Aaron's Daily WWW Newspaper

WASHINGTON - The odds of having a premature baby are lowest in Vermont and highest in Mississippi. The March of Dimes mapped the stark state-by-state disparities in what it called a "report card" on prematurity Wednesday — to track progress toward meeting a federal goal of lowering preterm births.

NEW YORK - IBM Corp. is throwing its considerable weight behind an idea that seemed to have faded: broadband Internet access delivered over ordinary power lines.

NEW YORK - Jennifer Aniston says Angelina Jolie was out of line when she spilled details about her relationship with Brad Pitt while they were filming "Mr. & Mrs. Smith." In an interview in the December issue of Vogue, Aniston talks about the magazine's 2007 profile of Jolie, who talked about growing chummy with Pitt — then married to Aniston — while shooting the action film in 2004.

SANTA ROSA, Calif. - A California couple recently had an unexpected reunion with an old housemate: their pet cat who went missing more than 13 years ago.

It's no surprise Kobe Bryant has the Los Angeles Lakers off to a fast start. But few would have expected the Atlanta Hawks to still be unbeaten two weeks into the season. Bryant scored 27 points and the Lakers improved to 6-0 — their best start since opening 7-0 in 2001-02 — with a 106-99 win over the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night.

LONDON (Reuters) - A number of deals designed to cure the global financial crisis were in danger of unraveling on Wednesday, with losses mounting at banks and economies showing further signs of serious deterioration.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Home values in the United States posted their seventh consecutive quarterly decline, with nearly one-third of Americans who sold in the past year losing money, real estate website Zillow.com said on Wednesday.

(Reuters) - The Treasury Department, signaling a new phase in its $700 billion financial rescue plan, is considering requiring that firms seeking future government money raise private capital in order to qualify for public assistance, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Kremlin on Wednesday rejected U.S. proposals aimed at easing concerns over a missile defense system in Europe and said it would try again to resolve the row once Barack Obama is in the White House.

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran said it test-fired a new generation of surface-to-surface missile Wednesday and that the Islamic Republic was ready to defend itself against any attacker.

LONDON (Reuters) - The world will have to bet on extreme measures to avoid serious global warming, the International Energy Agency said on Wednesday, adding to growing worries that governments have under-estimated the problem.

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - Gunmen killed a U.S. aid official Wednesday outside his home in Peshawar, police said, the Pakistani city that has borne the brunt of an Islamist insurgency spreading from tribal lands bordering Afghanistan.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. holiday retail sales will fall 1 percent this year, according to America's Research Group, marking the first time the research firm has forecast a decline in almost a quarter century of surveys.

KHARTOUM (AFP) - Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir on Wednesday announced an immediate ceasefire in Darfur and called for a campaign to disarm militias which have been ravaging the western region.

BERLIN (AFP) - A blue-ribbon panel of experts said on Wednesday that German economic growth will grind to a halt next year, raising doubts about Berlin's plans to shield Europe's biggest economy from the global turmoil.

GAZA CITY (AFP) - Four Palestinian militants were killed and an Israeli soldier wounded in clashes on the Gaza border on Wednesday in the latest flare-up to rattle a nearly five-month lull and imperil aid deliveries.

SEOUL (AFP) - North Korea said on Wednesday it would close its border with South Korea from next month in protest at what it called Seoul's confrontational stance, in a move that could cripple a joint industrial estate.

BRUSSELS (AFP) - EU nations on Wednesday gave the green light Monday for bent cucumbers and other "wonky" fruit and vegetables to be sold in supermarkets and elsewhere, as part of a drive to cut red tape.

LONDON (AFP) - A technical rebound on European markets after another round of heavy losses provided some cheer Wednesday but continued weakness on the corporate front, with poor results from finance companies, kept the tone cautious.

BRUSSELS (AFP) - The European Commission on Wednesday slapped a fine of 1.4 billion euros on four car glass makers marking the biggest penalty ever imposed in a cartel case.