Aaron's Daily WWW Newspaper

WASHINGTON - There's a new, yet familiar, face of female political power in Washington. California Sen. Dianne Feinstein is the incoming chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee — the first woman to hold the job.

BALTIMORE - For Sheila Dixon's entire tenure as mayor, a City Hall corruption probe has threatened to overshadow successes that have included a reduction in violent crime.

CHICAGO - Five people were shot as spectators left a crowded high school basketball game Friday in what police called a possibly gang-related drive-by attack that sent panicked students running into a snowy street on the city's South Side.

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. - Will Ferrell says audiences should expect the unexpected from his upcoming one-man Broadway show and HBO special about President George W. Bush.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Want a juicy matchup between All-Pros? How about wide receivers Andre Johnson and Larry Fitzgerald against cornerbacks Nnamdi Asomugha and Cortland Finnegan? They are four of the 15 first-time members of The Associated Press 2008 NFL All-Pro team announced Friday.

GAZA (Reuters) - Israeli tanks and planes bombarded the Gaza Strip on Saturday and Hamas militants fired rockets into Israel, both sides ignoring a truce window and defying international efforts to stop the conflict.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President-elect Barack Obama said on Saturday an analysis of his stimulus proposals shows that between 3 million and 4 million U.S. jobs could be saved or created by 2010, nearly 90 percent of them in the private sector.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. recession will probably be the longest since World War Two and could worsen without heavy government spending, according to a closely-watched survey of economists released on Saturday.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Citigroup Inc is in advanced talks to sell its Smith Barney brokerage unit to Morgan Stanley, a person familiar with the matter said on Friday, in a move that would further dismantle the financial supermarket that has been bailed out by the U.S. government.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - The Illinois House of Representatives impeached Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Friday for abuse of power, including a charge that he tried to sell President-elect Barack Obama's former U.S. Senate seat.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President-elect Barack Obama and a key Democratic lawmaker revealed plans on Friday to overhaul the government's $700 billion financial rescue fund as a way to aid struggling homeowners and speed the flow of credit.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Minnesota health officials issued a product alert for peanut butter on Friday after finding a jar that was contaminated with a strain of salmonella linked to an outbreak across the United States.

KABUL (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President-elect Joe Biden arrived in Afghanistan on Saturday to meet political and military leaders in the war-torn country, which will become a top foreign policy priority of the new administration.

GAZA CITY (AFP) - Israeli troops battled Hamas fighters in Gaza into a third week on Saturday, as a new round of diplomacy got underway to end a war that has killed more than 800 people despite a UN truce call.

MOSCOW (AFP) - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin warned Saturday that a European gas crisis was "worsening" despite EU mediation efforts, as a transit deal with Ukraine failed to materialise.

KABUL (AFP) - US vice president-elect Joe Biden arrived in Afghanistan Saturday for talks with President Hamid Karzai and senior military officials involved in the fight against extremists, the US military said.

DUBAI (AFP) - The crew of a Saudi-owned supertanker who were held hostage by Somali pirates all survived their two-month ordeal and will soon be reunited with their families, the vessel's owners said on Saturday.

LAS VEGAS (AFP) - Consumer electronics manufacturers are making greener products than a year ago but more progress needs to be made before they can claim a truly environmentally friendly product, Greenpeace said Friday.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Lloyds TSB Bank has agreed to pay a 350-million dollar penalty to settle a probe that it illegally handled financial transfers for Iran and Sudan in violation of US sanctions.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - A US congressional panel sharply criticized the Treasury for its handling of a 700 billion financial bailout fund, as lawmakers moved to demand more transparency and accountability.