AP - Georgia Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss handed the GOP a firewall against Democrats eager to flex their newfound political muscle in Washington, winning a bruising runoff battle Tuesday night that had captured the national limelight.

AP - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in New Delhi on Wednesday in Washington's effort to ease tensions in the region after a three-day terrorist attack that left 171 people dead in Mumbai.

AP - Defense Secretary Robert Gates signaled a willingness Tuesday to forge ahead with two key priorities for the incoming Obama administration: accelerating the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq and shutting down the Guantanamo Bay detention center.

AP - The government must toughen its monitoring of the $700 billion financial bailout to ensure that banking institutions limit their top executives' pay and comply with other restrictions, federal auditors said Tuesday in the first comprehensive review of the rescue package.

AP - A Girl Scout leader and her husband were arrested after an emaciated, terrified and nearly naked 17-year-old showed up at a gym with a chain locked to his ankle, saying he had just fled his captors, authorities said Tuesday.

AP - The divorce rate among soldiers and Marines increased last year as military marriages suffered continuing stress from America's two ongoing wars. There were an estimated 10,200 failed marriages in the active duty Army and 3,077 among Marines, according to figures obtained by The Associated Press for the budget year ended Sept. 30.

AP - In Richard Nixon's time, all the president's men fretted about threats on every front: disquiet out on the streets, disloyalty inside the administration and trouble from political opponents who had to be discredited at any cost.

AP - Beyonce is the first artist lined up for next year's Essence Music Festival in New Orleans.

AP - Danny Granger scored 32 points and led Indiana back from a 15-point fourth-quarter deficit, and Troy Murphy tipped in a missed shot at the buzzer to complete an improbable 118-117 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night.

AP - Super Bowl hero Plaxico Burress is done for the year.

Reuters - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in New Delhi on Wednesday as part of intense U.S. efforts to ease tension between India and Pakistan that has surged over the Mumbai attacks.

Reuters - A top lawmaker predicted Washington would approve a bailout for U.S. automakers after they submitted survival plans, and General Motors Corp and Chrysler LLC said they needed an immediate infusion of cash to avoid failures.

Reuters - Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss easily won a run-off election in Georgia on Tuesday, denying Democrats the chance for a 60-seat "super majority" in the Senate that would have enabled them to pass legislation virtually at will.

Reuters - President-elect Barack Obama pledged on Tuesday to help state governors cope with a deepening recession and asked for their help in crafting a huge stimulus package to create jobs and tackle the crumbling economy.

Reuters - U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who will stay on under Barack Obama, said on Tuesday he supported the president-elect's Iraq policy but declined to back his proposed timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. forces.

Reuters - New York Gov. David Paterson has famous names to choose from in picking a replacement for Sen. Hillary Clinton, including a Kennedy, a Cuomo and even another Clinton, as in the former president of the United States.

Reuters - NATO agreed on Tuesday to gradually resume contacts with Russia suspended after Moscow's intervention in Georgia, and put off a decision on putting Ukraine and Georgia on formal membership tracks.

Reuters - Oil rose toward $48 a barrel on Wednesday, recovering from a tumble of more than $100 off July peaks, but the upside could be limited, with further signs of weakening oil demand expected in upcoming weekly U.S. oil data.

AFP - Hundreds of anti-government protesters left Bangkok's main airport Wednesday after a eight-day siege, as authorities assured beleaguered tourists that flights would resume within 24 hours.

AFP - US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in New Delhi Wednesday to try and ease India-Pakistan tensions over the Mumbai attacks, as US intelligence blamed a Pakistan-based militant group.