AP - The Federal Reserve said Sunday it had granted a request by the country's last two major investment banks — Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley — to change their status to bank holding companies.

AFP - China said nearly 13,000 children were in hospital Sunday after drinking toxic milk powder in a dramatic escalation of Beijing's latest safety scandal.

AFP - Pakistan on Sunday blamed Al-Qaeda linked Taliban militants for the massive suicide truck bombing at the Marriott Hotel that killed at least 60 people and injured more than 260.

Reuters - A fire at an illegal dance club in southern China, just across the border from Hong Kong, left 43 mostly young people dead and another 88 injured, another grim reminder of the country's broken regulatory system.

Reuters - World number one Rafael Nadal humbled Andy Roddick with a clay-court masterclass on Sunday to knock holders the United States out of the Davis Cup and send Spain through to their sixth final.

Reuters - Japan's Nomura Holdings (8604.T) is interested in buying the European operations of U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers, according to reports on Sunday, while Barclays will bid for parts of the business, a person familiar with the matter said.

Reuters - Investors will hand down their verdicts this week on worldwide rescue plans topping 1 trillion dollars designed to end the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.

Reuters - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert handed his resignation to President Shimon Peres on Sunday but the scandal-hit premier could stay in office for weeks or months until a new government is formed.

Reuters - The suicide bomb attack that killed 53 people at the Marriott Hotel in Pakistan's capital on Saturday bore the hallmarks of an operation by al Qaeda or an affiliate, Pakistani and U.S. intelligence officials said.

Reuters - U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson took his case for an unprecedented $700 billion bailout of financial markets to the American people on Sunday, saying it was needed to prevent further damage to an already fragile economy.

AP - The U.S. reign as Davis Cup champion ended Sunday, with an ailing Rafael Nadal beating Andy Roddick in a straight-sets victory that sent Spain to the final for the sixth time.

AP - Retro '60s drama "Mad Men" and legal thriller "Damages" are poised to take a shot at making Emmy Awards history Sunday — and wooing new fans — as basic cable's first best-series nominees.

AP - The tunnels of Iwo Jima snake deep beneath the volcanic rock and soil, their entrances camouflaged by a dense tangle of vines and tall grasses.

AP - The U.N. said guns fell silent across much of Afghanistan on Sunday for an international peace day that saw pledges by the U.S., NATO, the Afghan government and the Taliban to halt attacks.

AP - Election Day will be something of an afterthought for tens of millions of Americans — they'll be voting well ahead of time.