Auto bailout prospects dim

WASHINGTON – Prospects dimmed Monday for enactment of a $25 billion bailout for the faltering auto industry before year’s end, as congressional Democrats and the Bush administration seemed headed for a stalemate. Help for Detroit’s Big Three, which have been battered by the economic meltdown that has choked their sales and frozen their credit, is falling victim to a partisan fight over where the money should come from.

Obama, McCain pledge to work together

CHICAGO – President-elect Barack Obama and former Republican rival John McCain pledged Monday to work together on ways to change Washington’s “bad habits,” though aides to both men said it was unlikely McCain would serve in an Obama Cabinet.

Obama advisers say no charges likely against harsh interrogation methods

WASHINGTON – Barack Obama’s incoming administration is unlikely to bring criminal charges against government officials who authorized or engaged in harsh interrogations of suspected terrorists during the George W. Bush presidency.

Somali pirates hijack Saudi supertanker loaded with crude

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – In a dramatic escalation of high seas crime, Somali pirates hijacked a Saudi supertanker loaded with crude hundreds of miles off the coast of East Africa – defeating the security web of warships trying to protect vital shipping lanes.

Neb. safe-haven legislation so far includes age limits of 3 days, 30 days or a year

LINCOLN, Neb. – Nebraska legislators opened a public hearing Monday on adding an age limit to a safe-haven law that has allowed nearly three dozen children – some close to adulthood – to be abandoned at hospitals.

Passing a gene test doesn’t always mean a reprieve

WASHINGTON – If breast cancer runs in the family, women can be at high risk even if they test free of the disease’s most common gene mutations, sobering new research shows.