President-elect Barack Obama on Saturday outlined his plan to create 2.5 million jobs in coming years to rebuild roads and bridges and modernize schools while developing alternative energy sources and more efficient cars.

"These aren't just steps to pull ourselves out of this immediate crisis; these are the long-term investments in our economic future that have been ignored for far too long," Obama said in the weekly Democratic radio address. The economic recovery plan being developed by his staff aims to create 2.5 million jobs by January 2011, and he wants to get it through Congress quickly and sign it soon after taking office.

President-elect Barack Obama has moved with unusual speed to select officials for his administration, and senior Democratic officials say he intends to name Timothy Geithner as his treasury secretary as soon as Monday.

It was not clear when Obama intended to formally unveil any of his other picks for the administration that takes office at the stroke of noon on Jan. 20. One Democrat said John Podesta, a leader of Obama's transition team, had told Senate aides on Friday that Obama hoped for speedy confirmation so the new administration could get to work quickly thereafter.

A potential bailout for Detroit's automakers tops the TV chatter, as top economic policymakers make the rounds.

The Bush admin has issued rules that take the first step toward tapping an estimated 800 billion barrels of oil.

Incoming White House counsel Greg Craig has advised at least a couple controversial foreign clients at odds with the U.S. government.

The news that Timothy F. Geithner would be named Treasury secretary helped drive stocks sharply higher.

Options discussed included a public endorsement from the government or a new financial lifeline.

Dateline. Washington, D.C.

Bigfoot. The Loch Ness Monster. Batboy. Throughout time there have always been those who insist they have seen mythical creatures, people who swear to the existence of phenomenon for which scientists say there is no tangible evidence, only hearsay, fable, legend.

But unlike the Abominable Snowman, scientists say the Spine of the Democratic Party is more than a myth. Incredible as it seems today, the legend of Democratic Backbone is based on historical fact, says Prof. Wendy Heep, Chair of Political Archeology at Dartmouth University.

President-elect Barack Obama’s reported selections for two major cabinet jobs suggest a preference for pragmatists rather than ideologues.

Reports that Timothy F. Geithner would lead the Treasury Department were seen as a sign of continuity to a new administration.

Two confidants said Hillary Rodham Clinton will give up her Senate seat and accept the nomination for secretary of state after talks with the president-elect about her role.

Dr. Gunsalus discovered lipoic acid, which has been used as a treatment for chronic liver disease, and one of the active forms of vitamin B6, essential in metabolism.

President Bush, confessing he already “felt a little nostalgic,” began what could be his last official overseas trip on Friday, arriving in Peru for a financial meeting.

The Department of Defense has identified 4,196 American service members who have died since the start of the Iraq war. It confirmed the death of the following American on Friday:.

Doctors do not believe that a stroke caused the late Thursday evening collapse of Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey.