In the Entrance Hall on the State Floor, crystal snowflakes hang from the ceiling above visitors as they walk toward the Blue Room, home to the official White House Christmas Tree, also decorated in honor of military families.

WHITEHOUSE: Our Top Stories

For them, hearing former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and South Carolina businesswoman Darla Moore can now hang out in Augusta's clubhouse with corporate and other leaders from around the Southeast and nation was cause for celebration.

CNN: STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Not for too long perhaps, if Russia's president, Boris Yeltsin, follows the advice of those of his courtiers most desperate to hang on to power, by declaring himself president of a new and enlarged state, with Mr Lukashenka as his deputy.

ECONOMIST: Slavic disunion? | The