AP - GAZA CITY, Gaza Israel ignored mounting international calls for a cease-fire Monday and said it won't stop its crippling 10-day assault until "peace and tranquility" are achieved in southern Israeli towns in the line of Palestinian rocket fire.
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 - The contours of a cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas are emerging, with diplomacy focusing on international guarantees, including foreign border monitors to oversee any agreement.
AP - The United States inaugurated its largest embassy ever on Monday, a fortress-like compound in the heart of the Green Zone and the most visible sign of what U.S. officials call a new chapter in relations between America and a more sovereign Iraq.
AP - Wailing in grief, Salah Samouni banged his head against a wall inside the hospital morgue where the bodies of his three young nephews lay on the floor Monday.
AFP - A brilliant freekick by Chilean international Carlos Villanueva proved the difference between Premiership side Blackburn Rovers and non-league Blyth Spartans here on Monday as Rovers ran out 1-0 winners.
AP - The Palestinians urged the U.N. Security Council on Monday to quickly adopt a resolution calling for an immediate end to Israeli attacks in Gaza and a permanent cease-fire, including international border monitors and an international force to protect civilians.
AP - Pirates hijacked a French boat and took its nine crew members hostage in the latest attack in some of the world's most dangerous waters off oil-rich southern Nigeria, the boat's owner said Monday.
AFP - China announced Monday it was cracking down on major websites, including search engine giants Google and Baidu, over the spread of pornography and other material that could corrupt young people.
AFP - An Australian woman who allegedly set fire to her husband's genitals because she believed he was having an affair appeared in court on a murder charge Monday.
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 - 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" and flew to the capital to claim President-elect Barack Obama's old 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 - 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 for a Florida funeral.
AP - Carl Pohlad, a billionaire banker whose Minnesota Twins won two World Series titles during nearly his nearly quarter-century as owner, died Monday, a baseball official said. He was 93.
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 - President-elect Barack Obama pressed congressional leaders on Monday to pass his huge spending and tax-cut package amid signs the centerpiece of his economic stimulus plan may face delays.
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.
