 AP - 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.
 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. Chanting and waving flags, Muqtada al-Sadr's followers filled Firdous Square to protest the pact that would allow American troops to stay for three more years.
 AP - Attorney General Michael Mukasey was given a "clean bill of health" and went back to work Friday after his harrowing collapse at a late-night dinner speech.
 AP - Nebraska lawmakers have approved adding a 30-day age limit to a safe-haven law that resulted in 35 children — including teenagers as old as 17 — being abandoned at state hospitals. Gov. Dave Heineman was expected to sign the bill later Friday, and the law would go into effect at 12:01 a.m. Saturday. Nebraska will join 13 other states with a 30-day age cap. It has been the only state with a safe-haven law that lacks an age limit.
AP - A South Florida college student killed himself by overdosing on drugs in front of a live online audience as some computer users egged him on, some debated his method, and others tried to talk him out of it.
 AP - Rapper T.I. testified Friday that he believes the bullets fired at his entourage during a wild vehicle chase two years ago were meant for him. He took the witness stand in the trial of Hosea Thomas, 34, who is accused of firing the shot that killed Philant Johnson during a gun battle on Interstate 75.
AP - A thief who robbed a general store apologized to the owner and left the singles behind so workers on the next shift would have something in the till. The knife-wielding man made off with an undetermined amount of money from Joe's Pond Country Store on Wednesday after threatening owner Jeff Downs.
AP - The New York Knicks were expected to announce a trade for Golden State Warriors forward Al Harrington on Friday. Media reports had the Knicks sending guard Jamal Crawford to Golden State, though it was unclear if he was the only player.
 AP - A radical Islamic group in Somalia said Friday it will fight the pirates holding a Saudi supertanker loaded with $100 million worth of crude oil.
 AP - General Motors Corp. will extend its holiday shutdown or make other production cuts at five factories at as it deals with a continued U.S. auto sales slump and fights to stay solvent.
 Reuters - Detroit automakers began work on the turnaround plans demanded by Congress in return for a possible $25 billion rescue as General Motors Corp said it will cut production more deeply and drop two of its controversial corporate jets.
 Reuters - With his choice of Hillary Clinton as secretary of state all but certain, President-elect Barack Obama promised on Friday to bring a "fresh perspective" to U.S. relations with the rest of the world.
 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.
Reuters - Iran rejected Friday U.S. reports it had enriched enough uranium to make an atom bomb, saying this would require steps it had ruled out like ejecting U.N. inspectors and leaving the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
Reuters - Unknown assailants launched an attack on the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline between Iraq and Turkey on Friday, triggering a large fire, broadcaster CNN Turk reported.
 Reuters - President George W. Bush on Friday signed into law an extension of unemployment benefits, the White House said.
 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.
 Reuters - George W. Bush headed on Friday to an Asia-Pacific summit aiming to seek support for global financial reform and hold talks on ending North Korea's nuclear program as his presidency winds down.
 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.
 AFP - Congo's government demanded a stronger mandate for UN peacekeepers in the conflict-torn east Friday, while residents of a squalid refugee camp said soldiers killed a woman during a looting spree.
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