Aaron's Daily WWW Newspaper

PALM DESERT, Calif. - The shooting occurred in a crowded toy store on the traditional start of the holiday shopping season, but authorities say it wasn't related to the bargain-hunting frenzy. Instead, two men pulled guns and killed each other after the women with them erupted into a bloody brawl, witnesses said.

WASHINGTON - Some high-profile convicts past and present are among more than 2,000 people asking President George W. Bush to pardon them or commute their prison sentences before he leaves office.

NEW YORK - Zenas Ackah has heard it all his life: What kind of name is that? You must not be from here. You must be foreign. Actually, no. Born in the United States, the 22-year-old college senior with the Greek first name and the Ghanian last name grew up in Philadelphia.

NEW YORK - Whitney Houston has issued a statement denying the rumors of a reunion with Bobby Brown.

GREENBURGH, N.Y. - The New York Knicks needed Stephon Marbury to play, then suspended him a game and docked him nearly $400,000 in salary after claiming he refused.

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Indian commandos killed the last Islamist gunmen holed up at Mumbai's Taj Mahal hotel on Saturday, ending a three-day battle at landmarks across India's financial capital that killed at least 195 people.

SAN FRANCISCO/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Shoppers lured by money-saving deals filled U.S. stores on Friday, but the annual kick-off to holiday shopping appeared weaker this year as worries about a deep recession kept purchases down.

CAIRO (Reuters) - OPEC on Saturday prepared to defer a decision on a new supply cut amid signs that Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies are not happy with adherence to restraints agreed in the past two months.

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thai protesters forced riot police to abandon a checkpoint on Saturday, tightening their grip on the country's main airport in a bid to push the elected government from power.

KABUL (Reuters) - A former Taliban spokesman was shot dead in his home late on Friday evening by unknown gunmen in the southeastern province of Nangarhar, a provincial official said on Saturday.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A man working for discount retailer Wal-Mart was killed on Friday in a stampede by frenzied shoppers who broke down doors and surged into a Long Island, New York store, a police spokesman said.

DOHA (Reuters) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad blamed the West for the global financial crisis on Saturday, saying other countries were being dragged in to help resolve Western problems.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. shoppers awoke early for post-Thanksgiving sales on Friday in a key test of the country's ability to withstand economic turmoil as sharp production declines in Asia gave fresh evidence of the global crisis.

MUMBAI (AFP) - Indian commandos on Saturday killed the last remaining gunmen in Mumbai's Taj hotel to end a devastating attack by Islamic militants on India's financial capital that left 195 dead, including 26 foreigners.

BANGKOK (AFP) - Anti-government protesters have forced Thai police to abandon vehicles during confontations at Bangkok's airports as fears grow that days of crippling demonstrations will end violently.

GOMA, DR Congo (AFP) - The UN's special envoy is expected to arrive here Saturday ahead of talks with rebel leader Laurent Nkunda in a bid to end the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

HAVANA (AFP) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev wrapped up a strategic Latin American tour with a meeting with iconic former Cuban leader Fidel Castro, who described the encounter as "very stimulating."

TOKYO (AFP) - The International Whaling Commission will next month start negotiations in a bid to find a compromise over restrictions on whale hunting, a newspaper said Saturday.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The World Bank Saturday urged industrialized nations to maintain aid flows to developing nations to offset an expected decline in private capital flows to emerging markets due to the credit crisis.

CAIRO (AFP) - OPEC is set to leave until December a decision on whether to cut oil output, despite prices plunging in the face of a global economic downturn, ministers said on Saturday.