AP - President-elect Barack Obama promised the voters change but has started his Cabinet selection process by naming several Washington insiders to top posts.

AP - Pounded by a fierce financial crisis, the country is sinking deeper into economic despair and is likely to be in the hole well into next year, forcing more Americans into the ranks of the unemployed.

Reuters - Stock futures pointed to a drop on Thursday, adding to the previous session's plunge, as investors worried about the fate of stricken U.S. carmakers and the specter of a prolonged economic downturn. At 5:33 a.m. EST, S&P 500 futures were down 1.9 percent, Dow Jones futures were down 1.3 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures were down 2.2 percent.

Reuters - World economic misery spread on Thursday with forecasts of a global recession running well into 2009, Japan's exports to Asia falling for the first time in six years and job losses mounting.