AP - The U.N. Security Council approved a resolution Thursday calling for an immediate and durable cease-fire between Hamas militants and Israeli forces now fighting in the Gaza Strip. The vote was 14-0, with the United States abstaining.

AP - Vice President Dick Cheney said Thursday that he sees no reason for President George W. Bush to pre-emptively pardon anyone at the CIA involved in harsh interrogations of suspected terrorists. I don't have any reason to believe that anybody in the agency did anything illegal, he said. In an interview with The Associated Press, Cheney also said that Bush has no need to apologize for not foreseeing the economic crisis.

Reuters - Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc has reached an agreement in principal to sell its merchant banking business, made up of two private equity funds, to management of the funds, a source familiar with the situation said on Thursday.