AP - New claims for unemployment benefits jumped last week to a 16-year high, the Labor Department said Thursday, providing more evidence of a rapidly weakening job market expected to get even worse next year.

AP - With weekly jobless claims benefits at a 16-year high, the White House said Thursday that President George W. Bush would quickly sign legislation pending in Congress to provide further unemployment benefits.

AP - Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, an early Barack Obama supporter from the southwestern part of the country, is the likely choice for the job of secretary of homeland security, a top Obama adviser said Thursday.

AP - Fresh worries about widening unemployment added to investors' list of concerns about the economy Thursday. The major indexes declined in volatile trading, extending losses from Wednesday's steep sell-off.

AP - Aides to a bipartisan group of auto-state senators say they have reached a compromise to speed emergency loans to Detroit's Big Three car makers.

AP - Astronauts vowed to double-check, even triple-check all their tethers to make sure a bag of tools is properly tied down during a spacewalk Thursday so it doesn't float away like one did earlier this week.

AP - A court schedule says Madonna and Guy Ritchie will be granted the first stage of their divorce in London Friday.

AP - Major League Baseball owners have approved the shift of control of the New York Yankees from George Steinbrenner to his son, Hal.

Reuters - Fears of a deep, long global recession intensified on Thursday as stock markets hit new lows on reports of more U.S. job losses and oil prices below $50 a barrel, as prospects dimmed for a bailout of U.S. automakers.

Reuters - The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless benefits surged last week to their highest level in 16 years, Labor Department data showed on Thursday, as a harsh economic environment forces employers to cut back on hiring.

Reuters - President-elect Barack Obama is considering Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano to be U.S. Homeland Security secretary, heading a sprawling agency formed to bolster civil defense in the wake of the September 11 attacks, a senior Democrat said.

Reuters - California's Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to hear a legal challenge against the state's voter-approved ban on gay marriage and let the ban stand in the meantime.

AFP - Governments scrambled to cushion the impact of the financial crisis Thursday with France launching a 20-billion-euro sovereign wealth fund and China unveiling a jobs protection plan as the car industry made huge new cuts.

AFP - Somali pirates who hijacked a Saudi oil super-tanker demanded a 25 million dollar ransom Thursday amid calls for tougher action to end threats to one of the world's key maritime routes.