Senate secretary turns away Burris

The secretary of the Senate on Tuesday turned Roland Burris away from taking the seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama.

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.

U.N.: 30 die in Israeli strike near Gaza school

Red Cross warns 500,000 civilians in danger; Israel rejects calls for truce.

Pending home sales plunge to record low

Pending sales of existing U.S. homes dropped to a seven-year low in November, data showed on Tuesday.

No effort to seat Franken in Senate Tuesday

On Nov. 5, Norm Coleman stood before TV cameras, declaring victory and saying if he were opponent Al Franken he'd "step back." Now Coleman finds himself down by nearly the same margin.

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.

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.

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.

Prosecutor wants Madoff jailed immediately

A prosecutor says disgraced financier Bernard Madoff violated bail conditions by mailing about $1 million worth of jewelry and other assets to relatives, and wants him jailed.

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.