U.S. National - AFP

CHICAGO (AFP) - Roland Burris, the Illinois statesman tapped by scandal-tainted Governor Rod Blagojevich to replace president-elect Barack Obama in the US Senate, headed for Washington Monday vowing to take his seat despite the controversy.

WASHINGTON (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.

CHICAGO (AFP) - Democrat Al Franken won the recount of ballots for a Minnesota senate seat Monday but the contentious battle was set to drag on for weeks or months as his Republican rival vowed to contest the results.

NEW YORK (AFP) - An airline passenger forced to cover his T-shirt because it displayed Arabic script has been awarded 240,000 dollars in compensation, campaigners said Monday.

CHICAGO (AFP) - US auto sales crashed again in December as the industry posted its worst year since 1992 and the Detroit Three saw their annual share of their home market slip beneath 50 percent for the first time, industry data showed Monday.

NEW YORK (AFP) - US prosecutors on Monday asked a judge to imprison financier Bernard Madoff, saying he has violated his bail as he awaits trial on charges that he operated a massive Wall Street fraud.

SAN DIEGO, California (AFP) - San Diego Chargers star running back LaDainian Tomlinson isn't sure if he'll be fit for Sunday's National Footall League playoff clash at Pittsburgh.

PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania (AFP) - Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl winning quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who suffered a concussion in the Steelers' National Football League regular-season finale, is expected to start their playoff opener.

NASSAU, Bahamas (AFP) - Officials in the Bahamas on Monday conducted an autopsy on Jett Travolta, the teenage son of actor John Travolta and his wife Kelly Preston, who died here last week during a family holiday, police said.

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - Yahoo! and Samsung on Monday said they will put the California firm's software to work linking the South Korean electronics giant's televisions to the Internet.

DOHA (AFP) - Andy Roddick began his 2009 season with a comfortable win and an ambition to recapture the form which took him to victory over all three Grand Slam champions early last year.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Bill Richardson, president-elect Barack Obama's pick to be commerce secretary, said Sunday he was withdrawing his name owing to an investigation into a company doing business with his state of New Mexico.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - President-elect Barack Obama, starting his new life in Washington, faced Sunday the first major embarrassment over his cabinet lineup as his choice for commerce secretary was forced to pull out.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Democrats in Congress hope to approve a massive economic stimulus plan backed by president-elect Barack Obama by early February, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said on Sunday.

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - Apple faithful are making pilgrimages to San Francisco for the start of Macworld, an annual cult-like gathering that this year is expected to lack revelations and iconic leader Steve Jobs.

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - Smart gadgets, lifelike video, and pocket versions of laptop computers are expected to be Consumer Electronics Show (CES) stars as the annual extravaganza follows its gizmos onto the Web.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Incoming US president Barack Obama and his family arrive in Washington this weekend, in time for him to work on an urgent economic recovery plan and his daughters to start classes at their new school.

NEW YORK (AFP) - US stocks may have started the New Year with a bang but experts see major headwinds for the market as the new administration of Barack Obama moves rapidly to eject the economy from prolonged recession.

MIAMI (AFP) - Baltimore's fearsome defense denied Miami another chapter in their storybook National Football League season Sunday as the Ravens defeated the Dolphins 27-9 in a National Football League playoff game.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Antawn Jamison connected on a baseline jump shot to lift the lowly Washington Wizards to an 80-77 victory Sunday over National Basketball Association powerhouses Cleveland.

NEW YORK (AFP) - Actor John Travolta and his wife Kelly Preston said Sunday they were "heartbroken" over the death last week of their son Jett, 16, who was found unconscious during a family vacation in the Bahamas.

CHICAGO (AFP) - Chrysler's US sales plummeted by 53 percent in December, helping to drag 2008 sales down 30 percent to fewer than 1.5 million vehicles, the struggling automaker said Monday.

CHICAGO (AFP) - Toyota Motor reported Monday a 37 percent drop in US sales in December, which helped drag 2008 sales down 16 percent to 2.2 million vehicles.

CHICAGO (AFP) - Democrat Al Franken was set to win the recount of ballots for a Minnesota senate seat Monday but the contentious battle looked far from over as his Republican rival vowed to contest the results.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US president-elect Barack Obama has chosen former lawmaker and White House chief of staff Leon Panetta to head the Central Intelligence Agency, US media reported Monday.

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - Apple's iconic chief executive Steve Jobs, dogged by speculation about his health, announced Monday that he is being treated for a "hormone imbalance" but will remain head of the company.

CHICAGO (AFP) - General Motors posted Monday a 31 percent drop in December US sales which helped pull 2008 sales down 23 percent to just under three million vehicles.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The daughters of president-elect Barack Obama began their new lives in Washington in earnest Monday, turning up on time for their first day at their new school.