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Merck agrees to pay nearly $5 billion to settle lawsuits from consumers contending the painkiller Vioxx caused heart attacks and strokes. The safety problems of Vioxx and the withdrawal of Vioxx from the market was a watershed event in regulating prescription drugs in the U.S.

White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove is giving up his policy portfolio and press secretary Scott McClellan is resigning, continuing a shakeup in President Bush's administration that has already yielded a new chief of staff.

In these prepared remarks, President-Elect Barack Obama calls himself the unlikeliest presidential candidate, and warns supporters about the enormous problems the country must now face.

The U.S. economy is unlikely to grow in the first half of this year, says Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. Testifying before Congress' Joint Economic Committee, Bernanke didn't use the word "recession." But it's the closest he has come to date to suggesting that possibility, given a trio of financial crises.

Proposition 90 would bar state and local governments from seizing private property for private use and restrict government authority to adopt land use, housing, consumer, environmental and workplace l

The American Red Cross is garnering the lion's share of hurricane relief donations from Americans. The relief agency is written into law as the first responder to natural catastrophes. But some charities say that leaves them with fewer resources for long-term rebuilding.

Chinese company Suntech is a world leader in solar cell production, but it currently exports 90 percent of its products to other countries. Suntech's founder is lobbying the Chinese government to subsidize solar energy.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visit Iraq unannounced on Tuesday, but her trip was overshadowed by an incursion into the northern part of the country by Turkish troops hunting guerrillas of the Kurdish separatist group PKK. The U.S. has recently begun sharing intelligence with Turkey to pinpoint guerrilla positions.

Congress approves the first increase in automobile fuel economy in 32 years, a measure that will boost vehicle fuel-efficiency mandates to 35 miles per gallon.

It's "Black Friday," when retail stores are said to move into profit for the year. This year, retailers are trying new gimmicks like opening even earlier to try to get consumers to part with their money.