Powder-blue powerhouse SEAN M. HAFFEY / Union-Tribune Wide receiver Malcom Floyd celebrated with Philip Rivers after they connected for a 49-yard touchdown in the first quarter of last night's game at Qualcomm Stadium. Click for larger image

What's Inside Photo: Powder-blue powerhouse Tim Robbins gets his star Celebrating Webster, who dropped 'u' from colour This day in history Most e-mailed U-T stories Average gas price falls off 35 cents Progress is slow and uneven in Afghanistan, but NATO isn't losing the war, general says Attorney: Simpson thinks he was 'railroaded' at trial More News

WASHINGTON – After a whirl of emergency meetings, government leaders on both sides of the Atlantic produced bold promises to rescue the global financial system but were still racing to work out the details to calm battered stock markets before they opened this morning.

When solar consultant Van Parseghian worked his sales booth at the Costco in Poway the first weekend of October, he wasn't ready for the crowd that formed. He booked 27 in-home consultations – about three times the norm.

2008 VOTE: PRESIDENT

INDIANAPOLIS – Three weeks before the election, Republicans are growing increasingly concerned about John McCain's ability to mount a comeback, questioning his tactics and even his campaign's main thrust in a White House race increasingly focused on economic turmoil.

2008 VOTE: STATE PROPOSITIONS

SACRAMENTO – If California voters take a stand in favor of same-sex marriage Nov. 4, it could ignite a fresh debate over another hard-won gay right – domestic partnerships.

William R. Brody, a renowned physician-scientist and retiring president of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, will be named today president of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla. During his 12-year tenure at Johns Hopkins, Brody oversaw its medical system, the nation's largest research institute and a respected academic program.