Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The $25 billion rescue plan for the auto industry, desperately sought by Detroit's beleaguered Big Three, collapsed Thursday as Congress drew the line at one more bailout and Democrats said they wouldn't even consider it until the companies produced a convincing plan for rebuilding their once-mighty industry....

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Jarred by new jobless alarms, Congress raced to approve legislation Thursday to keep unemployment checks flowing through the December holidays and into the new year for a million or more laid-off Americans whose benefits are running out....

WASHINGTON (AP) -- What Robert Gates once called "inconceivable to me" - his remaining as defense secretary beyond Inauguration Day - is looking a bit more conceivable to the rest of Washington....

WASHINGTON (AP) -- "Uncle Ted" Stevens, an old-style Senate giant and the chamber's longest-serving Republican, delivered his swan song address and yielded the floor for the final time Thursday. He was saluted by his colleagues as a staunch friend and teacher....

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A federal judge on Thursday ordered the release of five Algerians held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and the continued detention of a sixth in a major blow to the Bush administration's strategy to keep terror suspects locked up without charges....

PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Ryan Fitzpatrick's 10-yard touchdown pass to Glenn Holt gave the Cincinnati Bengals a 7-0 lead over the Pittsburgh Steelers after one quarter Thursday night....

TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) -- An agency director improperly used state computers to find personal information on "Joe the Plumber," a government watchdog said in a report released Thursday. There was no legitimate business purpose for the head of Ohio's Department of Job and Family Services to order staff to look up the records, Inspector General Tom Charles said....

WARSAW, Poland (AP) -- Researchers said Thursday they have identified the remains of Nicolaus Copernicus by comparing DNA from a skeleton and hair retrieved from one of the 16th-century astronomer's books. The findings could put an end to centuries of speculation about the exact resting spot of Copernicus, a priest and astronomer whose theories identified the Sun, not the Earth, as the center of the universe....

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Dr Pepper is making good on its promise of free soda now that the release of Guns N' Roses' "Chinese Democracy" is a reality. The soft-drink maker said in March that it would give a free soda to everyone in America if the album dropped in 2008. "Chinese Democracy," infamously delayed since recording began in 1994, goes on sale Sunday....

COVINGTON, La. (AP) -- A man says his cell phone saved his life. A stray .45-caliber bullet hit R.J. Richard's chest while he was mowing the lawn - hitting so hard he thought it was a stone kicked out by his tractor. He pulled out the phone. It fell apart....

NEW YORK (AP) -- There has never been a rain-shortened game in the postseason, and now there never will be. Baseball commissioner Bud Selig announced the sport will enact a rules change stating that postseason games cannot be shortened because of bad weather....

NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks plunged for a second straight day Thursday, falling to a ranges not seen in six years as financial and energy stocks tumbled and as demand for the safety of government debt spiked to historic levels....

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President-elect Barack Obama is likely to choose Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano to be secretary of homeland security, top Obama advisers and several Democrats said Thursday as the shape of Obama's Cabinet begins to emerge....

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) -- Law enforcement authorities arrested an 81-year-old man who illegally sold powerful prescription pain relievers. The arrest followed a raid on a home Monday by the Alaska Bureau of Alcohol and Drug Enforcement....

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- Making John A. "Junior" Gotti stand trial on racketeering charges in Tampa instead of New York would be like "cutting off the supplies he needs to fight the fight," his attorney told a federal judge Thursday. Charles Carnesi, attorney for the New York Mafia scion, argued that a Tampa trial would be a "crushing burden" for Gotti and his family and make it difficult to get already reluctant defense witnesses to testify....

BEREA, Ohio (AP) -- Cleveland Browns general manager Phil Savage has apologized to a fan whom he sent a profane e-mail to following Monday night's game against the Buffalo Bills....

NEW YORK (AP) -- Friction keeps obstructing "The View." While she never mentioned Rosie O'Donnell by name, it was clear who Barbara Walters was referring to when she opened Thursday's show by complaining about "some people who have done this show" who criticize the daytime gabfest after leaving....

NEW YORK (AP) -- George Steinbrenner's 35-year reign as boss of the New York Yankees ended Thursday when he passed control of baseball's most famous team to his youngest son, Hal....

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Jennifer Garner has won a restraining order from a man she says has been stalking her for years....