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AP - The massive new tax bill signed into law by President Barack Obama is filled with all kinds of holiday stocking stuffers for businesses: tax breaks for producing TV shows, grants for putting up windmills, rum subsidies for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

AP - Travelers faced the prospect of spending Christmas Eve in Paris' main airport instead of at a feast-laden family table, after new snowfall and shortages of deicing fluid revived travel troubles across Europe.

AP - Vice President Joe Biden said Friday that the country is evolving on the issue of gay marriage and he thinks it's inevitable there will be national consensus.

AFP - British stocks closed above the psychological 6,000-point level for the first time in 30 months on Friday in a Santa rally on a shortened Christmas Eve trading session.

AP - Lots of military secrets are hidden behind the gleaming walls of NORAD'S headquarters building, including this one: Just how do they get Santa's flight path onto their computer screens every Christmas Eve?

Reuters - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev praised President Barack Obama on Friday for winning U.S. support for an arms treaty at the center of a reset in ties and lamented the slow pace of his own drive to modernize Russia.

AP - Stymied in Congress, the Obama administration is moving unilaterally to clamp down on power plant and oil refinery greenhouse emissions, announcing plans for developing new standards over the next year.

AP - Thousands of tourists, pilgrims and clergy converged on Bethlehem on Friday as the town of Jesus' birth prepared to celebrate Christmas Eve.

AFP - Russia's lower house of parliament Friday gave initial backing to a historic treaty with the US to slash the nuclear arsenals of the Cold War foes but warned final ratification will drag into next year.

AP - Russia's lower house of parliament on Friday gave preliminary approval to a U.S.-Russian arms treaty, but decided to delay the final vote until next month.

AFP - Taliban insurgents launched co-ordinated attacks on five paramilitary checkpoints in northwestern Pakistan Friday, leaving at least 11 soldiers and 24 militants dead, officials said.

AP - Police searched India's financial capital on Friday for four men who authorities believe entered Mumbai to carry out a terrorist attack, a top police official said.

Reuters - World stocks held near the previous day's two-year high on Friday while oil hit fresh two-year peaks after strong U.S. data this week encouraged investors to maintain their risk positions into 2011.

Reuters - Insurgents attacked five security checkpoints in a northwestern Pakistan region on the Afghan border on Friday killing 11 soldiers and leading to clashes in which 24 militants died, officials said.

AP - Holiday procrastinators are preparing to zoom through picked-over stores, grabbing discounted sweaters and can't-go-wrong gift cards. If they can get a parking spot, that is. But you won't hear retailers complaining.