AP - Congressional backers of $25 billion in emergency loans to the domestic auto industry are urging colleagues not to punish the Detroit's Big Three automakers for past mistakes. But the heads of the companies seemed to be making little headway in building support.

AP - Former President Bill Clinton has offered several concessions to help Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, his wife, become secretary of state, people familiar with President-elect Barack Obama's transition vetting process said Wednesday.

AP - Al-Qaida's No. 2 leader used a racial epithet to insult Barack Obama in a message posted Wednesday, describing the president-elect in demeaning terms that imply he does the bidding of whites.

AP - The British government announced plans Wednesday to make it illegal to pay for sex with women forced into prostitution and to name men who solicit sex on the streets — measures that prostitutes say will put more women at risk.