Dow plunges nearly 430 to fall below 8,000 mark (AP)
Wed, 19 Nov 2008 21:48:25 GMT
AP - Wall Street hit levels not seen since 2003 on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones industrial average plunging below the 8,000 mark as the fate of Detroit's Big Three automakers amid a slumping economy disheartened investors.

Sen. Clinton weighing secretary of state post (AP)
Wed, 19 Nov 2008 21:42:16 GMT
AP - Associates of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton said Wednesday the former first lady is weighing whether to leave the Senate and become secretary of state in the Obama administration, a job they say she believes is hers if she wants it.

Al-Qaida's No. 2 leader insults Obama with racial epithet (AP)
Wed, 19 Nov 2008 21:42:17 GMT
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. The message appeared chiefly aimed at persuading Muslims and Arabs that Obama does not represent a change in U.S. policies.

Dem officials: Daschle accepts HHS Cabinet post (AP)
Wed, 19 Nov 2008 21:42:17 GMT
AP - Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle has accepted President-elect Barack Obama's offer to be Secretary of Health and Human Services, Democratic officials said Wednesday. The appointment has not been announced, but these officials said the job is Daschle's, barring an unforeseen problem as Obama's team reviews the background of the South Dakota Democrat.

Huckabee won't rule out 2012 run for president (AP)
Wed, 19 Nov 2008 21:42:19 GMT
AP - Mike Huckabee wouldn't rule out a 2012 run for president Wednesday, but he acknowledged it could be hard to take back the spotlight from fellow Republican Sarah Palin. "I'm not ruling anything out for the future, but I'm not making any specific plans," Huckabee told reporters at a briefing to promote his new book, "Do the Right Thing."

30-day age limit for Neb. safe-haven law advances (AP)
Wed, 19 Nov 2008 21:33:25 GMT
AP - A 30-day age limit in the Nebraska safe-haven law appears headed for final approval. The state Legislature voted 41-6 Wednesday to give second-round approval to the limit. A final vote is expected Friday and then the bill will go to Gov. Dave Heineman, who has said he would support a 30-day age limit.

Archaeologists: New evidence for Herod's tomb site (AP)
Wed, 19 Nov 2008 20:26:29 GMT
AP - Israeli archaeologists excavating what they believe is the tomb of biblical King Herod said Wednesday they have unearthed lavish Roman-style wall paintings of a kind previously unseen in the Middle East and signs of a regal two-story mausoleum, bolstering their conviction that the Jewish monarch was buried here.

Winona Ryder briefly hospitalized in UK (AP)
Wed, 19 Nov 2008 20:30:16 GMT
AP - Winona Ryder was briefly hospitalized after falling ill on a flight to London's Heathrow Airport on Wednesday, her publicist said. Mara Buxbaum said the 37-year-old actress was taken to a west London hospital "as a precaution" and had been released.

Ind. inmates sneak through ceiling to have sex (AP)
Wed, 19 Nov 2008 20:20:12 GMT
AP - Three male and three female inmates at a southern Indiana jail face charges that they devised a way to sneak between cell blocks to help pass their time behind bars by having sex.

Red Sox trade Coco Crisp to Royals for reliever (AP)
Wed, 19 Nov 2008 21:48:14 GMT
AP - The Kansas City Royals picked up the leadoff hitter they had been seeking, acquiring center fielder Coco Crisp from the Boston Red Sox for reliever Ramon Ramirez on Wednesday. Kansas City was 12th among 14 AL teams in runs last season and added power last month, obtaining first baseman Mike Jacobs from Florida.