Burris rejected in bid for Senate seat

Roland Burris failed in his bid to take President-elect Barack Obama's Illinois Senate seat on Tuesday in a scripted piece of political theater staged just before the opening of the 111th Congress.

Mortgages: What you need to know in 2009
Mortgage rates are at historic lows and may be poised to go even lower next year. It's a great time to buy a home — if you can.

Phillies reliever suspended 50 games for drug

Phillies reliever J.C. Romero and Yankees minor league pitcher Sergio Mitre were suspended for the first 50 games of next season after testing positive for a banned substance.

Obama: No pork in stimulus bill

President-elect Barack Obama says he will bar pork-barrel projects from the massive economic stimulus bill he wants Congress to pass.

Baby's corpse thrown out with hospital's trash
Police are searching garbage dumps in New Jersey and Pennsylvania for the body of a baby that was apparently thrown out with the trash at a Jersey City hospital.

Policeman feared missing arrested in Vegas

An Alabama police organized crime specialist who vanished last week was arrested in Las Vegas and accused of staging his disappearance to cover up a theft, police said Tuesday.

Prayer for laid-off workers: 'Calm my soul'
The Church of England published a prayer Tuesday to help comfort Britons who lose their jobs in the financial crisis.

Turn to generics slows ‘07 health care spending
Spending on health care slowed slightly in 2007 as consumers turned more to generic drugs instead of brand-names to fill their medicine cabinets, the government reported.

Europe hit with natural gas shortage

The Russia-Ukraine natural gas dispute hit Europe with the force of a winter storm Tuesday, cutting or limiting supplies to nearly a dozen nations.

Billionaire kills himself over financial crisis

The family of Adolf Merckle says the German billionaire committed suicide after his business empire got into trouble because of the global financial crisis.