SINGAPORE — Washington signaled it will resist protectionism as it copes with the economic downturn, announcing Saturday that the U.S. will join a free-trade area with other Pacific Rim nations.Read more

AMSTERDAM — Dutch drivers will pay less to buy a car but will be charged tax for every mike on the road, a system the government says will reduce traffic jams, fatal accidents and carbon emissions.Read more

LOS ANGELES — A U.S. District judge's lax oversight of more than $30 million tied to the late Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos is "curious," a federal appeals court said in an opinion issued Friday.Read more

PRINCETON, N.J. — The president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said Friday that the financial world can learn from the economic crunch of the past two years and become stronger.Read more

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The Gazette in Colorado Springs has laid off 11 employees, including seven in the newsroom, leaving fewer than 300 people on the staff.Read more

• Link | http://www.gazette.com

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — A group of Wyoming politicos and journalists is launching a nonprofit online news publication dedicated to covering state government.Read more

• Link | http://cowboystatefreepress.org/

SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah oil refinery is shutting down after a gas explosion earlier this month damaged 10 homes.Read more

SAN FRANCISCO — Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's biggest retailer, is offering its clothing vendors a faster way to get paid that could change how struggling retailers and vendors do business together.Read more

NEW YORK — Regulators shut down two banks in Florida and one in California on Friday, boosting to 123 the number of U.S. bank failures this year as loan defaults rise in the worst financial climate in decades.Read more

SAN FRANCISCO — Ivanhoe Mines Ltd., a Canada-based mining company, said Friday that its third-quarter loss narrowed as it recorded revenue and decreased its exploration expenses.Read more