U.S. National - AP

WASHINGTON - 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.

CHICAGO - State legislators weighing evidence against Gov. Rod Blagojevich may finish their work before getting any tapes of the governor's conversations that were made secretly by the FBI, attorneys indicated Monday.

MILWAUKEE - A whopper about a devious baby and his diapers is the top lie of 2008, an organization of champion fibbers declared Monday.

PARIS, Texas - A fire fueled by donated clothes ripped through a homeless shelter in northeastern Texas early Monday, killing five residents as some tried dousing the blaze with pans of water.

EL DORADO, Kan. - The Kansas parents who failed to report their 11-year-old adopted son missing nearly a decade ago are "people of interest" as authorities search for him nationwide, a sheriff said Monday.

ST. PAUL, Minn. - 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.

SANTA FE, N.M. - Gov. Bill Richardson's gold-plated resume had never been tarnished as he moved up the political ladder from congressman and diplomat to governor.

DAYTON, Ohio - A man was arrested in the shooting death of a woman whose 4-year son was abducted and left unharmed at a highway rest area, authorities said Monday.

NEW YORK - A contractor was charged with manslaughter Monday for allegedly using worn, fraying safety straps that broke apart and caused a crane to crash down on a Manhattan neighborhood, killing seven people in one of the city's worst construction accidents in decades.

MADISON, Ga. - A 13-hour hostage standoff at a Georgia motel ended peacefully Monday when a former South Carolina police officer and a teenage girl surrendered, freeing his estranged wife and infant son.

ALBANY, N.Y. - Caroline Kennedy's missteps and halting speech patterns have been replayed endlessly since she announced her bid to succeed Hillary Rodham Clinton in the U.S. Senate.

RICHLAND, N.Y. - A fast-moving house fire killed eight people, including four young brothers, despite the homeowner's frantic attempts to save them, authorities and a witness said.

DECATUR, Ala. - Authorities searched Monday for the head of a northern Alabama city's organized crime unit, who was last seen working late Friday and then vanished, leaving signs of a struggle in his office.

SAN FRANCISCO - The state's high court ruled Monday that three Southern California parishes that left the U.S. Episcopal Church over its ordination of gay ministers cannot retain ownership of their church buildings and property.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Former eBay Inc. chief executive Meg Whitman plans to run for governor of California, a person with knowledge of her political aspirations said Monday.

WASHINGTON - Welcome to Washington, Mr. President-elect.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - A drug investigator says authorities delayed the arrest of a woman tied to Gov. Sarah Palin's family until after the November election, in which Palin was the Republican vice presidential candidate, a newspaper reported.

PORT ANGELES, Wash. - Authorities combing through 60 tons of trash, searching for the body of a baby allegedly dumped by his 16-year-old mother, found a dead infant in the garbage Monday.

COLUMBIA, S.C. - A former South Carolina trooper caught on video kicking a suspect in the head after a highway chase pleaded guilty Monday to violating the man's civil rights, according to federal court documents.