Week in review

Sunday

Hockey: Charlotte Checkers owner Michael Kahn reportedly expressed interest in investing in the Lynx, but wouldn't confirm it beyond taking an optimistic tone about the team's future.

INDIA: The only gunman detained after three days of attacks in Mumbai claimed to have ties to a Pakistani militant group. Pakistani President Asif Zardari dismissed the claim through a spokesman.

ECONOMY: Industry watchers say the holiday shopping season got off to a weak start on Black Friday. Sales met retailers' expectations, but with deep discounts, they came at the expense of profits.

Monday

RUNOFF ELECTION: Former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin attracted thousands of supporters to James Brown Arena, where she came to stump for Republican Saxby Chambliss in the runoff for his U.S. Senate seat. Democrat Jim Martin came to Richmond County Democratic headquarters to visit supporters.

OBAMA'S CABINET: President-elect Obama promised "a new dawn of American leadership," announcing a strong-willed national security team headed by secretary of state nominee Hillary Rodham Clinton, who fought him for the presidency, and Defense Secretary Robert Gates, the man who has been running two wars with President Bush.

ECONOMY: The state of the nation's economic crisis was finally and officially labeled a recession, and experts said it began last December. In response, the stock market plunged more than 650 points, erasing the previous week's gains.

FOOTBALL: Clemson officials removed the interim tag from Dabo Swinney's title, signing the new full-time head coach to a five-year contract fresh off a win over the USC Gamecocks.

Tuesday

RUNOFF: Georgia Sen. Saxby Chambliss cruised to victory in a hard-fought runoff with Jim Martin. His re-election thwarted Democrats' hopes of winning a 60-seat, filibuster-proof majority in the Senate.

BAILOUT: The government must toughen its monitoring of the $700 billion financial bailout to ensure that banking institutions limit their top executives' pay and comply with other restrictions, the Government Accountability Office concluded in the first comprehensive review of the rescue package.

BIG OIL: Oil and retail gasoline prices dipped to three-year lows. Analysts believe prices at the pump could finally be bottoming out after a decline from record highs this summer.

COMMISSION: The Augusta Commission dropped a proposed saggy pants law, with its sponsor, Commissioner Corey Johnson, calling it unneeded and a possible infringement on free expression.

business: Delta Air Lines Inc., the world's largest carrier, said it will reduce overall capacity 6 percent to 8 percent next year. Delta and its Northwest Airlines unit will cut U.S. capacity 8 percent to 10 percent.

Wednesday

NUCLEAR POWER: A $4.5 billion bid by France's state-controlled power company for reactors in Maryland and New York could lead to the only foreign ownership stake in U.S. nuclear plants.

OBAMA'S CABINET: President-elect Obama named New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson as commerce secretary, filling a top economic post in troubled times and placing one of the nation's most prominent Hispanic politicians in his Cabinet.

History: The Augusta boyhood home of former President Woodrow Wilson has been designated a National Historic Landmark, local officials announced.

HIGHER EDUCATION: A new fee of up to $100 a semester for Georgia college students passed the Board of Regents despite objections from students that University System of Georgia officials neglected to keep them informed about the possible change.

RELIGION: Conservative Anglican leaders unveiled the constitution and laws for a new organization intended to replace the Episcopal Church as the American arm of the Anglican Communion, which has 77 million members worldwide.

GEORGIA: Economic forecasters predicted that the recession will last a year and a half and won't start to turn around until late next year, unemployment will increase and housing prices will continue to plummet. Gov. Sonny Perdue was quietly urging most state agencies to slash budgets an additional 2 percent to meet a growing deficit.

Thursday

WEST BANK: Israeli soldiers and police stormed a disputed building in the biblical city of Hebron, dragging out 250 young settlers in a raid meant to send a warning to Jewish extremists fighting to keep what they see as God-promised land.

BANK ROBBERY: Investigators looked for suspects in a morning bank robbery on Walton Way. Two men wearing ski masks, both described as black, about 6 feet tall and weighing about 200 pounds, robbed the Georgia Bank & Trust branch at 1530 Walton Way about 9:15 a.m., witnesses said.

AUTOMAKER BAILOUT: Desperate U.S. automakers ran into fresh obstacles from skeptical lawmakers as they appealed with rising urgency -- and a new dose of humility -- for a $34 billion bailout. Without help, said one senator, "we're looking at a death sentence."

Friday

FINANCIAL BAILOUT: Stunned by the loss of 500,000 jobs, congressional Democrats and the White House reached for agreement Friday on about $15 billion in bailout loans for the beleaguered auto industry.

ECONOMY: Reports showed 533,000 jobs were lost across the nation in November.

METRO: The Community Foundation for the Central Savannah River Area presented 34 organizations with an Unrestricted Grant Award in a ceremony at the Enterprise Mill Events Center. A total of $383,218 in grants was distributed, topping last year's amount of $373,000.

AUGUSTA LYNX OFFICIALLY ON ICE
After 101/2 years of minor league hockey in Augusta, time finally ran out on the Augusta Lynx. Financial troubles and failed attempts to find additional investors caught up with the team, and Lynx owners Dan Troutman, Robert Burch and Jan Hodges Burch turned their league membership back in to the ECHL on Tuesday by a 5 p.m. deadline set by the league.
On Wednesday, the players made a last trip to James Brown Arena to turn in equipment, undergo exit physicals and meet one-on-one with coach John Marks.
Mr. Marks said the phone started ringing at 6:30 a.m. and rarely stopped, as agents, coaches and general managers from different hockey leagues tried to get their hands on the suddenly available talent.