Business-to-Business

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The chairman of the Senate Rules Committee has parted with many of her Democratic colleagues and says that the Senate should seat former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris....

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President-elect Barack Obama has approached CNN's chief medical correspondent, Sanjay Gupta, to be the country's next surgeon general, the cable network said Tuesday....

GAZA CITY, Gaza (AP) -- Israeli mortar shells struck outside a U.N. school where hundreds of Palestinians had sought refuge on Tuesday, killing at least 30 people - many of them children whose parents wailed in grief at a hospital filled with dead and wounded....

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Capitol rang loud with vows to fix the crisis-ridden economy Tuesday as Congress opened for business at the dawn of a new Democratic era. "We need action and we need action now," said Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Republicans agreed, and pledged cooperation in Congress as well as with President-elect Barack Obama - to a point....

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President-elect Barack Obama had to do a little fence-mending Tuesday with the new Congress controlled by his own party - apologizing to a key Senate Democrat for failing to consult on his decision to name veteran Washington hand Leon Panetta CIA director....

NEW YORK (AP) -- Drew Brees understood what breaking a record set by Dan Marino would mean to the New Orleans Saints....

DENVER (AP) -- Denver Nuggets All-Star Carmelo Anthony will miss at least three weeks with a broken bone in his shooting hand, but he won't need surgery....

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- Jason Giambi might just finish his career where it began more than a decade ago. The free-agent first baseman was close to completing a deal Tuesday to return to the Oakland Athletics nearly 14 years after making his debut with the club, according to two people familiar with the negotiations. The sides had reached a preliminary agreement, pending a physical, on what is expected to be a one-year contract with an option....

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- A gun owned by Indianapolis Colts star Marvin Harrison was used in an April shooting, but investigators still can't determine who pulled the trigger, the city's chief prosecutor said Tuesday....

NEW YORK (AP) -- 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. The suspensions were announced Tuesday by Major League Baseball....

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- It's not exactly a presidential pardon, but prosecutors have agreed to drop charges filed against "W." actors Josh Brolin and Jeffrey Wright after an incident a Louisiana bar last year....

OCALA, Fla. (AP) -- This small central Florida town is about as far from Hollywood as you can get. Maybe that's why actor John Travolta moved his family here....

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- New "American Idol" judge Kara DioGuardi says the singing contest's eighth year begins with the balance tilted in favor of male contestants....

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- One of the digital wizards behind such cartoon smashes as "WALL-E," "Ratatouille" and "Finding Nemo" is getting an Academy Award....

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Fugitive director Roman Polanski received a message from prosecutors in a sexually explicit court motion Tuesday that all is not forgiven and they will fight dismissal of a three-decade-old conviction for raping a 13-year-old....

McMINNVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Jolene Solomon is beginning the new year with her life, her mule named Lou and little else. The Southern Standard in McMinnville reported Solomon had just finished eating supper on New Year's Day when Lou's braying and acting up got her attention....

OGDEN, Utah (AP) -- Talk about deep cleaning. An woman was recovering after spending more than a day lodged inside a vent at her home after falling in while vacuuming it. Ogden police Lt. Scott Sangberg said they came to the 55-year-old woman's house after family members called police to say they hadn't heard from her in more than a day....

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) -- A scorned 21-year-old told her ex-boyfriend that he couldn't prove she was the one who vandalized his apartment on three occasions - but then, police said, she posted a picture of the damage on MySpace. The woman was charged with two felonies for the vandalism....

WICOMICO CHURCH, Va. (AP) -- A 6-year-old Virginia boy who missed his bus tried to drive to school in his family's sedan - and crashed. His parents were charged with child endangerment. State police said the boy suffered only minor injuries and authorities drove him to school after he was evaluated at a local hospital for a bump on his head. He arrived shortly after lunch, Sgt. Tom Cunningham said....

JACKSON, Ohio (AP) -- Police say an angry 4-year-old Ohio boy grabbed a gun from a closet and shot his baby sitter. Nathan Beavers, 18, was hospitalized Sunday with minor wounds to his arm and side after the shotgun attack. Police say another teen was also injured....