AP - Wall Street was gearing up for another surge following the Dow Jones industrial average's historic 936-point jump, with investors encouraged by the U.S. government's plans to spend $250 billion on buying stock in private banks.

AP - President Bush on Tuesday announced a $250 billion plan by the government to directly buy shares in the nation's leading banks, saying the drastic steps were "not intended to take over the free market but to preserve it."

AP - A double murderer who says he's too fat to be executed humanely passed a pre-execution exam Tuesday and was cleared to receive a lethal injection.

AP - Powerful winds stoked three major wildfires on Tuesday morning after destroying dozens of homes, forcing thousands to flee and leaving two people dead.

AP - PepsiCo Inc., which has struggled with lagging sales of its soft drinks business in the U.S., announced plans to eliminate 3,300 positions globally, as it reported a 9.5 percent drop in third-quarter profit and offered a downbeat profit outlook amid a surging U.S. dollar.