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AP Top News at 12:54 p.m. EST(AP Online Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Automakers pitch Congress anew on rescueWASHINGTON (AP) _ Humbled U.S. automakers pleaded with Congress Thursday for an expanded $34 billion rescue package, but heard fresh skepticism in a bumpy encore appearance. "We made mistakes, which we're learning from," General Motors chief executive Rick Wagoner told the Senate Banking Committee. AT&T to cut 12,000 jobs, 4 percent of staffNEW YORK (AP) _ AT&T Inc. joined the recession's parade of layoffs Thursday by announcing plans to cut 12,000 jobs, about 4 percent of its work force. The Dallas-based telecommunications company _ the nation's largest _ said the job cuts will take place this month and throughout 2009. The company also plans to reduce capital spending next year. People draw unemployment benefits at 26-year highWASHINGTON (AP) _ More evidence of consumers' weary state and the nation's deteriorating job market came Thursday with reports that people continuing to draw unemployment benefits climbed to a 26-year high, while retail sales and orders to U.S. factories sank. The number of newly laid-off people signing up for unemployment benefits last week dropped by 21,000 to 509,000, the Labor Department reported. Even with the drop _ which was better than the increase economists were forecasting _ the level of jobless applications was still quite high and pointed to a deeply troubled employment climate. Retailers see sales drop in dreary NovemberNEW YORK (AP) _ Retailers limped through a miserable November that even a surge of shopping after Thanksgiving couldn't save, making it the weakest month since at least 1969 and deepening fears that the critical holiday period could be the most dismal in decades. As merchants announced their November sales figures Thursday, the deep malaise cut across all sectors as shoppers worried about layoffs and shrinking retirement funds focus on necessities. Among the few beneficiaries was Wal-Mart Stores Inc., whose posted sales that beat Wall Street estimates and predicted that sales for established stores for December should be at the high end of estimates. Iraqi council gives final approval to pact with USBAGHDAD (AP) _ Iraq's presidential council on Thursday approved a security pact that sets out a three-year timeframe for U.S. troops to leave, a spokesman said, the final step for the agreement to replace a U.N. mandate that expires Dec. 31. As the final legal hurdle to the deal was cleared, American soldiers and Iraqi civlians alike faced another round of deadly bombings by insurgents trying to chip away at recent security gains. President, first lady buying home in DallasWASHINGTON (AP) _ President Bush and first lady Laura Bush have bought a home in an affluent neighborhood of north Dallas where they will live after the president leaves office in January. Mrs. Bush's press secretary Sally McDonough said Thursday that the Bushes purchased a home in the Preston Hollow neighborhood, which has some of the most expensive homes in Texas and is home to some of the state's wealthiest residents. Solar car completes 1st ever round-the-world tripPOZNAN, Poland (AP) _ The first solar-powered car to travel around the world ended its journey at the U.N. climate talks Thursday, arriving with the message that clean technologies are available now to stop global warming. The small two-seater _ made from aluminum and fiberglass _ hauled a trailer of solar cells and U.N. climate chief Yvo de Boer up to a building in Poznan where delegates from some 190 nations are working toward a new treaty to control climate change. Boot Knut? Ex-cuddly cub faces uncertain futureBERLIN (AP) _ On the eve of superstar polar Bear Knut's second birthday, fans are worried that he will have to leave his home in the Berlin Zoo, despite pleas he stay, because he is getting too big for his enclosure as he reaches maturity. Now a fully grown bear weighing some 440 pounds (200 kilograms), Knut barely resembles the button-eyed ball of white fluff that stole the hearts of Berliners and the world. New J.K. Rowling book goes on sale around worldEDINBURGH, Scotland (AP) _ The latest magical tome by J.K. Rowling has started to fly off bookstore shelves. Rowling was launching "The Tales of Beedle the Bard" on Thursday with a tea party for 200 school children at the National Library of Scotland in Edinburgh, where she lives. NFL players union seeks to block suspensionsMINNEAPOLIS (AP) _ The NFL Players Association filed a lawsuit Thursday to block five of the six player suspensions for violating the league's anti-doping policy. The suit filed in federal court here is on behalf of Kevin Williams and Pat Williams of the Minnesota Vikings, and Charles Grant, Deuce McAllister and Will Smith of the New Orleans Saints. Copyright ? 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |