Natural gas fight spills into Europe

BY GEORGE JAHN AND MARIA DANILOVA THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

VIENNA, Austria — The Russia-Ukraine natural gas dispute hit Europe on Tuesday, cutting or limiting supplies to at least a dozen nations. Tens of thousands of people were left without heat, and governments scrambled to find alternate energy sources. - Wednesday, January 7, 2009

In the news

Jeb Bush, 55, a former Florida GOP governor and the brother of President Bush, said he won't run for the U.S. Senate in 2010 to replace the retiring Mel Martinez, adding that his decision was based not on politics but on his "personal journey," and his brother's low approval ratings didn't factor into his decision. - Wednesday, January 7, 2009

3 state leaders say raise cigarette tax 50 cents

BY SETH BLOMELEY

Gov. Mike Beebe and the leaders of the House and the Senate each said Tuesday that they favor increasing the state's cigarette tax to raise money for, among other health programs, a "trauma system" to improve emergency-room care. - Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Will inherit a $1 trillion deficit, Obama says

BY JULIANNA GOLDMAN AND ROGER RUNNINGEN BLOOMBERG NEWS

WASHINGTON — President-elect Barack Obama said Tuesday that he expects to inherit a $1 trillion budget deficit and that similar shortfalls are in store "for years to come" as the government grapples with a recession and other spending demands. - Wednesday, January 7, 2009

30 killed; new plan for truce surfaces

BY IBRAHIM BARZAK AND JASON KEYSER THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

GAZA CIT Y, Gaza — France and Egypt announced an initiative late Tuesday to stop the fighting in Gaza, hours after Israeli mortar shells exploded near a U.N. school that sheltered hundreds of people displaced by the onslaught on Hamas militants. At least 30 Palestinians died. - Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Congress in; economy on must-do list

DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE PRESS SERVICES

WASHINGTON — Nancy Pelosi was re-elected speaker of the House as a new session of Congress began Tuesday under expanded Democratic majorities and with a stagnant economy and frozen credit markets dominating the agenda. - Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Sri Lanka says rebels' northern line breached

BY RAVI NESSMAN THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sri Lankan troops broke through the Tamil Tigers' northern defense lines Tuesday, the military said, opening another active front in their war against the guerrillas. - Wednesday, January 7, 2009

New all-online Social Security service debuts

BY JIM ABRAMS THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON — The Social Security Administration has put together a new online service that will allow people to get their benefits without ever traveling to a Social Security field office. - Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Rival sues over recount giving Franken win

BY BRIAN BAKST AND PATRICK CONDON THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Republican Norm Coleman filed a lawsuit Tuesday challenging Democrat Al Franken's apparent recount victory in Minnesota's U.S. Senate race, delaying a resolution of the contest for weeks or months. - Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Five plead innocent in deaths of 17 Iraqis

BY JESSE J. HOLLAND THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON — Five former Blackwater Worldwide security guards pleaded innocent Tuesday to federal manslaughter and gun charges resulting from a 2007 shooting episode in a crowded Baghdad square that killed 17 Iraqi civilians and injured dozens of others. - Wednesday, January 7, 2009

India premier: Pakistanis assisted Bombay gunmen

BY MUNEEZA NAQVI THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW DELHI — India's prime minister said Tuesday that Pakistani authorities "must have had" a hand in the Bombay siege, a remark dismissed by Pakistan as propaganda that could undermine efforts to bring the perpetrators to justice. - Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Support, not troops, key, Pakistani says

BY HEIDI VOGT THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

KABUL, Afghanistan — Pakistan's president called Tuesday for foreign allies to provide more support — not more troops — to help win the battle against extremist militias along its volatile border with Afghanistan. - Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Arkansans gear up for start of 111th Congress in D.C.

BY ALEX DANIELS

WASHINGTON — House members, having just been administered their oaths of office by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, began to file out of the chamber, jammed to capacity with the lawmakers and their children. - Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Burris, denied seat, to meet top Democrats

BY LAURIE KELLMAN AND ERICA WERNER THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON — Roland Burris was turned away from the Senate on Tuesday before he could claim President-elect Barack Obama's old Senate seat, but the Democrats' opposition cracked when a key chairman said seating him was the legal thing to do. - Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Panetta has skills, savvy to lead CIA, Obama says

DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE PRESS SERVICES

WASHINGTON — Presidentelect Barack Obama on Tuesday praised the international experience and crisis-management skills of Leon Panetta after criticism by Democratic senators of Obama's presumptive pick to head the Central Intelligence Agency. - Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Recycling offered for electronics gear

ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

The Washington County Environmental Affairs office in Fayetteville will offer free electronics recycling through Jan. 31. - Wednesday, January 7, 2009

222 natural wonders in running for top 7

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

GENEVA — The Grand Canyon, Mount Everest and Loch Ness will vie with more than 200 other spectacular places in the next phase of the global competition for the New 7 Wonders of Nature, organizers said today. - Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Chief executive at Tyson Foods takes quick exit

BY STACEY ROBERTS

The man who rose to lead Tyson Foods Inc. through one of its worst financial setbacks has abruptly left the Springdale company during another. - Tuesday, January 6, 2009

In the news

Gov. Tim Kaine, a Virginia Democrat whom Presidentelect Barack Obama selected to head the Democratic National Committee, said Obama has agreed to let him serve in the DNC post part time for a year while he completes his last year as governor, adding that he sees the party job as "an electronic gig" that he will work on during personal time, evenings and weekends. - Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Economy 'very sick,' Obama says; he predicts quick stimulus passage

DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE PRESS SERVICES

WASHINGTON — President-elect Barack Obama plunged into rare pre-inaugural crisis talks with congression al leaders Monday, declaring the national economy was "bad and getting worse" and embracing tax cuts now expected to reach $300 billion. He predicted lawmakers would approve the package within two weeks of his taking office. - Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Israel keeps on a 10th day

DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE PRESS SERVICES

GAZA CITY, Gaza — Israel ignored mounting international calls for a cease-fire Monday and said it won't stop its 10-day assault until "peace and tranquility" are achieved in southern Israeli towns in the line of Palestinian rocket fire. Friendly fire killed three Israeli soldiers. - Tuesday, January 6, 2009

3 Clintons' foundation tells how it gave in '07

BY MATTHEW S.L. CATE

The Clinton Family Foundation gave $2.9 million to a variety of causes in 2007, spreading its generosity across the country as Hillary Rodham Clinton sought the Democratic presidential nomination. - Tuesday, January 6, 2009

U.S. inaugurates $700 million embassy in Iraq

BY CHELSEA J. CARTER THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

BAGHDAD — The United States inaugurated its largest embassy ever Monday, a fortresslike compound in the heart of the Green Zone — and the most visible sign of what U.S. officials call a new chapter in relations between America and a more sovereign Iraq. - Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Board signs off on recount giving Franken Senate win

BY BRIAN BAKST THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

ST. PAUL, Minn. — A Minnesota board Monday certified results showing Democrat Al Franken winning the state's U.S. Senate recount over Republican Norm Coleman, whose lawyer promised a legal challenge that probably will keep the race in limbo for months. - Tuesday, January 6, 2009

'I am' a U.S. senator, Illinois' Burris says

BY DAVID ESPO THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats struggled to avert a showdown Monday as Roland Burris declared his appointment to President-elect Barack Obama's Senate seat legitimate. - Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Health-care spending slowed in '07

BY KEVIN FREKING THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON — Spending on health care slowed slightly in 2007 as consumers turned more to generic drugs instead of brand names to fill their medicine cabinets, the government reported Monday. - Tuesday, January 6, 2009

India shares attack evidence

BY SAM DOLNICK THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW DELHI — India handed Pakistan detailed evidence on the Bombay attacks Monday that included information on interrogations, weapons and data gleaned from satellite phones that officials said proved Pakistani "elements" were behind the deadly siege. - Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Take Guantanamo inmates, nations told

BY WILLIAM J. KOLE THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

VIENNA, Austria — More nations must take in Guantanamo inmates once the U.S.-run prison closes, the U.N.'s torture investigator said Monday, insisting that many were held simply because they were "in the wrong place at the wrong time." Manfred Nowak told Austrian radio he hopes more countries will set aside their misgivings and show solidarity with the incoming government of President-elect Barack Obama, who has vowed to shut the detention center in eastern Cuba. - Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Attack on Greek police raises terrorism fears

BY ELENA BECATOROS THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

ATHENS, Greece — Greek anti-terror police are investigating an attack Monday against riot police in Athens that severely wounded a policeman and raised fears of a resurgence of domestic terrorism. - Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Panetta said to be Obama choice to become CIA director

BY PAMELA HESS THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON — Presidentelect Barack Obama has chosen former Clinton White House chief of staff Leon Panetta to run the CIA, while he has tapped retired Admiral Dennis Blair to be director of national intelligence, according to two Democrats who spoke on condition of anonymity because Obama has not officially announced the choices. - Tuesday, January 6, 2009