WASHINGTON — NASA is delaying a mission to Mars that already had been over budget and will get even more costly.

WASHINGTON — In a change from tradition, the entire length of the National Mall will be open to the public during the upcoming presidential inauguration, President-elect Barack Obama's inaugural committee announced Thursday.

NEW DELHI — A Pakistani militant group apparently used an Indian operative as far back as 2007 to scout targets for the elaborate plot against India's financial capital, authorities said, a blow to Indian officials who have blamed the deadly attacks entirely on Pakistani extremists.

WASHINGTON - Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison on Thursday took the first step toward a run for governor, setting the stage for a contentious challenge in 2010 against fellow Republican Rick Perry, the longest-serving leader in state history.

Boys Soccer • Girls Soccer • Boys Basketball • Girls Basketball • Wrestling

ATLANTA — Measles deaths worldwide declined dramatically to about 200,000 a year, continuing a successful trend, global health authorities reported Thursday.

Workers construct the inaugural platform at the west front of the Capitol in Washington, on Thursday, Dec. 4, 2008, in preparation for Barack Obama's presidential inauguration on Jan. 20, 2009. The Washington Monument is at rear, right.

CHOLULA, Mexico — President-elect Barack Obama's pick for commerce secretary, Bill Richardson, got a warm welcome Thursday during a visit to Mexico, where government officials said they doubted Obama would follow through on a campaign pledge to re-negotiate NAFTA.

Santa Rita High School wide receiver J.J. Holliday, in helmet and shoulder pads, left the team's football practice on a Tuesday afternoon earlier this fall and sprinted toward a car leaving the school's East Side campus, turning onto Pantano Road.

Trailing by 16 points heading into the fourth quarter of Thursday's game with state power Phoenix North, Ironwood Ridge boys basketball coach Brian Peabody could only plead with his team, "don't give up."

Even in these tough times for the construction industry, the Arizona Builders' Alliance has donated more than $100,000 in time and materials to a residence for 22 women recovering from drug and alcohol abuse.

Executives at the Tucson Citizen and Tucson Newspapers said Wednesday that fewer than 12 employees will be laid off as a result of cuts ordered by their corporate parent, the Gannett Co.

NEW YORK - A period of relative calm on Wall Street ended Thursday as stocks tumbled in the final hour of trading on growing investor anxiety ahead of the government's November employment report.

COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Arizona forward Fendi Onobun pulled what he called a "veteran move'' when he convinced his fellow teammates to give their allotted tickets to him in order to get his friends and family into Friday's game at Texas A&M.

TEMPE - As James Harden continued to put up absurd scoring numbers, a question might have formed in the minds of Arizona State's faithful. What happens if that guy ever gets in foul trouble?

DALLAS - The Phoenix Suns are getting a great view of other teams' turnarounds, watching them shoot by as they descend deeper into the Western Conference standings.

GLENDALE - Martin Hanzal had his first three-goal game in the NHL, and Steven Reinprecht added a pair of third-period goals for Phoenix in its 6-3 win over Toronto on Thursday night. • Wie tied for lead • Greene traded to Cardinals • Vazquez trade completed

TEMPE - Fewer graduating high school seniors admitted to the University of Arizona have academic deficiencies compared to students admitted to Arizona State University and Northern Arizona University, according to the 2007-08 report card presented Thursday to the Arizona Board of Regents.

WASHINGTON - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke called on the government Thursday to ramp up efforts to stem soaring home foreclosures, which are feeding the country's deep economic troubles.

LOS ANGELES - The conductor aboard the Metrolink train that collided with a freight train in September said the warning light along the track was green before the crash that killed 25 people in Los Angeles.

Kids today don't know. The current Arizona football players wouldn't know Rob Waldrop from Chuck Osborne, Ontiwaun Carter from Chuck Levy.

COLLEGE STATION, Texas - This is the second year of what has turned out to be a pretty good relationship between the Pacific-10 and Big 12 conferences. Arizona faces Texas A&M on Friday in one of nine meetings over a four-day period between the leagues.

SAN DIEGO - LaDainian Tomlinson can still run the ball and his San Diego Chargers finally looked like world-beaters.

NORMAN, Okla. - Oklahoma President David Boren isn't surprised by the outcry over the BCS rankings that propelled the Sooners into the Big 12 championship game, but he doesn't think rash changes to the system are an appropriate solution.

Peoria High School tailback Jamal Miles says he won't pick a college based on who wins the Duel in the Desert. But an Arizona victory over Arizona State, coupled with UA's first bowl game since 1998, couldn't hurt the Wildcats as they try to land Miles and inch closer to ASU when it comes to in-state recruiting.

Crews will work for about 10 days to demolish the last remnants of the Fourth Avenue underpass to make way for a new one to open in the summer next year.

A defense lawyer on Thursday urged a federal magistrate to throw out corruption charges against retiring U.S. Rep. Rick Renzi, saying the government repeatedly violated the Arizona congressman's constitutional protections.

Two men were shot, one fatally, in a home invasion Thursday morning on the South Side, a Pima County Sheriff's Department spokeswoman said.

Funding for a diabetes reduction program at El Rio Community Health Center has been extended for two more years because of community donors.

BAGHDAD - Suicide bombers killed 17 people - including two American soldiers - and wounded more than 100 in a string of blasts in two Iraqi cities Thursday, as a timetable for withdrawing all U.S. troops won final government approval.

The federal government warns airlines that flights could face disruptions this winter because of a severe shortage of the primary chemical used to keep runways free from snow and ice.

Compiled by Daniela Vizcarra.

TEMPE - University of Arizona resident undergraduates will pay only $164 more in tuition next year instead of $500 more, following a contentious 5-4 vote by the Arizona Board of Regents on Thursday.

A man shot and critically wounded his wife and shot and killed himself Thursday morning in the desert west of the Tucson Mountains, a Pima County sheriff's spokeswoman said.

Children from Carrillo Elementary Magnet School will present its Las Posadas pageant Saturday at La Pilita Museum and on Sunday at De Grazia Gallery in the Sun.

As Sun Tran bus ridership hits record highs, city officials are looking at budget cuts that could reduce service.

SALT LAKE CITY - Drought, climate change and an increasing population in the West are pushing the Colorado River basin toward deep trouble in the coming decades, scientists said Thursday.

LOS ANGELES - As the box-office bankroll climbed for "The Dark Knight" last summer, the Hollywood consensus was that a posthumous nomination for Heath Ledger was the Batman blockbuster's best Academy Awards hope.

The winner of the Arizona-Arizona State game Saturday will receive a trip to the Las Vegas Bowl. But the only contingency is that No. 5-ranked USC must beat UCLA.

Arizona vs. Arizona State: John Moredich's breakdown • Players to watch • Staff picks

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Ex-Arizona Wildcat Antonio Pierce didn't know New York Giants teammate Plaxico Burress was carrying a gun last weekend until it accidentally discharged, injuring the receiver in the right thigh, Pierce's attorney said Thursday.

Quarterback Nick Foles thought one day he would be studying a game plan to exploit the Arizona defense. Instead of playing for Arizona State, the sophomore is gearing up to compete for the Wildcats' starting quarterback job in 2009 after sitting out a year due to transfer rules.

City officials don't want to compare the municipal financial situation to the City Council-adopted budget anymore.

PHOENIX - The state is hiring 45 new workers at its Phoenix unemployment benefits office as the number of claims soar because of the soured economy.

Arizona softball coach Mike Candrea once said he couldn't imagine still coaching softball when he was 50. Well, now he's 53, and the Arizona Board of Regents on Thursday approved a contract that takes Candrea through the 2013 season.

LOS ANGELES - Speed's the thing on coach Pete Carroll's teams at Southern California, just as it is with most of college football's elite programs these days.

Judging by the final Pac-10 fantasy stats (unfortunately the league doesn't count the final games this week) Oregon State quarterback Jeremiah Masoli earns the Most Surprising Player of the League Award.

PHOENIX — The incoming Arizona House speaker is naming the departing speaker as chairman of a special committee on school funding — a concern in light of the state's budget woes.

The City Council will consider at its meeting Tuesday proposals to raise two water fees levied on new users.

Bob Woodruff, who suffered a traumatic brain injury while covering the war in Iraq for ABC News, will be in Tucson on Saturday for a book signing.

The loss of the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor will be memorialized from 11 a.m. to noon Sunday in the Gallagher Theater auditorium at the University of Arizona Memorial Student Union.

If the night sky puts twinkles in your eyes, join the free stargazing event on Saturday at the Peace Garden in Manuel Herrera Jr. Park.

A workshop on solar energy will be held Dec. 16 in Marana.

This has to be the best week in the history of Cincinnati Bearcats football. The Bearcats have the Big East title and a BCS bid locked up, their hot-commodity coach, Brian Kelly, announced that he plans to stick around for a while and they're headed to Hawaii to play what amounts to a meaningless game Saturday night.

PORTLAND, Ore. - Safeway Inc. told investors Thursday that it will aggressively cut costs, lower prices and focus on improving its financial position in 2009.

High about 72 Friday. Low Friday night near 40.

WASHINGTON - The Bush administration is trying to make it tougher for Congress to block mining and oil and gas drilling on public lands.

The Business Development Finance Corporation is offering its own version of the economic stimulus package.

As much as they hate the idea, one or more of the big U.S. automakers might end up filing for bankruptcy as they struggle with growing debt, plummeting sales and a tough sell on a $34 billion rescue package they want Congress to pass.

Texas lost out on a chance to play in the Big 12 title game, but still has a couple of paths to the national championship.

My brother-in-law in Massachusetts called last Wednesday to say he had received a text message from my sister in Mumbai, India.

Watch out for family fights, Mr. President-elect. Though Democrats will control both the new Congress and White House, the battle over a multibillion-dollar auto industry bailout already is pitting two major party constituencies against each other: big labor and environmentalists.

Plus: Trillions

Southern Arizona is home to one of the grandest science experiments ever built - and now it will be used as a training center for science teachers.

Coyotes are acting wacky. Hummingbirds are trying to get nectar out of my hot-pink metal yard art. My dog tripped on a bright orange piece of plastic fencing on our way to the Rillito River walk.

The story: A fence dividing the U.S. and Mexico should not be built, El Paso city officials argue in a letter to President-elect Obama, because it is an irresponsible expense while the country is in a recession. And it's an unfriendly gesture.

New York Daily News reporters were able to use a laptop computer to transfer the ownership of the Empire State Building into their own names and obtain all the documents they needed to get a mortgage loan on it. It was worth a try. Fraudulent lending got us into this mess and perhaps fraudulent lending can get us out.

The city is hoping to give Rio Nuevo a major kick-start in 2009 with the issuance late this month of $78 million in bonds.

Plus: Ignorant blather surrounding immigration • Out-of-control glorification of illegal immigration • Out-of-control cops

Plus: Bush in 2010? • Condi tickles the ivories • The 'Twilight'-Chrysler connection • Mortgaging a skyscraper • Oy, Bush! • Tiger and the bailout

It's time we 'fess up: Nobody has any idea how to get us out of the economic mess we're in.

Lauren Arnaud, 12, has heard news reports.

The holidays are upon us, and coming at a time filled with tremendous financial stress for many.

As a young girl, Kenley Collins never imagined that she'd become one of the top designers on the hit TV show "Project Runway."

Company's coming for the holidays. Will they be comfortable in your guest bedroom?

At all times, but especially during the holidays, when parents and caregivers can be distracted, remember that falls from shopping carts are among the leading causes of head injuries to young children.

FORECLOSURE WORKSHOP: Learn ways to take charge of your situation; find out about resources available in your community and learn strategies to keep your home. Reservations required. Class is featured every Tuesday through Dec. 16. When: 4-7 p.m. Where: Lew Murphy Memorial Conference Room, 3003 S. Country Club Road Price: Free Info: 623-9383

WASHINGTON - U.S. automakers drew fresh skepticism from lawmakers Thursday in a rocky confrontation over their pleas for an expanded $34 billion rescue package they say they need to survive. Congressional analysts said one bailout plan under consideration would fall short of what the car makers want.

MOSCOW - Reveling in his reputation for earthy language, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin unabashedly confirmed a crude outburst against Georgia's president and even took the tirade a step further Thursday.

People of all ages can suffer the "holiday blues," but the upcoming season of celebrations, parties and get-togethers can be particularly difficult for older adults, according to the American Geriatrics Society and its Foundation for Health in Aging.

Dear Boomer, We are having a science fair, and I have no idea what to do as a project.

At the nursery in the last few weeks, we have had a huge amount of calls from people asking just how poisonous poinsettias are.

Last Christmas, Diana and Greg Williams spent about $1,000 on gifts for family, friends and teachers.

Now, more than ever, the price you pay for a college degree is linked with what you choose to study.