9+JANV

 **** __U.S. Job Losses in December Dim Hopes for Quick Upswing__ **** By PETER S. GOODMAN The government said the economy shed 85,000 jobs last month, surprising forecasters, while the unemployment rate held steady at 10 percent.

**** __Courts Whittle Spending Limits in Election Law__ **** By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK Corporations, unions and other interest groups are preparing for a free-spending 2010 if a Supreme Court ruling wipes out as many restrictions as expected.

**** __From Battlefield to Ivy League, on the G.I. Bill__ **** By LISA W. FODERARO Fueled by a more generous G.I. Bill, the number of returning servicemen and women enrolled in U.S. institutions like Columbia University has swelled. ****SATURDAY PROFILE**** **** __Across Divide in Iraq, Sunni Courts Shiites__ **** By ANTHONY SHADID Sheik Hamid al-Hais is a veteran of the American-backed war against insurgents, a Sunni Muslim politician, and now an unlikely confederate of the Iraqi National Alliance.

**** __U.S. Has Few Resources to Face Threats in Yemen__ **** By MARK LANDLER The Obama administration’s efforts in Yemen are being constrained by a lack of in-house expertise and a fraught history with the country’s leader.

**** __Cancer Risks Debated for Type of X-Ray Scan__ **** By MATTHEW L. WALD The plan for broad use of “backscatter scanners” at airports has raised questions about the safety of delivering small doses of radiation to millions of people. **** __A Newly Frugal Generation Revives Discount Dining__ **** By DAMIEN CAVE Several restaurants in Florida have introduced early bird specials since the recession started, and younger people are arriving in larger numbers.

**** __Winter Breaks Budgets and Rules the Road__ **** By SUSAN SAULNY In some parts of the Midwest and Northeast, streets are getting barely plowed and towns are running out of cleanup money.

****NEWPORT JOURNAL**** **** __By Landing Fleet, Small Port Sets Off a Storm of Envy__ **** By WILLIAM YARDLEY Newport, Ore., has been named the new home of the federal oceanic agency’s Pacific Fleet, irking its neighboring state of Washington and three ports there. ****NEWS ANALYSIS**** **** __Obama Tries to Turn Focus to Jobs, if Other Events Allow__ **** By JACKIE CALMES President Obama is finding that it can be hard to focus on the lackluster employment situation when so many other issues demand attention.

**** __Unions Rally to Oppose a Proposed Tax on Health Insurance__ **** By STEVEN GREENHOUSE Labor leaders say President Obama is betraying unions by supporting a health care tax, even if it is meant to help cover costs.

**** __A Sri Lankan Underdog Battles Global Tea Giants__ **** By VIKAS BAJAJ Facing competition from global tea giants, a tea grower has followed other Sri Lankan businesses in becoming a specialist producer of exclusive products.