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The mine cave-in last week in Utah was the second collapse at the Crandall Canyon. One last spring was in a section near where the six miners are now trapped. According to a consultant's memo, the earlier cave-in caused the company to abandon that section of the mine.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez surprised many with his graceful public acceptance of the recent defeat of proposed constitutional reforms. But the kinder Chavez didn't last long. By midweek, he lashed out at Venezuela's opposition, and pledged to press forward with plans to expand his power.

Calm settled on financial markets and Capitol Hill Tuesday after the House voted Monday to reject the Wall Street bailout plan. The Senate will vote Wednesday on a modified bill. Supporters hope a few changes will also lead to passage in the House.

The U.S. House has reversed itself and given final approval to a giant economic bailout bill. The measure — revised, re-framed and expanded — passed comfortably by a vote of 263 to 171. It attracted 26 more Republicans and 32 more Democrats than last Monday night.

Republican John McCain berated Wall Street, a day after he said the fundamentals of the economy were still strong despite the economic troubles. Campaigning with his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, he said regulation needs to be streamlined.

President-elect Barack Obama named Nancy Killefer as his chief performance officer. Her job will be to bring modern ideas of business efficiency to the White House. Obama also spoke of his plans to revive the economy without worsening the federal budget deficit.

Investor Bernard Madoff has been placed under house arrest after allegations he ran a Ponzi scheme that bilked investors of up to $50 billion. Christopher Cox, the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, said he was "gravely concerned" about the SEC's failure to act.

NPR's Ivan Watson, who had a close call Sunday when his car was targeted by a bomb, says there has been an increase in violence in the Iraqi capital. He says in November alone, there were 108 bombings in the city with a civilian death toll of 148.

President-elect Barack Obama has unveiled his national security team. Among the main appointments: Defense Secretary Robert Gates is staying on at the Pentagon, Sen. Hillary Clinton will be secretary of state and Eric Holder will be the attorney general.

Israeli warplanes have made more airstrikes into Gaza as key world powers pressure Israel and Hamas to call a truce. Hamas, meanwhile, is keeping up its rocket barrages into southern Israel. Israeli officials have turned down a call for a two-day truce in Gaza so medical, food and relief supplies could get in.