AP - President Bush pulled the rug out from under Republicans this week when he abruptly dropped his opposition to a massive housing rescue. Their reaction? Good riddance.

Reuters - Investors snapped up shares of mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac before Wall Street opened on Thursday, a day after the House of Representatives passed a massive rescue package to shore up the struggling housing market.

AP - Expanding on a program that has saved and prolonged the lives of millions in Africa alone, the House prepared Thursday to pass and send to President Bush legislation that triples money to fight AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis around the world.

AP - It's so easy to fabricate the medical certificates required to operate commercial trucks on the nation's highways that there's almost no incentive for truckers to obtain a legitimate document, according to a congressional study.

AP - The housing bill Congress is preparing to send President Bush would:

Reuters - The House of Representatives passed a massive housing rescue bill on Wednesday while the White House dropped a threat to veto it, paving the way for measures aimed at shoring up the worst U.S. housing market since the Great Depression.

AFP - A wide-ranging housing rescue plan passed by the US House of Representatives on Wednesday could help ease the downward spiral in the property market that is weighing on the US economy, analysts say.