Rapport with Obama will be key for Clinton

Hillary Clinton's success as secretary of state may depend as much on Obama's willingness to admit her to his inner circle as her mastery of the job, officials say.

It's official: U.S. is in recession
A panel of the National Bureau of Economic Research said Monday that the U.S. economy fell into a recession last year.

Birmingham mayor faces bribery charges
The mayor of Alabama's largest city was arrested Monday on federal bribery and fraud charges connected to a sewer bond deal that has driven the surrounding county to the brink of bankruptcy.

Court dissolves Thai government

Thailand's Constitutional Court has dissolved the main ruling party and banned the prime minister along with 36 party executives from politics for 5 years.

Obama names Clinton to top role

President-elect Barack Obama announced former rival Hillary Rodham Clinton as his choice for secretary of state Monday and also said he would keep Robert Gates as defense minister.

AP: Feds ignored meltdown warnings

The Bush administration ignored remarkably prescient warnings that foretold the financial meltdown, according to an Associated Press review of regulatory documents.

India: Pakistan must take 'strong action'

India formally demanded that Pakistan take "strong action" against the people behind the Mumbai attacks.

Dow plummets nearly 8 percent
The reality that the nation is indeed in recession and that the downturn may well be prolonged sent Wall Street plunging, hurtling the Dow down nearly 700 points.

Shoppers in trampling death sought

A worker trampled to death when customers stormed a Wal-Mart for bargains on the day after Thanksgiving had no experience in crowd control and was placed at the entrance because of his size, police say.

Personality disorder rife among young
Almost one in five young American adults has a personality disorder that interferes with everyday life, and even more abuse alcohol or drugs, researchers report.