Obama plunges into pre-inaugural talks (AP)
Tue, 06 Jan 2009 01:51:19 GMT
AP - President-elect Barack Obama plunged into rare pre-inaugural crisis talks with congressional leaders Monday, declaring the national economy was "bad and getting worse" and embracing tax cuts now expected to reach $300 billion. He predicted lawmakers would approve a mammoth revitalization package within two weeks of his taking office.

Obama's intel picks short on direct experience (AP)
Tue, 06 Jan 2009 01:49:19 GMT
AP - President-elect Barack Obama's decision to fill the nation's top intelligence jobs with two men short on direct experience in intelligence gathering surprised the spy community and signaled the Democrat's intention for a clean break from Bush administration policies.

Diplomats seek truce as Gaza's civilian toll rises (AP)
Tue, 06 Jan 2009 01:48:47 GMT
AP - Israel's expanding ground and air offensive against Gaza's Hamas rulers took a heavy civilian toll Monday, including three young brothers reported killed by a crashing shell and wounded who filled hospital corridors.

Burris declares he's a senator despite controversy (AP)
Tue, 06 Jan 2009 01:47:35 GMT
AP - Senate Democrats struggled to avert a showdown steeped in race and corruption Monday as a defiant Roland Burris declared, "I'm a United States senator" despite boiling controversy over his appointment to President-elect Barack Obama's seat in Congress.

Franken on top in Minn. recount; Coleman to sue (AP)
Mon, 05 Jan 2009 23:23:19 GMT
AP - A Minnesota board on Monday certified results showing Democrat Al Franken winning the state's U.S. Senate recount over Republican Norm Coleman, whose lawyer promised a legal challenge that probably will keep the race in limbo for months.

Records reveal anguish of anthrax suspect's wife (AP)
Tue, 06 Jan 2009 01:31:29 GMT
AP - Anthrax mailing suspect Bruce Ivins tormented his wife with rudeness and behaved erratically in the weeks before the Army scientist took his own life by overdosing on Tylenol, according to documents released Monday.

Milky Way — the galaxy — not snack-sized anymore (AP)
Mon, 05 Jan 2009 22:44:13 GMT
AP - Take that, Andromeda! For decades, astronomers thought when it came to the major galaxies in Earth's cosmic neighborhood, our Milky Way was a weak sister to the larger Andromeda. Not anymore. The Milky Way is considerably larger, bulkier and spinning faster than astronomers once thought, Andromeda's equal.

Death certificate: Travolta son killed by seizure (AP)
Tue, 06 Jan 2009 01:40:43 GMT
AP - Jett Travolta's body shows no sign of head trauma and his death certificate says he was killed by a seizure, an undertaker said Monday, as the 16-year-old's celebrity parents prepared to return his remains to the United States.

Boy, 4, shoots babysitter for stepping on his foot (AP)
Tue, 06 Jan 2009 00:48:13 GMT
AP - Police say a 4-year-old boy in southern Ohio shot his babysitter because the sitter accidentally stepped on his foot. Police said 18-year-old Nathan Beavers and several other teenagers were babysitting several young children in a mobile home in Jackson on Sunday when the shooting occurred.

AP Source: Bradley, Cubs agree to $30M, 3-yr deal (AP)
Tue, 06 Jan 2009 01:40:25 GMT
AP - The Chicago Cubs and free agent Milton Bradley reached a preliminary agreement Monday on a $30 million, three-year contract, according to a person familiar with the negotiations. The deal is subject to a physical scheduled for Thursday, the person said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the deal had not been finalized.