WASHINGTON – Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska lost his bid for a seventh term Tuesday, giving Democrats at least 58 seats in the Senate for the first years of the Obama administration. He was convicted last month on federal ethics charges.
WASHINGTON – In order to ease congestion during the holiday travel season, President George W. Bush said commercial aircraft would be allowed to temporarily use military airspace across much of the country.
AFGHANISTAN – The Taliban rejected an offer of peace talks with the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, saying that there would be no negotiations until foreign troops left the country.
BAGHDAD – Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki publicly defended a three-year security agreement with the United States, reassuring Iraqis that representatives from all sects have been involved in the negotiating process and that the agreement was the best option available for Iraq.