WASHINGTON (AP) -- With the economy sinking faster, employers are giving more Americans dreaded pink slips right before the holidays....

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Democrats are growing impatient with President-elect Barack Obama's refusal to inject himself in the major economic crises confronting the country. Obama has sidestepped some policy questions by saying there is only one president at a time. But the dodge is wearing thin. "He's going to have to be more assertive than he's been," House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank, D-Mass., told consumer advocates Thursday....

NEW DELHI (AP) -- A Pakistani militant group apparently used an Indian operative as far back as 2007 to scout targets for the elaborate plot against India's financial capital, authorities said, a blow to Indian officials who have blamed the deadly attacks entirely on Pakistani extremists....

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Blackwater Worldwide guards involved in the deadly 2007 Baghdad shooting of Iraqi civilians could face mandatory 30-year prison sentences under an aggressive anti-drug law being considered as the Justice Department readies indictments, people close to the case said....