• Dems: Napolitano emerges for Homeland Security job 11/20/2008, 8:22 a.m. EST
WASHINGTON (AP) — Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, an early Barack Obama supporter from the southwestern part of the country, is a leading contender for the job of secretary of homeland security, Democratic officials said Thursday.

• Dems: Napolitano emerges for Homeland Security job 11/20/2008, 8:20 a.m. EST
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic officials say that Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano is a leading contender for the job of secretary of homeland security in President-elect Barack Obama's administration.

• Israeli leaders make secret journey to Jordan 11/20/2008, 8:15 a.m. EST
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli leaders made a secret journey to neighboring Jordan earlier this week, listening to pleas from King Abdullah II to avert a large-scale military operation in the Gaza Strip, Israeli and Jordan officials confirmed Thursday.

• Ben Affleck visits refugee camps in eastern Congo 11/20/2008, 8:02 a.m. EST
GOMA, Congo (AP) — Ben Affleck is trying to draw more attention to the conflict in eastern Congo, touring refugee camps and consulting with aid workers in the region where at least 250,000 people have been displaced by recent fighting.

• US raid kills Iraqi blamed in 2004 reservist death 11/20/2008, 7:57 a.m. EST
BAGHDAD (AP) — An al-Qaida in Iraq leader blamed in the 2004 abduction and murder of an Army reservist and other deadly attacks over several years was killed in an American raid in Baghdad, the U.S. military said Thursday.

• US says American troops attacked in Philippines 11/20/2008, 7:39 a.m. EST
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — American troops traveling in a Philippine army convoy came under fire this week from suspected Muslim militants on southern Jolo island but there were no casualties, the U.S. Embassy reported Thursday.

• Romney adamantly against auto industry bailout 11/20/2008, 7:29 a.m. EST
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is standing steadfastly behind the forces opposing a $25 billion "bridge loan" for struggling Detroit auto manufacturers.

• States disagree greatly on Amber Alert criteria 11/20/2008, 7:05 a.m. EST
ATLANTA (AP) — Authorities count hundreds of Amber Alert cases across the country as success stories when they start explaining why the media-friendly and politically popular bulletins are so important.

• Int'l court prosecutor seeks Darfur rebels' arrest 11/20/2008, 6:59 a.m. EST
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor called on Thursday for the arrest of three Darfur rebel commanders over an attack last year in which 12 African Union peacekeepers were killed and eight wounded.

• US raid kills Iraqi blamed in 2004 reservist death 11/20/2008, 6:57 a.m. EST
BAGHDAD (AP) — The U.S. military says an Iraqi al-Qaida in Iraq leader blamed in the 2004 abduction and murder of an Army reservist has been killed.

• Dems look to stop endangered species rule changes 11/20/2008, 6:57 a.m. EST
WASHINGTON (AP) — With the Bush administration on the verge of relaxing regulations protecting endangered species, Democratic leaders are looking at ways to overturn any last-minute rule changes.

• President-elect promised change, picking insiders 11/20/2008, 6:52 a.m. EST
WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Barack Obama promised the voters change but has started his Cabinet selection process by naming several Washington insiders to top posts.

• Dead teen's mom testifies in cyberbullying trial 11/20/2008, 6:48 a.m. EST
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Tina Meier often sat with her daughter while she was online to ensure nothing fishy was happening. Lori Drew wanted to find out what kind of nasty rumors were being spread about her daughter.

• Settlers spray inflammatory graffiti on mosque 11/20/2008, 6:45 a.m. EST
HEBRON, West Bank (AP) — Jewish settlers on Thursday spray-painted graffiti on a mosque slurring the Prophet Muhammad and defaced a Muslim cemetery, Israeli military officials said, threatening to worsen tensions in this volatile West Bank city.

• US ambassador summoned in Pakistan 11/20/2008, 6:34 a.m. EST
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan summoned the U.S. ambassador Thursday to protest a suspected American missile strike deep inside its territory as militants threatened revenge attacks unless the cross-border raids stop.

• Iraq parliament engulfed in protests over US pact 11/20/2008, 6:34 a.m. EST
BAGHDAD (AP) — As opposition lawmakers shouted and pounded their desks in protest, Iraq's parliament on Thursday resumed deliberating a proposed security agreement with the United States that would allow American forces to stay there three more years.

• Rebels: No clashes in eastern Congo after pullback 11/20/2008, 6:14 a.m. EST
GOMA, Congo (AP) — Hundreds of rebel forces have pulled back from three front lines in eastern Congo, the U.N. confirmed, as aid workers scrambled to reach more of the 300,000 hungry, exhausted refugees displaced by the fighting.

• Beaujolais Nouveau hits bars after poor crop 11/20/2008, 6:10 a.m. EST
PARIS (AP) — The 2008 edition of Beaujolais Nouveau wine is here, and vintners hope it will lift spirits despite the financial crisis and a dismal crop.

• US says American troops attacked in Philippines 11/20/2008, 6:07 a.m. EST
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The U.S. Embassy in the Philippines says American troops traveling in a Philippine army convoy came under fire earlier this week from suspected Muslim militants, but there were no casualties.

• Piracy watchdog hails Indian attack on pirate ship 11/20/2008, 5:48 a.m. EST
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — An anti-piracy watchdog group on Thursday welcomed an Indian warship's destruction of a suspected pirate vessel in waters off Somalia, where hijackings have become increasingly violent and the hijackers increasingly bold.

• Sri Lanka says it captured key rebel defense line 11/20/2008, 5:19 a.m. EST
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lankan troops broke through a strategic front in the country's civil war on Thursday, overrunning an important rebel defense line north of the Tamil Tiger's de facto state, the military said.

• Mich. worries automaker meltdown could doom state 11/20/2008, 5:12 a.m. EST
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A quarter-century ago, Michigan's monthly unemployment rate hit 17 percent and so many laid-off workers left the state that bumper stickers asked, "Will the last one leaving Michigan please turn out the lights?"

• Polls show Israel's Likud party leading 11/20/2008, 5:09 a.m. EST
JERUSALEM (AP) — A pair of polls published Thursday showed opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu's hardline Likud party leading Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni's moderate Kadima party in the run-up to Israel's Feb. 10 elections.

• 3 airports opening new runways amid economic woes 11/20/2008, 5:04 a.m. EST
CHICAGO (AP) — Alarm in the aviation industry over a projected 10 percent drop in domestic flights this winter hasn't derailed plans to open multimillion-dollar runways at three U.S. airports on Thursday.

• China to overhaul battered dairy industry 11/20/2008, 4:58 a.m. EST
BEIJING (AP) — China announced a complete overhaul of its dairy industry Thursday to improve safety at every step — from cow breeding to milk sales — saying its worst food quality scandal in years had revealed "major problems" in quality control.