WASHINGTON - December 22, 2008 - Hedge funds will be allowed to borrow from the Federal Reserve for the first time under a landmark $200bn program intended to support consumer credit.

LONDON, England - December 22, 2008 - The government has been accused of trampling on individual liberties by proposing wide-ranging new powers for bailiffs to break into homes and to use “reasonable force” against householders who try to protect their valuables.

MORAINE, Ohio - December 21, 2008 - General Motors Corp.’s financial woes have GM workers around the country worrying about what life without GM might be like. The 1,080 hourly workers at the automaker's sport utility plant in this Dayton suburb are about to find out. For them, life without GM begins Tuesday.