The supervisor is Mike Stewart (800-845-8450, ext. 1602). In Photos, Shahrzad Elghanayan (ext. 1900). In Multimedia/Graphics, Bernadette Tuazon (ext. 1901). Expanded AP content, beyond what appears on this wire, can be obtained from http://www.apexchange.com. For access to AP Exchange and other technical issues, contact customersupport(at)ap.org or call 877-836-9477.
NEW & DEVELOPING:
PAKISTAN-US-ARRESTS-PROBE
WASHINGTON — After more than a week of searching by frantic family members and worried FBI agents, five U.S. students have apparently turned up in Pakistan. Authorities are investigating whether they were trying to hook up with a terrorist group, and say one of the men left behind a farewell video pledging to defend Muslims. By Devlin Barrett and Zarar Khan. Has moved.
AP video.
Also:
— SC GOVERNOR — SC lawmakers halt move to impeach gov, panel instead considers rebuke over tryst, travel flaps. Will be led.
— MORTGAGE AID — Report: Only 10,000 borrowers completed loan modifications under Obama program through Oct. Has moved.
— RECESSION-WELFARE — Experts say welfare safety net inadequate to aid jobless, strapped families in recession. Has moved.
— MEDICAL MARIJUANA-LOS ANGELES — LA City Council to vote on limiting medical marijuana dispensaries. Developing from early afternoon meeting.
TOP STORIES:
HEALTH CARE-CONSUMERS
WASHINGTON — The health care overhaul — now looking like it's really going to happen — will give uninsured Americans options they've never had before, but it won't be a free ride. The message for consumers: Have your checkbook and credit cards ready. There's a price to pay for health security. By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar
AP photos, multimedia.
Also:
— HEALTH CARE OVERHAUL — President Barack Obama says the Senate compromise paves the way for passage of historic legislation.
CONGRESS-TAXES
WASHINGTON — The House approves a measure to slap higher taxes on Wall Street investment managers to help pay for extending $31 billion in about-to-expire tax breaks for a wide swath of Americans, including a popular deduction for local and state sales and property taxes. By Stephen Ohlemacher.
With:
— TAXES-GLANCE — Some of the larger tax breaks in the bill.
— FINANCIAL OVERHAUL — House opens debate on vast overhaul of regulations governing Wall Street amid a charged political atmosphere and in the face of a determined push by banks and other business to alter if not derail the bill.
— FINANCIAL OVERHAUL — Major provisions.
CLIMATE-ISLANDERS
COPENHAGEN — Saying "it's a matter of survival," one of the world's tiniest nations, speaking for imperiled islands everywhere, takes on industrial and oil powers at the U.N. climate conference and pushes for sharper reductions in greenhouse gases. The bid by Tuvalu is quickly gaveled down, showing again that the world is resistant to drastic action against global warming. By Special Correspondent Charles J. Hanley.
AP photos, graphic, video, multimedia.
With:
— CLIMATE — US, China exchange barbs over shortfalls on climate change; China urges US to search soul.
OBAMA-NOBEL
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama will address the irony of accepting the world's best-known peace prize while expanding the war in Afghanistan when he receives the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo Thursday, White House officials say. Obama will lay out his vision of American leadership and what goes into the decision to escalate war. By Ben Feller.
MIXING FAITHS, HFR
UNDATED — Many Americans take a mix-and-match, build-your-own approach to religion, attending services of traditions other than their own and borrowing New Age or Eastern practices like reincarnation and astrology, a survey finds. The report Wednesday from the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life also shows huge growth in the number of Americans who say they have had a religious or mystical experience. By Religion Writer Eric Gorski.
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AP graphic.
LIFESTYLES-LETTERS TO SANTA
SCRANTON, Pa. — A microscope. A new puppy. A mother. And absolutely, positively NO CLOTHES. An analysis of nearly 1,200 letters to Santa shows that kids aren't as toy-centric as parents think, but they're also not as big on "please" and "thank you" as perhaps they should be. By Kathy Matheson.
AP photos, video.
INTERNATIONAL:
IRAQ
BAGHDAD — Iraq's Western-backed government — facing pressure from all sides with calls for resignations and investigations into security lapses — orders a shake-up in Baghdad's command structure in hopes of quelling mounting anger following the third major attack in the capital within months. By Chelsea J. Carter.
AP photos, video.
IRAQ-LUCKY DOG
BAGHDAD — Liza is one lucky dog. And so, it turns out, is her family. A ginger-colored mutt stranded alone atop the bombed-out ruins of a Baghdad home is reunited with her owner after a night chained to a railing, bringing a few smiles after the Iraqi capital's latest day of sorrow. By Hamid Ahmed.
AP photos, video.
With:
— UKRAINE-IRAQ-ARMS DEAL — Top Ukrainian lawmaker: Ukraine reaches $2.5 billion deal to supply weapons to Iraq.
IRAN-NUCLEAR
TEHRAN, Iran — Iran says a newly built U.N. station to detect nuclear explosions was set up near its border so the West could spy on the country, an accusation that is the latest testament to the bitterness between Iran and Western powers over its nuclear program. By Ali Akbar Dareini.
AP graphic.
Also:
— US-AFGHANISTAN — The general who led the successful troop surge in Iraq tells U.S. lawmakers that progress in President Barack Obama's military escalation in Afghanistan will come at a slower pace than it did in Iraq.
— AFGHANISTAN — Mayor of Afghan's capital still running city despite corruption conviction. AP photos.
— PHILIPPINES-MASSACRE — Police name 100 more suspects in the Philippines' worst political massacre.
— BRITAIN-AIRLINE PLOT — British court finds man guilty of conspiring with trans-Atlantic flight bomb plotter. Has moved.
WASHINGTON:
CYBERCRIME
WASHINGTON — The FBI and Secret Service are adding agents overseas to combat the growing numbers of hackers and sophisticated cybercriminals targeting America from afar. Their jobs are complicated by nations' conflicting laws and the lack of international guidelines for overseeing the Internet. By Lolita Baldor.
CAPITAL CULTURE: WHITE HOUSE CHRISTMAS
WASHINGTON — Christmas at the White House isn't for sissies. Imagine holiday prep for 50,000 guests, 28 parties and open houses, including a couple hundred thousand holiday cards and untold quantities of cookies, cakes, brownies, truffles and the like. By Nancy Benac.
Eds: One in a series of occasional looks at the Obama effect in the capital and beyond.
With:
— WHITE HOUSE CHRISTMAS-VIGNETTES.
Also:
— AIRPORT-SECURITY — TSA puts 5 employees on leave during probe of online posting of passenger screening document.
— BCS-CONGRESS — House subcommittee OKs bill aimed at forcing college football to set up new playoff system.
MORE ON THE ECONOMY:
BAILOUT-EXTENSION
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration's move to extend the $700 billion financial bailout program until October sets up a struggle between Democrats who favor using some of the leftover money to help generate jobs and Republicans who say it should be used to shrink soaring budget deficits. By Economics Writer Martin Crutsinger.
BRITAIN-BUDGET
LONDON — Faced with a steep uphill climb in the general election, Britain's Labour Party takes a shot at bankers by taxing their bonuses. The strategy may capitalize on public resentment, but some fret it may drive banks — and well-heeled bankers — out of the country. By Gregory Katz and Jane Wardell.
AP photos.
Also:
— JAPAN-ECONOMY — Oops, Japan's economy isn't doing so well after all. The government reveals that the world's second-biggest economy grew far less in the third quarter than it first estimated. AP Photos.
— JAPAN-SUZUKI-VOLKSWAGEN — Volkswagen will buy a 20 percent stake in Suzuki Motor Corp. for $2.5 billion, forming one of the world's biggest auto alliances.
— GENERAL MILLS-SUGAR — General Mills says it will cut sugar in cereal marketed to children. AP photo.
NATIONAL:
HOUSTON MAYOR
HOUSTON — Annise Parker's mayoral campaign Web site touts her plans to get tough on crime and build vibrant neighborhoods. But opponents are seizing on one line at the bottom of her bio: Parker and her life partner have been together since 1990 and have two children. Parker is facing a backlash from white conservative Christians and a group of black pastors, who already back her opponent. If she wins Saturday's election, Houston would become the largest U.S. city with an openly gay mayor. By Monica Rhor.
AP photos.
TATTOO COVERUP
NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. — Every day before his trial on murder charges, admitted neo-Nazi John Allen Ditullio steps into another chair — the makeup chair. A judge decided his tattoos — including a prominent swastika on his neck — could unfairly prejudice the jury. So at a cost to taxpayers of $150 a day a cosmetologist comes in to cover up the offensive tattoos. By Tamara Lush.
AP photo.
Also:
— STORM RDP — Massive snowstorm blankets states from the Plains to New England, creating snow drifts pile so high that even plows are called off the roads. AP photos, graphic, video.
— CHARLIE BROWN TREE — San Francisco suburb puts up scraggly Christmas tree in spirit of Charlie Brown. AP video.
ENTERTAINMENT:
SECOND CITY AT 50
CHICAGO — On a blustery fall afternoon, Andy St. Clair slips into an empty club, with rows of tables, wooden chairs and a bare stage awaiting its next bit of comic magic. It doesn't look like much, but the stage is something of a shrine. This is The Second City, the place where legions of comics — among them Tina Fey, Stephen Colbert, Steve Carell, Mike Myers, Chris Farley, John Belushi, Bill Murray and John Candy — sometimes killed, sometimes flopped, but always tried to make them laugh. This year, it celebrates its 50th anniversary. By National Writer Sharon Cohen.
Eds: Abridged version available.
AP photos, video.
Also:
— PEOPLE-NICOLAS CAGE — Nicolas Cage's ex-girlfriend sues actor and his former manager for $13 million, house. AP photo.
SPORTS:
TIGER'S IN-LAWS
STOCKHOLM — When images of Barbro Holmberg being rushed to the hospital were broadcast around the world, it was the first glimpse many had of Tiger Woods' mother-in-law. Back home in Sweden, however, Elin Nordegren's parents are quite used to the spotlight. Holmberg is a well-known politician in Sweden and was formerly married to prominent journalist and author Thomas Nordegren. By Louise Nordstrom.
AP photos, video.
With:
— TIGER WOODS-GATORADE — Gatorade dropping Tiger Woods drink, but says it made decision before fateful car wreck. AP photo.
ALSO GETTING ATTENTION:
— HITLER'S ALBUM — AP Exclusive: Hitler's album of art he coveted for a museum found at Ohio veteran's home, returning to Germany. AP photos.
— QUADRIPLEGIC HUNTER — It took 30 years and a court battle for quadriplegic Jamie Cap to return to the sport he loves, hunting, with the aid of a shotgun mounted to a machine that fires the gun when he draws air from a breathing tube. AP photos, video.
— PEEPS STORE — Sweet! Peeps hatches first retail store, hopes for marshmallow madness. AP photos.
— PEOPLE-BRADY-BUNDCHEN BABY — New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and supermodel Gisele Bundchen have a baby boy. AP photo.
— FACEBOOK-PRIVACY — Facebook is putting new privacy settings into effect, letting users choose who gets to see the photos, updates and links they share on the site.
— BRUNO-LAWSUIT — Palestinian sues Sacha Baron Cohen, Letterman, others for 'terrorist' label in 'Bruno' movie.
MULTIMEDIA:
Notable Photos:
— STORM RDP: PX104, Woman shielded from rain by umbrella walks through vented steam in Philadephia.
— IRAQ: BAG113, Teen warms himself before a small fire as he stands in front of the wreckage of his Baghdad house destroyed in one of Tuesday's bombings.
— QUADRIPLEGIC HUNTER, NJME103: James Cap, a quadriplegic since 1979, holds tube in his mouth that he uses to aim and fire his shotgun as he sits in his wheelchair.
— SERBIA WAR CRIMES KARADZIK: XMD101, Man in Serbia passes by graffiti depicting former Bosnian Serb wartime leader Radovan Karadzic.
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