Bush set to relax rules protecting species
Animals in danger of becoming extinct could lose the protection of government experts who make sure that dams and other projects don't pose a threat, under a regulation the Bush administration is set to put in place.

Al-Qaida No. 2 says Obama betrays race

Al-Qaida's No. 2 leader used a racial epithet to insult Barack Obama in a message posted Wednesday, describing the president-elect in demeaning terms that imply he does the bidding of whites.

Wall Street drops to more than 5-year low
Wall Street hit levels not seen since 2003 on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones industrial average plunging below the 8,000 mark amid a dour economic outlook from the Fed.

NYT: Daschle poses conflict-of-interest test

The choice of Tom Daschle for secretary of health and human services poses questions about how broadly Barack Obama will apply campaign promises to limit conflicts of interest among appointees.

G'day! Hugh Jackman is new Sexiest Man Alive

Hugh Jackman, People's 2008 Sexiest Man Alive, is a romantic in a hard body who leaves women saying "Oh ... my ... God."

Mayor sorry for kids' anti-Obama chant
The mayor of an Idaho town where second- and third-grade students on a school bus chanted "assassinate Obama!" has publicly apologized, saying there's no excuse for such behavior.

It's North vs. South in Big Three bailout fight

Should taxpayers in Alabama be asked to help bail out Big Three automakers whose plants are concentrated in Northern states such as Michigan and Ohio? How the auto industry pits North against South.

Lawyers visit secret Gitmo camp
For the first time, defense lawyers have been allowed to see a section of the Guantanamo prison that is so restricted, even its location on the U.S. base is secret.