LONDON, Dec. 5  -- Scientist say it will cost more than $20 million to repair Europe's Large Hadron Collider.

Washington  - The US military is preparing for a buildup of as many as 20,000 troops next year in Afghanistan to step up the fight against the Taliban and al-Qaeda insurgency, a top US commander said Friday.

The military has started building housing, latrines and other infrastructure needed to support the increase, Major General Michael Tucker, the deputy commander of US forces in Afghanistan, told reporters at the Pentagon via teleconference.

Washington  - US president-elect Barack Obama raised 745 million dollars over the course of his successful White House run, shattering previous fundraising records and more than double that of his rival John McCain, according to final campaign filings released Friday.

The record intake included 104 million dollars raised between October 16 and November 24, giving Obama a massive fundraising advantage in the US election's waning weeks and helping propel him to victory on November 4.

NEW YORK, Dec. 5  -- Dallas Stars forward Sean Avery was suspended by the NHL for six games for comments he made about his former girlfriend and another player.

Avery, 28, had been suspended indefinitely by the league following his statements Tuesday regarding Calgary defenseman Dion Phaneuf and Elisha Cuthbert. On Friday, league officials defined the penalty.

The NHL cited provisions of its constitution regarding conduct detrimental to the league in justifying the suspension.

In addition to the suspension, which is without pay, Avery has agreed to undergo a professional anger-management evaluation.

NEW YORK, Dec. 5  -- U. S. stock indexes declined Friday after the Labor Department said unemployment had reached 6.7 percent in a recession now digging it its heels.

The U. S. employment picture includes 533,000 non-farm jobs lost in November, 403,000 lost in October and 320,000 in September, the department said.

In early afternoon trading, the Dow Jones industrial average lost 136.83 points, or 1.63 percent, to 8,239.41. The Standard and Poor's 500 fell 1.67 percent, 14.09 points, to
831.13. The Nasdaq composite index lost 15.85 points, 1.1 percent, to 1,429.71.

The benchmark 10-year U. S. Treasury bond fell 8/32 to yield 2.584 percent.

Los Angeles  - Rock guitarist Joe Satriani has sued British supergroup Coldplay, claiming that their hit single Viva la Vida was largely copied from his instrumental track If I Could Fly.