Sexism award goes to 'ugly ducklings' mayor
An Australian outback mayor's plea for lovelorn female "ugly ducklings" to move to a remote mining town to reverse a shortage of eligible women has won him the country's yearly award for outrageous sexism.

GM plans more cuts, eyes up to 10 factories
General Motors Corp. will extend its holiday shutdown or make other production cuts at up to 10 factories as it deals with a continued U.S. auto sales slump and fights to stay solvent.

Citigroup's options dwindle; shares plunge
Citigroup's options are dwindling along with its stock price as the credit landscape deteriorates and fears escalate about future loan losses at the company.

Blast kills 8 mourners at Pakistani funeral

A blast killed at least six mourners Friday at the funeral of a Shiite cleric in northwest Pakistan who was gunned down hours earlier, police said.

Report predicts U.S. decline, Russia rise

Global warming could be a boon to Russia while the U.S. could further decline in importance during the next two decades, says a U.S. intelligence report with predictions for the world in 2025.

Mexico: Ex-drug czar took cartel money
Mexico's former drug czar took $450,000 to leak information to a powerful cartel, officials said Friday.

Hundreds wait at stores for BlackBerry Storm

Hundreds of people lined up at Verizon Wireless stores on Friday to buy the BlackBerry Storm, the first touch-screen phone from Research In Motion that aims to compete with Apple's iPhone.

Obama team springs leaks

Barack Obama was famously able to impose discipline and control over his presidential campaign, but it didn't take long for him to discover that running a transition is something quite different.

Bush signs bill providing extra jobless benefits
President George W. Bush on Friday ensured that millions of laid-off workers will keep getting their unemployment checks as the year-end holidays approach.