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Top Stories


2 arrested in alleged torture of teen, who escaped (AP)

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.

Georgia Sen. Chambliss wins re-election in runoff (AP)

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.

Police: Mumbai gunmen came by sea from Pakistan (AP)

AP - The gunmen who attacked Mumbai set out by boat from Pakistan's port of Karachi, a top police official said, as the U.S. secretary of state headed Wednesday to India in Washington's efforts to defuse tension between the two nuclear rivals.

Gates: Military looks to accelerate Iraq pullout (AP)

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.

Divorce rate increases in Marine Corps, Army (AP)

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.

Auditors fault Treasury oversight of bailout funds (AP)

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.

Newly released Nixon-era memo shows aides dishing dirt on critics (AP)

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.

Beyonce to perform at Essence Fest in New Orleans (AP)

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

Message in bottle tossed off NJ in '69 found in NC (AP)
AP - A message in a bottle tossed into the ocean off Barnegat Bay has turned up in North Carolina — 39 years later. The note was sealed in a Schaefer beer bottle. It was dated Aug. 17, 1969 and read: "If found notify the North Haledon Fire Co. 2."

Giants suspend Burress for rest of regular season (AP)

AP - Super Bowl hero Plaxico Burress is done for the year. The New York Giants fined and suspended Burress on Tuesday for four games — the rest of the regular season — after he accidentally shot himself in the right thigh over the weekend at a Manhattan nightclub. The team also placed him on the reserve non-football injury list, which means the wide receiver couldn't come back for playoffs, either.

Automakers' desperate bailout plea gaining support (Reuters)

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.

Republicans win crucial Georgia Senate seat (Reuters)

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

Rice flies to India to ease tension with Pakistan (Reuters)

Reuters - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was due 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.

Obama pledges to help states weather recession (Reuters)

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.

Pentagon chief Gates backs Obama Iraq policy (Reuters)

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.