Henry County of Indiana

AFP - Chinese President Hu Jintao called Thursday for a new era of cooperation with Latin America, saying the world's biggest developing country and the large developing region were a natural fit.

AP - An aide to Barack Obama's transition team says the president-elect is on track to nominate Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of state after Thanksgiving.

AP - An aide to Barack Obama's transition team says the president-elect is on track to nominate Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of state after Thanksgiving.

AP - The $25 billion rescue plan for the auto industry, desperately sought by Detroit's beleaguered Big Three, collapsed Thursday as Congress drew the line at one more bailout and Democrats said they wouldn't even consider it until the companies produced a convincing plan for rebuilding their once-mighty industry.

AP - Jarred by new jobless alarms, Congress raced to approve legislation Thursday to keep unemployment checks flowing through the December holidays and into the new year for a million or more laid-off Americans whose benefits are running out.

AP - A federal judge on Thursday ordered the release of five Algerians held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and the continued detention of a sixth in a major blow to the Bush administration's strategy to keep terror suspects locked up without charges.

AFP - The UN Security Council on Saturday will go on a fact-finding mission in Afghanistan to evaluate the ongoing situation in a country wracked by 30 years of war and violence and considered a major global security threat.

AP - The 5-year-old teetered on broomstick legs — he weighed less than 20 pounds, even after days of drinking enriched milk. Nearby, a 4-year-old girl hung from a strap attached to a scale, her wide eyes lifeless, her emaciated arms dangling weakly.

AP - Researchers said Thursday they have identified the remains of Nicolaus Copernicus by comparing DNA from a skeleton and hair retrieved from one of the 16th-century astronomer's books. The findings could put an end to centuries of speculation about the exact resting spot of Copernicus, a priest and astronomer whose theories identified the Sun, not the Earth, as the center of the universe.

AP - Democrats steered the House toward more aggressively tackling global warming and other environmental problems Thursday, toppling veteran Michigan Rep. John Dingell, a staunch supporter of Detroit automakers, from an important energy panel in favor of California liberal Rep. Henry Waxman.

AP - The U.N., African Union and Arab nations struggled to respond Thursday to a surge of pirate attacks, authorizing sanctions and calling for international peacekeepers to address the chaos in Somalia that has spawned an upsurge in sea banditry.

Reuters - President-elect Barack Obama moved closer to assembling his Cabinet on Thursday with Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano emerging as the top contender to head the Homeland Security Department, created to protect Americans after the September 11 attacks.