TOP NEWS STORIES (dec, 16 2011)

1. House and Senate negotiators agreed to a funding deal through October, as a shutdown loomed. By Patricia Murphy.

2. South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is backing Mitt Romney's bid for the Republican presidential nomination—ending the suspense over one of the most sought-after endorsements in the party.

3. Russia's opposition parties on Friday called for weekend rallies to protest election fraud following Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's rejection of protesters' demands for a rerun of a disputed parliamentary poll.