News

AP - More than 6 feet of snow in the past three weeks has made Spokane residents edgy, and Wednesday brought new problems as melting snow and ice caused flooding and mudslides.

AP - Changing course, Senate Democrats emerged from a meeting with Senate appointee Roland Burris on Wednesday and set forth the legal steps under which they're willing to welcome him into the Senate in President-elect Barack Obama's vacated spot.

AP - "Keep your phone switched on," a handler instructs a gunman by phone in the midst of the Mumbai siege, "so that we can hear the gunfire."

AP - President-elect Barack Obama hailed a rare Oval Office gathering of all U.S. presidents as an extraordinary event on Wednesday as the current occupant, President George W. Bush, reminded his predecessors and successor that the office "transcends the individual."

AP - President-elect Barack Obama said Wednesday that reforming massive government entitlement programs — such as Social Security and Medicare — would be "a central part" of his effort to control federal spending.

Reuters - Verizon Communications Inc has chosen Microsoft Corp to provide Internet search services for cell phones, in what is seen as a blow to rivals Google Inc and Yahoo Inc.

AP - Israel tentatively welcomed a proposal Wednesday for a Gaza cease-fire and briefly halted its offensive to allow aid to reach Palestinian civilians, but also instructed the military to press ahead with its assault on Hamas.