AP - An out-of-work money manager in California loses a fortune and wipes out his family in a murder-suicide. A 90-year-old Ohio widow shoots herself in the chest as authorities arrive to evict her from the modest house she called home for 38 years.

Reuters - Police in Italy are looking into reports that the Naples mafia plans to carry out its threat to kill the author of the best-selling book "Gomorra," which has been made into a hit movie about mafia brutality, by Christmas.

AP - Ohio executed a 5-foot-7, 267-pound double murderer Tuesday who argued his obesity made death by lethal injection inhumane.

AP - Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton puts the chances of her running for president again at near zero ? slightly higher than the chances she gives for becoming Senate majority leader or a Supreme Court justice.

Reuters - Former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker said on Tuesday the U.S. housing sector faced more losses and the economy was in recession even as authorities moved to stabilize the financial system.

AP - More than 10,000 people have signed an online petition urging the Army to let an Iraqi puppy come home with a Minnesota soldier, who fears that "Ratchet" could be killed if left behind.

AP - The government put itself four-square into the country's banking business Tuesday, resorting to what President Bush conceded was the unwelcome choice of buying into the system to loosen paralyzed channels of credit.

AP - A couple in rural Cambodia has terminated their 18-year marriage with a divorce settlement that entailed sawing in two the wooden house they once shared, villagers said Friday. The husband, 42-year-old Moeun Sarim, has taken away with him all the bits and pieces of his half a house, said his 35-year-old wife, Vat Navy.

AP - Rolling Stone magazine is shrinking with the times.

Politico - Barack Obama has erased traditional Republican advantages in four key bellwether counties that President George W. Bush won in 2000 and 2004, according to a new Politico/InsiderAdvantage survey. Each county is critical to the outcome in the battleground state where it is located.

AP - Republican presidential candidate John McCain on Tuesday proposed a $52.5 billion economic plan that would eliminate taxes on unemployment benefits and cut the capital gains tax while warning voters about taking a chance on Democratic rival Barack Obama.

Politico - John McCain said Tuesday that Barack Obama is “probably ensured” that his association with 1960s radical William Ayers will come up in Wednesday’s debate.

AP - Ferocious desert winds pushed one of three major wildfires burning across Southern California to nearly double its size overnight, firefighters said Tuesday, the third day of the blazes that have destroyed dozens of homes and forced thousands to flee.

Reuters - In a surprise move, Don Cheadle will replace Terrence Howard as Robert Downey Jr's best friend in "Iron Man 2," the sequel to the superhero saga.

AP - PepsiCo Inc. is cutting jobs and closing factories to give it some "breathing room" to navigate the volatility that has permeated all corners of the global economy.

AP - Tie-dyed T-shirts and political slogans made for a heady mixture as the four surviving members of the rock band Grateful Dead put on a concert in support of Barack Obama.