AP - President-elect Barack Obama hailed a rare Oval Office gathering of all U.S. presidents as extraordinary on Wednesday, while President George W. Bush wished him well and pledged that the office "transcends the individual."

AP - President-elect Barack Obama said Wednesday that reforming massive government entitlement programs — such as Social Security and Medicare — would be "a central part" of his effort to control federal spending.

AP - Changing course, Senate Democrats emerged from a meeting with Senate appointee Roland Burris on Wednesday and set forth the legal steps under which they're willing to welcome him into the Senate in President-elect Barack Obama's vacated spot.

AP - The federal budget deficit will hit an unprecedented $1.2 trillion for the 2009 budget year, according to grim new Congressional Budget Office figures.

AP - Israel tentatively welcomed a proposal Wednesday for a Gaza cease-fire and ordered regular suspensions of its offensive to allow aid to reach Palestinian civilians, but also instructed the military to press ahead with its assault on Hamas.

AP - Mississippi now has the nation's highest teen pregnancy rate, displacing Texas and New Mexico for that lamentable title, according to a new federal report released Wednesday.

AP - Alyssa Milano is engaged to marry a Hollywood agent. Publicists for Milano said Tuesday that the actress accepted a marriage proposal on Dec. 18 from David Bugliari, an agent at Creative Artists Agency. The two have been dating for over a year. No wedding date has been set.

AP - Nuremberg's celebrity polar bear cub, Flocke, has a new friend: a Russian bear.

AP - Florida coach Urban Meyer believes Utah, Texas and Southern California should fight for their teams to be recognized as national champions.

Reuters - Hundreds of embattled Palestinians ventured outside to shop for food on Wednesday during a three-hour Gaza truce, a first step toward an Egyptian-proposed ceasefire under discussion by Israel and Hamas.

Reuters - The U.S. budget deficit will swell to a record $1.186 trillion in fiscal 2009 as the global recession saps the economy, congressional forecasters said on Wednesday, presenting a daunting challenge to President-elect Barack Obama who has said tough choices will be necessary.

Reuters - In an abrupt switch, Senate Democratic leaders began talks on Wednesday about swearing in former Illinois attorney general Roland Burris, nominated by embattled Gov. Rod Blagojevich to replace President-elect Barack Obama in the Senate.

Reuters - Job losses and plans to lay off workers hammered the struggling U.S. economy in the final month of 2008, according to private reports that foreshadow grim labor market data from the government on Friday.

Reuters - Bernard Madoff sent valuables including diamond Cartier and Tiffany watches to relatives and others in violation of a court order and should be immediately jailed because he is now a flight risk, prosecutors said in court papers released on Wednesday.

Reuters - Russia shut down all gas flows to Europe through Ukraine on Wednesday, sharpening a dispute that has left industries and homes in southeast Europe without power and disrupted supplies to major economies.

Reuters - President-elect Barack Obama should seek tougher sanctions against Iran, which will be his biggest Middle East challenge, outgoing White House national security adviser Stephen Hadley said on Wednesday.

AFP - Israel silenced its guns for three hours on Wednesday to give embattled residents of Gaza's main city time to seek out food and fuel as international support grew for an Egyptian ceasefire proposal.

AFP - All deliveries of Russian gas through Ukraine were halted Wednesday, depriving tens of thousands of Europeans of heat in freezing weather and raising the stakes in a bitter dispute between Moscow and Kiev.