Aaron's Daily WWW Newspaper

LOS ANGELES - A man shot and killed by police after a two-hour standoff near Los Angeles where he held his 7-year-old son hostage in a restaurant was a suspect wanted for the 2004 murder of his girlfriend, authorities said Wednesday.

SAN FRANCISCO - Worries over lead paint in mass-market toys made the holidays a little brighter for handcrafted toy makers last year, but now the federal government's response to the scare has some workshops fearful that this Christmas might be their last.

CHICAGO - At least 2 million older Americans are taking a combination of drugs or supplements that can be a risky mix — from blood thinners and cholesterol pills to aspirin and ginkgo capsules — a new study warns.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - A giant snowman named Snowzilla has mysteriously appeared again this year — despite the city's cease-and-desist order.

NEW YORK - Even in the midst of a recession, the New York Yankees' hoard of cash — and players — appears to have no limit. Keeping up an unprecedented spending spree, Mark Teixeira joined the collection of pricey free agents in the Bronx when the first baseman reached a preliminary agreement on a $180 million, eight-year contract with the Yankees.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless benefits jumped by 30,000 to a 26-year peak last week, government data on Wednesday showed, as the country's year-long recession continued to chill the labor market.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission chairman Christopher Cox, responding to heavy criticism, said in an interview published on Wednesday he takes pride in his response to the U.S. financial crisis.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. consumers cut spending for a fifth straight month during November and their incomes shrank, according to a government report on Wednesday that pointed to deepening recessionary pressures.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President-elect Barack Obama and a top aide have been interviewed by prosecutors investigating Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, but an internal report released on Tuesday cleared them of any wrongdoing.

CONAKRY (Reuters) - The military junta attempting a coup in Guinea promised on Wednesday to hold elections in two years time, but the West African state's top civilian leader appealed to the world to prevent the takeover from succeeding.

HONOLULU (Reuters) - President-elect Barack Obama paid his last respects on Tuesday to the woman he called the rock of his family, the grandmother who helped to raise him, before scattering her ashes from a Hawaiian shoreline.

BETHLEHEM, West Bank (Reuters) - Thousands of Christian pilgrims gathered in Bethlehem's Manger Square on Wednesday to celebrate Christmas under the protection of security forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The incoming Obama administration is nearing agreement with congressional Democrats on a huge emergency spending bill intended to jolt the weak U.S. economy and create 3 million jobs over two years, Vice President-elect Joe Biden said on Tuesday.

GAZA CITY (AFP) - Militants in Hamas-ruled Gaza pounded Israel with rocket and mortar fire on Wednesday, dimming the chances of a renewed ceasefire between the Jewish state and the Palestinian Islamist group.

CONAKRY (AFP) - Coup leaders in Guinea said Wednesday their military junta would retain power for two years, heightening turmoil in the west African nation following the death of long-time dictator Lansana Conte.

ANKARA (AFP) - Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki met with Turkish President Abdullah Gul in Ankara on Wednesday on a trip centred on the thorny issue of Turkish Kurdish rebels based in northern Iraq.

TOKYO (AFP) - Japan's government Wednesday approved a record high budget, vowing to take "unprecedented" action to weather a painful recession which it expected would only get worse in the new year.

BAIDOA, Somalia (AFP) - A Somali lawmaker whose appointment as prime minister was rejected by parliament announced he was standing aside on Wednesday in a bid to end a political crisis in the war-torn nation.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Wall Street's top regulator defended his agency's handling of the US finance crisis Wednesday, denying that a culture of lax oversight allowed the Bernard Madoff scandal to go undetected.

MOSCOW (AFP) - Russia and China issued stark warnings on Wednesday about the impact of the crisis on their recently booming economies in 2009, with Moscow saying the downturn could spark unrest in the streets.