Today’s P.M. News Roundup

In a volatile day, U.S. stocks fell for the eighth straight day, but rallied slightly at the end of the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average swung over 1,000 points—its biggest single-day swing ever—and finished down 128 points at 8,451.19. The S&P 500 fell 10.6 points to 899.32, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 4.39 points to 1,649.51.

President George W. Bush gave a press conference Friday in the Rose Garden to calm fears about the stock market. “We are a prosperous nation with immense resources and a wide range of tools at our disposal,” he said. “We can solve this crisis and we will.”

Oil prices hit a one-year low this morning, sinking below $82 a barrel in Asia. Leaders of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries are meeting Nov. 18 to discuss the issue and may decide to cut production.

Citigroup ended its bid to buy Wachovia Thursday, allowing Wells Fargo to purchase it for $15 billion. It had originally agreed to a $2 billion deal before Wells Fargo stepped in with the much larger deal.

General Electric reported Friday that its third-quarter net income dropped 22 percent.

American auto titans General Motors, Ford and Chrysler all may face bankruptcy, says Standard & Poor’s analyst Robert Schulz. GM plunged 31 percent yesterday, as the S&P said that it might cut the debt ratings for GM and Ford, which are already very low.

Somali pirates aboard a Ukrainian arms ship told the Agent France-Presse Friday that negotiations to give up the ship have “totally collapsed.” The pirates demand 20 million dollars to return the ship and free its crew.

Ukranian President Viktor Yushchenko dissolved parliament Thursday and declared there will be new parliamentary elections on Dec. 7, but Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko said Friday that she will not agree to them. Yushchenko and Tymoshenko were partners during the Orange Revolution in 2004, but have split due to their opinions on Russia and the West.

In Thailand, seven leaders of the People’s Alliance for Democracy who have been leading antigovernment protests surrendered to authorities after charges of treason were dismissed. They were released after just 90 minutes and say they will continue the protests.

Martti Ahtisaari, former President of Finland, won the Nobel Peace Prize Friday for his work negotiating peace in East Timor, the Balkans and elsewhere.

The U.S. may provisionally remove North Korea from the State Department’s terrorism blacklist as soon as Friday, reports The Washington Post.

Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi will step down in March, four years before his term is set to end. Badawi has been under pressure to resign as the economy struggled and his party had its worst-ever election result.

The Connecticut Supreme Court ruled Friday that same-sex couples have the right to marry, making Connecticut the third state to legalize same-sex marriage.

The congressional oversight committees said Thursday that the National Security Agency may have improperly spied on Americans’ phone calls abroad. The law allows the NSA to spy on foreign phone calls involving a suspected terrorist, but reports say they eavesdropped on calls made by military personnel, journalists and foreign aid workers to their family and friends.

Calif. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger wrote to U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson Thursday saying that he is optimistic the state won’t need to borrow $7 billion from the federal government to pay bills. The state will begin selling short-term bonds next with the intention of raising $4 billion.

Alaska investigators gave the state legislature the results of their investigation into Gov. Sarah Palin’s “Troopergate” scandal. A legislative committee is currently reviewing the findings behind closed doors to determine if Palin abused her authority in the firing of a state commissioner.

Ariz. Sen. John McCain’s campaign has called attention to Ill. Sen. Barack Obama’s connection to former domestic terrorist William Ayers in a new Web advertisement, at a Wisconsin town hall meeting and in an interview with ABC News. “I don’t care about two washed-up old terrorists that are unrepentant about trying to destroy America,” said Sen. McCain. “But I do care, and Americans should care, about [Sen. Obama’s] relationship with him and whether he’s being truthful and candid about it.”

Former President Jimmy Carter blamed the Bush administration’s “profligate spending” for the current financial crisis in remarks to reporters Friday. “I think it’s because of the atrocious economic policies of the Bush administration,” he said.

The Scripps Translational Science Institute said Thursday that it will conduct a 20-year study with Navigenics Inc, a company that analyzes DNA to determine a person’s risks for certain diseases, to examine how people’s lifestyles change when they learn about their disease risks.

A study in Thursday’s issue of Nature reveals that stem cells from testicles may be as versatile as stem cells from embryos.

Sixth-inning home runs by Chase Utley and Pat Burrell gave the Phillies a 3-2 win in the opening game of the National League Championship Series against the Dodgers.

Former NHL goaltender and current Blue Jackets’ goaltending coach Clint Malarchuck is recovering in a hospital after accidentally shooting himself in the chin with his hunting rifle. Malarchuck is famous for nearly dying on the ice after his jugular vein was severed by a skate in a 1989 game.