Top headlines:
Report slams Pentagon nuke oversight: A Pentagon advisory group plans to release a report Thursday criticizing the Defense Department for lack of focus on its nuclear mission and recommending more oversight, a senior defense official said. ›02:49
China finds no new bird flu outbreak: China said Thursday that no other cases of bird flu have been detected in Beijing and neighboring provinces after a woman died from the avian influenza in the capital. ›02:00
Newsweek: The bumpy road to the inauguration: Howard Fineman notes that rather than give Obama a clean, quick coronation, Washington (and especially Obama's own party) seems intent on giving the president-elect as much trouble as possible. ›16:21
Obama plans to overhaul counterterrorism: The President-elect is laying plans to dissolve a White House security panel created in the wake of 9/11 and restructure counterterrorism policy under intelligence veteran John Brennan. ›18:57
On a tight budget? Apply to Harvard: The nation's top colleges have gotten to be so expensive that only the wealthiest families can possibly afford them, especially during bleak economic times like these. Right? Not necessarily. A new report shows that such schools might not be as costly as you think. ›14:50
Man wants estranged wife to pay for kidney: A New York doctor is demanding that his estranged wife pay him $1.5 million to compensate him for the kidney he gave her while they were still on good terms. ›20:47 7 Jan, Wed
'Jealous wife' charged in fatal genitals fire: An Australian woman accused of setting her husband's genitals on fire because she thought he was having an affair has been charged with murder. ›12:44 6 Jan, Tue
Cheney: Obama should keep terror policies: Vice President said Wednesday it would be a mistake for the President-elect to scrap the Bush administration's terrorist-fighting policies designed to prevent future attacks on the U.S. ›14:00
China jails democracy activist for 6 years: A 65-year-old democracy activist who tried to set up an opposition party in China has been sentenced to six years in jail, a human rights group said Thursday. ›12:25
Video: Managing debts, and expectations: Jan. 7: The Congressional Budget Office said Wednesday the projected federal deficit for 2009 is $1.2 trillion, and that does not include the $800 billion economic stimulus package President-elect Barack Obama is proposing. NBC's Chuck Todd reports.(Nightly News) ›23:43 7 Jan, Wed
Deep freeze disrupts hardy Alaskans: Ted Johnson planned on using a set of logs to a build a cabin in Alaska's interior. Instead he'll burn some of them to stay warm. ›17:47
Sub to probe shifting Antarctic glacier: A yellow, remote-controlled submarine will dive under an ice shelf in Antarctica to seek clues to world ocean level rises in one of the most inaccessible places on Earth. ›17:34 7 Jan, Wed
Former Sen. Larry Craig drops further appeals: A lawyer for former Idaho Sen. Larry Craig says they won't ask the Minnesota Supreme Court to void his conviction in an airport bathroom sex sting. ›15:41
Bikers strap on fruit to dodge helmet law: Police in Nigeria have arrested scores of motorcycle taxi riders with dried fruit shells, pots or pieces of rubber tire tied to their heads with string to avoid a new law requiring them to wear helmets. ›15:41 7 Jan, Wed
Salmonella outbreak spreads to 42 states: Health officials are investigating a salmonella outbreak that reportedly has sickened nearly 400 people in 42 states, but they don't know how the bacteria has been spreading. ›23:40 7 Jan, Wed
Newsweek: Obama's Mideast peace offensive: Barack Obama has put on a good show of focusing his pre-inaugural attention on the economy while largely ignoring the rest of the worldbut he clearly has big plans for the Mideast. ›16:19
Verizon picks Microsoft search over Google: Verizon Communications Inc has chosen Microsoft Corp to provide Internet search services for cell phones, in what is seen as a blow to rivals Google Inc and Yahoo Inc. ›23:49 7 Jan, Wed
Obama: Pass stimulus or recession lasts years: President-elect Barack Obama warned Thursday that the nation's recession could "linger for years" unless Congress acts to pump huge sums from Washington into the U.S. economy. ›17:17
Thousands of shoes tie up Miami traffic: Florida state troopers are looking for a charity to take thousands of shoes that were dumped on a Miami expressway, tying up rush hour traffic. ›19:39 2 Jan, Fri
Drugmakers aim to polish image with ad blitz: The pharmaceutical industry, confronting sluggish growth, low prestige and the prospect of more-aggressive government oversight, is moving on several fronts to burnish its image. ›11:09
NYT: Bush's homeland security setup faces ax: Barack Obama is reportedly preparing to scrap the way President Bush oversaw domestic security in the White House and name a former CIA official to coordinate counterterrorism. ›09:14
Low times for high tech as CES opens: Bill Gates isn't at the International Consumer Electronics Show. Steve Jobs isn't at Macworld. One way or the other, 2009 will be a turning point for the consumer technology industry. ›15:22
Flood-control dams eyed for energy: America's search for cleaner electricity has developers studying dozens of government flood-control dams to see if it makes financial sense to retrofit them with hydroelectric turbines. ›17:28 31 Dec, Wed
Study: Hawaii's pygmy killer whales stay close: A new study of pygmy killer whales one of the least understood marine mammal species shows that those living off Hawaii tend to stay close to the islands and don't swim out to the open ocean. ›15:25 2 Jan, Fri
