on crisis issues including Iraq and the economy, officials said.

Reuters - The fate of a convicted felon will help determine the size of the Democrats' expanded power in the U.S. Senate, and may provide a new job opportunity for failed vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin.

Reuters - U.S. President-elect Barack Obama choose Rahm Emanuel as his chief of staff on Thursday, spurring Republicans to question why his first key appointment was a Washington insider and fiercely partisan Democrat.

Reuters - Barack Obama will meet his economic team on Friday and hold his first news conference since becoming U.S. president-elect as the country awaited signs of how he might tackle the economic crisis.

Reuters - Former New York Governor and aggressive white collar crime prosecutor Eliot Spitzer will not face criminal charges for his involvement in a prostitution ring that led to his resignation, U.S. prosecutors said on Thursday.

AFP - Rebels and pro-government militia have killed at least 20 civilians in recent fighting, Human Rights Watch said Thursday, on the eve of a regional summit on the crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Reuters - The number two Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives, will announce on Thursday he will not run to keep his leadership position after his party's election losses, Republican sources said.

Reuters - Vanishing jobs and slumping markets confronted Barack Obama on the first day after his historic election as U.S. president, escalating pressure for urgent action to curb the world's relentless financial crisis.

AP - Before resting from the grueling presidential race, John McCain began discussing with senior aides what role he will play in the Senate now that he has promised to work with the man who defeated him for president.

AP - In a heartbreaking defeat for the gay-rights movement, California voters put a stop to gay marriage, creating uncertainty about the legal status of 18,000 same-sex couples who tied the knot during a four-month window of opportunity opened by the state's highest court.

AP - Over and over, Barack Obama told voters if they stuck with him "we will change this country and change the world." They did, and now their expectations for him to deliver are firmly planted on his shoulders. Many supporters greeted his victory with euphoria.

AP - President-elect Barack Obama pivoted quickly to begin filling out his new administration on Wednesday, selecting hard-charging Illinois Rep. Rahm Emanuel as White House chief of staff while aides stepped up the pace of transition work that had been cloaked in pre-election secrecy.

Reuters - NEW YORK (Reuters) -Stocks plummeted on Wednesday, a day after Barack Obama's historic victory in the U.S. presidential election, as a fresh batch of dismal economic data underscored the massive challenges awaiting his administration.

Reuters - Some 71.4 million Americans watched prime-time television coverage of U.S. election night on Tuesday, a 21 percent increase from the presidential election in 2004, according to ratings released on Wednesday.

AP - A Los Angeles judge has signed off on the amicable end to Danny Bonaduce's nearly 18-year marriage. Bonaduce will pay $16,000 a month to his ex-wife, Gretchen, for spousal and child support. The former couple will retain joint custody of their children, who are 14 and 7 years old.

AP - Russia will deploy short-range missiles near Poland to counter U.S. military plans in Eastern Europe, President Dmitry Medvedev warned Wednesday, setting a combative tone that clashed with global goodwill over Barack Obama's election.

AP - A slugfest for nearly two years, Minnesota's U.S. Senate race headed into a new round Wednesday as the campaigns girded for an automatic statewide recount to determine whether Republican Sen. Norm Coleman's bare lead over Democratic challenger Al Franken would stand.

AP - At age 106, Ann Nixon Cooper doesn't usually stay awake past midnight. But on Election Night she had special reason to do so: She was waiting for Barack Obama to mention her name. Cooper, one of the oldest voters for the nation's first black president, had been tipped off by the Obama campaign that she would be mentioned in his acceptance speech. Toward the end, she got her moment.

AP - Age is no issue for Greg Maddux when it comes to fielding his position. The 42-year-old pitcher won his record 18th Gold Glove on Wednesday while outfielder Shane Victorino of the World Series champion Philadelphia Phillies was among five first-time winners in the National League.

AFP - Barack Obama on Wednesday put the first building blocks in place for his administration even as rejoicing reverberated around the world after his election as the first black US president.

Reuters - Best-selling U.S. author Michael Crichton, who wrote such novels as "The Andromeda Strain" and "Jurassic Park" and created the popular TV drama "ER," has died unexpectedly of cancer at age 66, his family said on Wednesday.

Reuters - With four razor-close U.S. Senate races yet to be decided, Democrats hoped on Wednesday to further expand their majority in the new Congress and act quickly with President-elect Barack Obama on an ambitious agenda.

Reuters - U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday urged passage of at least $61 billion in new economic stimulus funding this month, but said the future of the legislation requires cooperation from Republicans in the Senate and President George W. Bush.

Reuters - Democrat Barack Obama put aside the victory celebrations on Wednesday and began crafting a White House team to help him lead a country mired in a deep economic crisis and two lingering wars.

AFP - Afghanistan's president said on Wednesday that around 40 villagers died this week in international air strikes targeting militants, as he urged Barack Obama to end civilian casualties in the "war on terror".

AP - Byron Leftwich has already shown the Pittsburgh Steelers he can finish. He may get the chance Sunday to prove he can start. With starter Ben Roethlisberger's status for Sunday's game against the Colts uncertain due to his reinjured right shoulder, the Steelers (6-2) may give Leftwich his first start since last Nov. 18 with Atlanta.

AP - Democratic Sen. Barack Obama and Republican Sen. John McCain battled for the White House on Tuesday in an election that challenged attitudes about race as surely as it gauged sentiments about the battered economy and the war in Iraq.