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AP - Consumer prices plunged by the largest amount in the past 61 years in October as gasoline pump prices dropped by a record amount.

AP - The top Senate Democrat sought Wednesday to lower expectations for legislation this week to help endangered domestic carmakers, saying it would be the Bush administration's job to save the industry if Congress doesn't.

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 - 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 - A source close to the process of selecting Barack Obama's attorney general says the president-elect has "informally" offered the post to Washington lawyer Eric Holder, who has accepted.

AP - The Indian navy sank a suspected pirate "mother ship" and chased two attack boats into the night, officials said Wednesday, as the owners of a seized Saudi oil supertanker negotiated for the release of their vessel and its $100 million cargo.

AP - Sen. Ted Stevens' election defeat marks the end of an era in which he held a commanding place in Alaska politics while wielding power on some of the most influential committees in Congress.

AP - Suri Cruise is the most popular kid on the playground. The 2-year-old daughter of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes tops Forbes.com's second annual list of "Hollywood's 10 Hottest Tots."

AP - Don Wakamatsu has been hired by the Seattle Mariners, becoming the first Asian-American manager in major league baseball history.

Reuters - Auto executives appeared on Capitol Hill for a second day on Wednesday to argue their case for a $25 billion aid package as legislators in both houses and in both parties seemed to move closer to a deal.

Reuters - Consumer prices dropped at the fastest rate on record in October and new home construction was at a record low, according to government reports on Wednesday that underlined how rapidly the economy was weakening.

Reuters - Former U.S. President Bill Clinton has offered to allow ethics reviews of future business and charitable activities should his wife be picked by President-elect Barack Obama as secretary of state, Democrats familiar with the issue said on Wednesday.

Reuters - Al Qaeda's second-in-command urged Muslims to keep up attacks on the "criminal" United States and criticized U.S. president-elect Barack Obama for promising to back Israel.

Reuters - An Indian warship destroyed a pirate ship in the Gulf of Aden and gunmen from Somalia seized two more vessels despite a large international naval presence off their lawless country.

Reuters - A suspected U.S. drone aircraft fired two missiles at a house in northwestern Pakistan on Wednesday, killing five suspected militants, possibly including an Arab al Qaeda operative, intelligence officials said.

AFP - An Indian warship destroyed a pirate "mother vessel" in the Gulf of Aden, the navy said on Wednesday, as bandits demanded a ransom for a Saudi super-tanker seized in the most daring sea raid yet.

AFP - Al-Qaeda number two Ayman Zawahiri ridiculed US president-elect Barack Obama and warned him against sending more troops to Afghanistan, in an Internet audio-message released on Wednesday.