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AP - Hundreds turned out for a Sarah Palin book signing in Iowa, an event the former Alaska governor and 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate insisted was not for political purposes.

AP - North Korean artillery was heard Sunday on the frontline South Korean island attacked last week, though no shells landed on the island, South Korea's military said.

North Korea readies missiles as U.S.-South Korea drill begins (Reuters)

Reuters - North Korea has placed surface-to-surface missiles on launch pads in the Yellow Sea, Yonhap news agency reported on Sunday, as the United States and South Korea began joint military exercises that have upset neighbor China.

AP - A dispute between two rival groups of teenagers escalated into gunfire Saturday when members of one of the groups opened fire inside a shopping mall, critically injuring one teenager and a clothing store worker as holiday shoppers dashed for cover, police said.

Qantas chief points finger at Rolls-Royce over A380 woes (Reuters)
Reuters - Qantas Airways chief executive Alan Joyce has said an engine failure on an A380 superjumbo should be blamed on the engine's design and had nothing to do with the airline's operations.

AFP - Switzerland votes in a referendum Sunday on whether it should automatically expel foreign residents convicted of certain crimes, a proposal that has brought protests from human rights campaigners.

AP - A Somali-born teenager plotted "a spectacular show" of terrorism for months, saying he didn't mind that children would die if he bombed a crowded Christmas tree-lighting ceremony, according to a law-enforcement official and court documents.

Australia's Labor suffers state election reverse (Reuters)
Reuters - Australia's ruling Labor Party was in fresh political turmoil Sunday after elections in the second-most populous state looked to have delivered another hung parliament, or worse, a surprise conservative opposition victory.

AP - A 20-year-old Pennsylvania dance student who vanished last week while on Thanksgiving break in her hometown was killed by her on-again, off-again boyfriend, who then dumped her body in a park "like garbage," a prosecutor said Saturday.

AFP - England manager Martin Johnson called on his team to become more adaptable after watching South Africa halt their resurgence in a bruising encounter at Twickenham.

Ohio man charged with murdering girlfriend, 2 kids (AP)
AP - Tia Hendricks was supposed to bring dessert to her family's Thanksgiving dinner. A cake, maybe, or her famous banana pudding.

Japan spots Chinese vessels near disputed islands: report (Reuters)
Reuters - The Japanese coast guard has spotted two Chinese vessels attempting on Sunday to enter waters near islands in the East China Sea that are disputed by the two countries, Kyodo News reported.

Reuters - Ivory Coast holds a presidential run-off on Sunday with fears of violence after a tight race hanging over hopes that the vote will draw a line under a decade of political crisis and economic stagnation.

AP - A day after it took 12 stitches to patch a busted lip President Barack Obama suffered during a game of pickup basketball, he was back on the hard court Saturday — as a spectator.

Online bargain-hunting spreads beyond Cyber Monday (Reuters)
Reuters - Early discounts may have taken some of the shine off Cyber Monday but the key online holiday shopping day is still expected to attract bargain hunters who may not have had their fill over the weekend.

Cargo plane crashes in Karachi residential area (Reuters)
Reuters - A plane carrying eight people crashed early on Sunday in a residential area of Karachi, Pakistan's biggest city, setting buildings on fire.

Brazil's Rio tense as police close in on slum gang (Reuters)
Reuters - Police positioned armored vehicles on the edge of a Rio de Janeiro slum at dusk on Saturday in preparation for a possible offensive to root out drug traffickers behind a wave of urban violence that has killed at least 46 people.

Injured Obama still has game (Politico)
Politico - Venturing out of the White House for the first time since his headline-grabbing sports accident on Friday.

Retailers slow discounts after "Black Friday" (Reuters)
Reuters - Retailers scaled back discounts and shoppers were less frenzied on Saturday, a day after the mad rush for "Black Friday" bargains kicked off the holiday shopping season.

AP - Hundreds of police and soldiers surrounded one of Rio's most dangerous slums after the end of a sunset deadline offered to drug gang members holed up inside, though officials late Saturday did not indicate when they might invade.

Reuters - European ministers are expected to sign off on an 85 billion euro ($112.7 billion) rescue for Ireland on Sunday, making it the second euro member after Greece to require a bailout in the face of a crippling debt crisis.

Obama defends airport security measures (Reuters)
Reuters - President Barack Obama defended controversial new security measures at U.S. airports in an interview released on Friday, saying the methods were necessary to prevent a potential terrorist attack.

AP - Shoppers crowded stores on Black Friday but spent just a little more than last year on the traditional start of the holiday shopping season, according to data released Saturday by a research firm.

Greece may get 11-year period to repay bailout: IMF (Reuters)
Reuters - The EU and the IMF could extend the period in which Greece must repay its bailout loans by five years, to make it easier for it to service its debt, a Greek newspaper said on Saturday, citing an IMF official.

AP - A half-dozen years ago iconic chocolatier Fannie May, loved by Chicago candy devotees who passed down their affections for mint meltaways, caramels and vanilla buttercreams from generation to generation, was all but finished.

AP - His overalls are weathered. His white beard is grown out to aging-hippie perfection. The tattoos on his arms tell the story of a moment from the summer of 1969 that has passed into legend — three days of peace and music that became a doorway to defining an era.

AP - Egyptian election observers said Saturday there was no letup in harassment of opposition candidates on the eve of parliamentary elections, which critics say are little more than a tool for tightening the government's grip and burying dissent.

AP - An Irish government minister said Saturday he expects an agreement within the next 24 hours on an EU-IMF bailout loan for Ireland worth approximately euro85 billion ($115 billion), but he rejected reports that the aid could come with a punitively high interest rate.

AP - When a majority of troops told the Pentagon this summer they didn't care if gays were allowed to serve openly in the military, it was in sharp contrast to the time when America's fighting forces voiced bitter opposition to accepting racial minorities and women in the services.

AP - The teenager accused of attempting to bomb a Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Portland, Ore., was acting on his own initiative and not at the direction of any foreign terrorist organization, a law enforcement official said Saturday.

AP - Whether it's East Coast swordfish, Alaska king crab or Louisiana shrimp, seafood sellers have their own hook to pump up sales: a celebrity.

AP - Foreign policy challenges are intruding on President Barack Obama's promise to focus on the economy after the Democrats' election debacle and threatening to knock the White House off message altogether.

Higher gas prices won't slow most holiday shoppers (AP)
AP - Many Americans are determined not to let higher gas be the Grinch that spoils their holiday spending plans.

As Fidel Castro and his Cuban revolution fade, is Cuba rising? (The Christian Science Monitor)
The Christian Science Monitor - Antonio Santana and Marina Suarez are children of Fidel Castro's revolution born into the communism that swept across this island of mambo and mob ties in 1959.

Evolution of Cuban revolution (The Christian Science Monitor)
The Christian Science Monitor - 1959: In January, Fidel Castro forces out President Fulgencio Batista. In February, Castro becomes prime minister of Cuba.

AP - With authorities closing in to seize 2,400 marijuana plants on John Robert Boone's farm two years ago, the legendary Kentucky outlaw vanished like a puff of smoke. The prolific grower has been dodging the law ever since, his folk-hero status growing with every sale of a "Run, Johnny, Run" T-shirt and click on his Facebook fan page.

AP - Relatives of both Bernard Madoff and his wife are among those being targeted in 40 lawsuits announced Friday by the trustee endeavoring to recover money for victims fleeced by the disgraced financier.

As China Courts Overseas Business, State-Owned Companies Often Take the Hit (Time.com)
Time.com - While the new Chinese-built Mecca Metro went off without a hitch during this year's Hajj, it has caused uproar back in Beijing since the state-owned China Railway Construction Corporation revealed that it suffered a $600 million loss on the project

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