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Israel halts campaign for 3 hours to let in aid (AP)

AP - Israel ordered a pause in its Gaza offensive for three hours Wednesday to allow food and fuel to reach besieged Palestinians, and the country's leaders debated whether to accept an international cease-fire plan or expand the assault against Hamas.

Stimulus aside, Obama vows future budget restraint (AP)

AP - To a public wary of government spending, President-elect Barack Obama is offering a salve with his massive economic stimulus package: the promise of long-term fiscal discipline.

Democratic opposition to seating Burris cracks (AP)

AP - Senate Democrats are looking for ways to defuse the standoff that has denied Roland Burris the vacated Senate seat of President-elect Barack Obama of Illinois, but maybe not much longer.

Transcript: Mumbai gunmen were commanded by phone (AP)

AP - "We have three foreigners, including women," the gunman said into the phone. The response was brutally simple: "Kill them." Gunshots then rang out inside the Mumbai hotel, followed by cheering that could be heard over the phone.

CNN: Gupta approached about surgeon general post (AP)

AP - President-elect Barack Obama's reported choice for surgeon general, CNN medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta, could bring a dose of star power to a job that hasn't had that much clout in decades.

Stock futures dip after Alcoa cuts jobs, output (AP)

AP - Wall Street headed for a lower open Wednesday, sobered by aluminum producer Alcoa Inc.'s decision to slash jobs and production to navigate through the global downturn.

Even in recession, CES to have stuff worth seeing (AP)

AP - The recession figures to tone down the flashiness of this week's International Consumer Electronics Show, but the lineup of innovative products likely will measure up to those of past years.

Actress Alyssa Milano to wed Hollywood agent (AP)

AP - Alyssa Milano is engaged to marry a Hollywood agent. Publicists for Milano said Tuesday that the actress accepted a marriage proposal on Dec. 18 from David Bugliari, an agent at Creative Artists Agency. The two have been dating for over a year. No wedding date has been set.

Neb. man sues ex-wife for putting recorder in toy (AP)
AP - An Omaha man has filed a lawsuit accusing his ex-wife and former father-in-law of hiding a recording device inside his daughter's teddy bear in order to spy on him.

NBA's elite Celtics and Lakers both lose (AP)

AP - The team that pushed around the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA finals now isn't even tough enough for the Charlotte Bobcats. And suddenly, the slumping Boston Celtics aren't scaring anyone.

Egypt floats truce plan after Gaza school deaths (Reuters)

Reuters - Israel and Hamas studied an Egyptian proposal for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday that won immediate backing from the United States and Europe, hours after Israeli shells killed 42 Palestinians at a U.N. school.

Madoff victims may get some cash within a month: report (Reuters)

Reuters - Investors who lost money in Bernard Madoff's alleged $50 billion fraud might begin recovering some of their funds as soon as next month, Securities Investor Protection Corp, President Stephen Harbeck told Bloomberg in an interview.

Pakistani spy chief says no war with India (Reuters)

Reuters - The chief of Pakistan's powerful Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency has said there will not be a war with India over November's militant attacks on the Indian city of Mumbai, Der Spiegel reported. Lieutenant-General Ahmed Shujaa Pasha told the German magazine in an interview terrorism, not India, was Pakistan's enemy, and he said he took orders from the civilian president.

Russian gas flow halted through Ukraine to Europe (Reuters)

Reuters - Russian gas supplies to Europe through Ukraine shut down completely Wednesday, leaving growing numbers of European Union member states without Russian fuel in freezing mid-winter temperatures.

Cambodians mark 30 years since fall of Pol Pot (Reuters)

Reuters - Thousands of Cambodian survivors of the Khmer Rouge "Killing Fields" marked 30 years Wednesday since the fall of Pol Pot's ultra-Maoist regime, blamed for the deaths of 1.7 million people.