Some Troops to Stay in Iraqi Cities Past June, General Says

BALAD, Iraq — The top American commander in Iraq, Gen. Ray Odierno, said Saturday that some American troops would remain in cities past the June deadline for a withdrawal of combat troops that was called for in an agreement with the Iraqi government.

General Odierno said that American troops would remain at numerous security outposts inside the cities in a support role to Iraqi forces. “We believe that’s part of our transition teams,” General Odierno told reporters in Balad while accompanying Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, who arrived on an unannounced trip on Saturday.

Even Workers Surprised by Success of Factory Sit-In

Workers celebrated Wednesday after their six-day sit-in at Republic Windows and Doors in Chicago ended with their getting everything they had asked for.

CHICAGO — The word came just after lunch on Dec. 2 in the cafeteria of Republic Windows and Doors. A company official told assembled workers that their plant on this city’s North Side, which had operated for more than four decades, would be closed in just three days.

There was a murmur of shock, then anger, in the drab room lined with snack machines. Some women cried. But a few of the factory’s union leaders had been anticipating this moment. Several weeks before, they had noticed that equipment had disappeared from the plant, and they began tracing it to a nearby rail yard.

Auto Bailout Alternatives

What does the future hold for the American auto industry if Congress fails to pass a bailout package this month? It's a question many are asking as Senate Republicans continue to voice opposition to a $14 billion emergency loan package passed Wednesday night by the House of Representatives.

What does the future hold for the American auto industry now that Congress failed to pass a bailout package?

Will the White House be forced to reverse course and dip into the emergency TARP funds set aside for the banking and mortgage industry and divert some of it to the automakers?

Police ‘Somewhat Confident’ Child’s Remains Are Caylee Anthony

Police are “somewhat confident” that a child’s remains found Thursday near the home of Caylee Anthony’s grandparents belong to the missing toddler, Carlos Padilla of the Orange County Sheriff’s Office told ABC News today.

The remains of a young child, including a skull, were discovered in a nearby wooded area less than half a mile from the Anthony home in Orlando, Fla., prompting authorities to execute a search warrant on the home.