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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
AP - Republican and Democratic House members said Monday that the alleged $50 billion fraud involving Wall Street figure Bernard Madoff reflects deep, systemic problems at the Securities and Exchange Commission.
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.
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.
AP - Pat Burrell went from one World Series team to the other. The Tampa Bay Rays added a big bat to the middle of their lineup, agreeing Monday on a $16 million, two-year contract with Burrell.
Reuters - Israeli troops backed by air strikes fought to seize ground from Hamas militants deep inside the Gaza Strip on Monday despite international calls for a ceasefire in a conflict that has killed more than 540 Palestinians in 10 days.
Reuters - U.S. prosecutors asked a judge to jail accused swindler Bernard Madoff on Monday, saying he sent jewelry and other items worth more than $1 million to family and friends in violation of his bail.
Reuters - President-elect Barack Obama has chosen former White House chief of staff Leon Panetta to lead the CIA, which has been widely criticized for harsh interrogation of terrorism suspects, Democratic officials said on Monday.
Reuters - The prospect of new tax cuts in the United States and Germany injected a measure of New Year cheer on Monday, even as automakers wrapped up 2008 as their worst in more than 15 years with yet another month of slumping U.S. sales.
Reuters - With the economic outlook darkening, U.S. president-elect Democrat Barack Obama went to Congress two weeks before taking office to try to entice Republican support for a massive stimulus package with talk of big tax cuts.
Reuters - Apple Inc Chief Executive Steve Jobs sought to soothe investor concerns about his health on Monday, saying his weight loss was caused by a hormone imbalance that is relatively simple to treat.
Reuters - Democrat Al Franken beat Republican incumbent Norm Coleman to win the U.S. Senate seat from Minnesota, officials conducting a final recount said on Monday, though the loser promised to challenge the result.
AFP - The heaviest fighting of Israel's war on Hamas raged in Gaza City early on Tuesday as the Israeli government parried appeals to stop the death toll from mounting further.
AFP - US president-elect Barack Obama has chosen former White House chief of staff Leon Panetta to head the Central Intelligence Agency, a Democratic Party official told AFP Monday.
WASHINGTON, Jan 2 (OneWorld.net) - Hopi and Navajo leaders in Arizona are vowing to fight against a U.S. government decision granting a permit to a coal company that that say has exploited their sacred lands and depleted 60 percent of the tribes' only water source.
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UNITED NATIONS, Jan 1 (OneWorld.net) - Amid growing concerns about a possible humanitarian disaster, international aid organizations and human rights groups are urging the United Nations Security Council to take immediate action against the ongoing Israeli military aggression in Gaza that has resulted in nearly 400 deaths and injuries to over 1,000 people.
WASHINGTON, Dec 31 (OneWorld.net) - Human rights organizations in Muslim-majority countries in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East have expressed "grave concern" for the personal safety of Shirin Ebadi as the renowned human rights defender and her colleagues have faced escalating acts of persecution in recent days.
From reusing wrapping paper to donating leftovers to lighting sustainable candles, here are 12 tips to ensure your holiday season is as environmentally friendly as possible.
WASHINGTON, Dec 22 (OneWorld.net) - Nine months pregnant, Vestine was forced to flee one refugee camp for another, where she gave birth to her second child, Solange, on the dirt floor of her tent just days after arriving. The outside world must help the Congolese people by working to address the root causes of the conflict, says veteran journalist Michael J. Kavanagh.
WASHINGTON, Dec 22 (OneWorld.net) - Some 35 million Europeans could be powering their homes by 2020 from electricity generated by the sun in the deserts of Morocco, Libya, and Jordan, say researchers at the Center for Global Development. Public subsidies of about $20 billion would be needed over 10 years, but the savings in greenhouse gas emissions would be extremely significant.
WASHINGTON, Dec 22 (OneWorld.net) - Students in Guinea-Bissau are still waiting for this year's classes to start, as a lack of basic equipment and teacher pay has held up the beginning of the school year for over two months. In 2003, an entire school year was lost.
WASHINGTON, Dec 20 (OneWorld.net) - Barack Obama has named a strong advocate of powerful action to confront global warming to head the White House Office of Science and Technology. John Holdren, of Harvard University, will also head the president's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.
WASHINGTON, Dec 19 (OneWorld.net) - As the world celebrates the 60th birthday of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights this month, a new music video is circulating on the Internet, bringing together 16 of the world's top musicians -- some of whom have fled oppressive regimes -- in a rousing musical plea to world leaders to guarantee human rights for all.
WASHINGTON, Dec 19 (OneWorld.net) - As President-elect Barack Obama prepares to name a new leader of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and a chief technology officer at the White House, more than 100 advocates of a free and open media -- including some of the most well-known musicians, bloggers, and policy analysts in the country -- are urging him to remain true to campaign pledges to diversify media ownership; renew public media; and promote fast, affordable, and open Internet access.
