Aaron's Daily WWW Newspaper

WASHINGTON - As the economy continues to struggle, the public is growing increasingly concerned about losing jobs, not having enough money to pay the bills and seeing their retirement accounts shrink, according to an Associated Press-GfK poll.

WASHINGTON - Republicans are preparing to pounce on any wasteful spending in the $787 billion stimulus package as they refocus their criticisms of a measure whose success could hurt their 2010 election prospects.

NEW YORK - Wall Street is poised for a higher opening after investors brushed off worse-than-expected unemployment data and a larger-than-expected jump in wholesale prices.

LOS ANGELES - Tatiana Del Toro had something else to cry about. The emotional 28-year-old crooner from San Juan, Puerto Rico, was one of nine "American Idol" semifinalists sent packing Wednesday. Del Toro, whom judge Simon Cowell called a "drama queen" after her performance Tuesday, bawled after she wasn't selected to continue in the "Fox" singing competition.

PEORIA, Ariz. - Ken Griffey Jr. has decided to return to the Seattle Mariners. The Mariners announced the move Wednesday night. The 39-year-old star's contract is for one year and believed to be worth $2 million in base salary, plus incentives.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Barack Obama will seek to quell Canadian concerns about U.S. protectionism when he makes his first foreign trip as president on Thursday to the United States' biggest trading partner and energy supplier.

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela took control of a local bank owned by Allen Stanford, who faces U.S. fraud charges, the finance minister said on Thursday, as the impact of the American case spread through Latin America.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius has emerged as President Barack Obama's top choice for health secretary, a key post in helping to overhaul the U.S. healthcare system, the New York Times reported on Wednesday, citing Obama advisers.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration's $275 billion program to stem a wave of U.S. home foreclosures will start having an impact as soon as March, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation chairman Sheila Bair said on Thursday.

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea accused the United States on Thursday of planning a nuclear attack in a report which came as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton flew to Seoul for talks on defusing Pyongyang's military threat.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Benjamin Netanyahu's chances of becoming Israel's prime minister improved on Thursday after he won the conditional backing of a kingpin politician who heads a far-right party.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Civil liberties experts say ongoing cases related to torture and rendition are testing the Obama administration's assertion it will be more open and transparent than the Bush administration.

BISHKEK (Reuters) - Kyrgyzstan's parliament voted on Thursday to close the last remaining U.S. air base in Central Asia, dealing a blow to U.S. efforts to use the region as a jumping-off point for its growing campaign in Afghanistan.

JERUSALEM (AFP) - Hawkish Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday gained pole position to become Israel's next prime minister as ultra-nationalist Avigdor Lieberman backed his bid to form a government.

KRAKOW, Poland (AFP) - NATO defence ministers reviewed Thursday strategy on Afghanistan under pressure to match fresh US efforts to combat a virulent Taliban-led insurgency.

BAGHDAD (AFP) - The Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at George W. Bush defiantly defended his actions in court on Thursday, saying he had become emotionally overwhelmed when confronted by the ex-US president.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Authorities were trying to track down Texas billionaire financier Allen Stanford on Thursday as fraud charges against the cricket promoter prompted panicked investors to withdraw cash from his banks.

BISHKEK (AFP) - The Kyrgyz parliament voted overwhelmingly on Thursday to close a US military base on its territory, in a blow for coalition forces who use the facility as a key supply route for Afghanistan.

BEIJING (AFP) - China has ordered government and security forces in Tibet to crush any signs of support for the Dalai Lama, state media said Thursday, as the tense 50th anniversary of an anti-Chinese uprising nears.

GENEVA (AFP) - UBS has agreed to pay US authorities 780 million dollars and hand over customer details to settle charges of tax fraud in the United States that threatened the very existence of Switzerland's biggest bank.