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money.cnn.com — Plunging auto sales, high gas prices and election year politics could help convince Congress to approve a $50 billion loan package to embattled U.S. automakers that Detroit's Big Three claim is key to their future success. General Motors, Ford Motor and Chrysler reported monthly sales declines of at least 20 percent from a year ago, as American car buyers continued to turn away from SUVs and pickups and towards more fuel efficient car models. The Big Three are now in the process of closing truck assembly lines and rushing to catch up with hybrid and other fuel efficient offerings from Toyota and Honda. But junk bond debt ratings and thin capital cushions make such investment difficult if not impossible.

iht.com — Aid to poor nations has slumped even as higher food and energy prices and slowing global economic growth have made such assistance more urgent, according to a report released by the United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki-moon. The United Nations report showed that aid dropped 8.4 percent in 2007, after a 4.7 percent drop in 2006. Commitments to help Africa in particular have lagged. The Group of 8 industrialized nations pledged in 2005 to donate more than $25 billion to Africa by 2010, but just $4 billion has actually been delivered. The United Nations wants the richest 22 countries to commit to donating 0.7 percent of their overall national income to aid, but the only countries that have done that are Denmark, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden.

news.bbc.co.uk — A U.S. Navy warship carrying humanitarian aid has arrived in the Georgian port of Poti, where Russian troops are still deployed. The U.S.S. Mount Whitney is the third US ship to deliver aid to Georgia since its conflict with Russia last month, but the first to dock at Poti. Poti was bombed by Russian forces when they entered Georgia, and several ships in the port were sunk. Russian said such a large warship was not suited delivering aid. The U.S.S. Mount Whitney, flagship of the U.S. Sixth Fleet, is the latest of three vessels sent by the US to deliver blankets, hygiene kits, baby food and other supplies to Georgia after its brief war with Russia.

time.com — Jack Abramoff, the once powerful lobbyist at the heart of a far-reaching political corruption scandal, was sentenced to four years in prison by a judge who said the case had shattered the public's confidence in government. Abramoff, who fought back tears as he declared himself a broken man, appeared crestfallen as the judge handed down a sentence lengthier than prosecutors had sought. Over the past three years, Abramoff has come to symbolize corruption and the secret deals cut between lobbyists and politicians in back rooms or on golf courses or private jets. The scandal shook Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House to Capitol Hill and contributed to the Republicans' loss of Congress in 2006.

iht.com — The number of newly laid-off American workers seeking unemployment benefits jumped unexpectedly last week, the U.S. government said, reversing three weeks of declines. The Labor Department reported that new applications for unemployment insurance in the United States rose to a seasonally adjusted 444,000, up 15,000 from the previous week. Economists expected claims to drop to 420,000. The increase indicated that the slowing economy was taking a toll on the job market. Many economists consider claims above 400,000 to be a sign of a weak economy. Initial claims were 320,000 in the same week last year.

time.com — President Bush's top defense advisers have recommended he maintain 15 combat brigades in Iraq until the end of the year contrary to expectations that the improved security in Iraq would allow for quicker cuts. Military leaders said that the closely held plan would send a small Marine contingent to Afghanistan in November to replace one of two Marine units expected to head home then. If Bush follows the recommendations, he would delay any additional buildup in Afghanistan until early next year, when another brigade would be deployed there instead of to Iraq.

reuters.com — Even as world financial markets broke down last year, personal wealth around the world grew 5 percent to $109.5 trillion, according to a global wealth report released by Boston Consulting Group. It was the sixth consecutive year of expanding wealth. The fastest growth was among households in developing regions, such as China and the Gulf States and among families who were already rich. That wealth also is increasingly concentrated among the richest. The top 1 percent of all households owned 35 percent of the world's wealth last year. Meanwhile, the top 0.001 percent, ultra-rich households holding at least $5 million in assets, commanded $21 trillion — a fifth of the worl's wealth.