GAZA CITY, Gaza (AP) - Israel ignored mounting international calls for a cease-fire and said it won't stop its crippling 10-day assault until "peace and tranquility" are achieved in southern Israeli towns in the line of Palestinian rocket fire. Israeli forces seized control of high-rise buildings Monday and attacked smuggling tunnels and several mosques in a relentless campaign against Hamas militants that took an increasing toll on civilians. The United Nations said at least 500 people have died in the Gaza fighting, about a quarter of them civilians.
WASHINGTON (AP) - President-elect Barack Obama plunged into rare pre-inaugural crisis talks with congressional leaders Monday, declaring the national economy was "bad and getting worse" and embracing tax cuts now expected to reach $300 billion. He predicted lawmakers would approve a mammoth revitalization package within two weeks of his taking office. If the two-year plan is enacted, workers would see larger paychecks almost immediately because taxes withheld by the government would drop. The break would be retroactive to Jan. 1, and couples receiving a $1,000 tax cut would begin receiving an extra $40 in twice-monthly paychecks as the government tries to spark more consumer spending.
WASHINGTON (AP) - President-elect Barack Obama's decision to fill the nation's top intelligence jobs with two men short on direct experience in intelligence gathering surprised the spy community and signaled the Democrat's intention for a clean break from Bush administration policies. Former Clinton White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta, an eight-term congressional veteran and administrative expert, is being tapped to head the CIA. Retired Adm. Dennis Blair is Obama's choice to be director of national intelligence, a selection expected for weeks, according to two Democrats who spoke on condition of anonymity because Obama has not officially announced the choices.
WASHINGTON (AP) - 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. Even as he sought to pressure fellow Democrats, Burris signaled there were limits to his rebelliousness. "I'm not going to make a scene. I don't want to give you all a circus," he told reporters asking whether he intended to breach protocol by attempting to walk uninvited onto the Senate floor on Tuesday.
WASHINGTON (AP) - Republican and Democratic House members said Monday that the alleged $50 billion fraud involving Wall Street figure Bernard Madoff reflects deep, systemic problems at the Securities and Exchange Commission. Inspector General H. David Kotz said he is so concerned about the SEC's failure to uncover Madoff's alleged Ponzi scheme that the IG is expanding the inquiry called for last month by SEC Chairman Christopher Cox. Cox had pushed the blame squarely onto the SEC's career staff for the failure to detect what Madoff was doing.
Records reveal anguish of anthrax suspect's wife FREDERICK, Md. (AP) - Anthrax mailing suspect Bruce Ivins tormented his wife with rudeness and behaved erratically in the weeks before the Army scientist took his own life by overdosing on Tylenol, according to documents released Monday. The Frederick Police Department records also reveal that Ivins acknowledged to a nurse the overdose was intentional. The documents, first obtained by The Frederick News-Post, include details of an earlier overdose of drugs and alcohol that an investigator called a suicide attempt, but which Diane Ivins insisted was accidental.
FREEPORT, Bahamas (AP) - Jett Travolta's body shows no sign of head trauma and his death certificate says he was killed by a seizure, an undertaker said Monday, after doctors performed an autopsy on the 16-year-old son of the U.S actor. The remains of John Travolta's son were being cremated and his parents planned to return to the United States with the ashes on Tuesday, said Keith McSweeney, director of the funeral home handling the body.
Health care spending slows in 2007 with generics WASHINGTON (AP) - 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 Monday. Although the cost of buying drugs, visiting the doctor or going to the hospital continued to increase faster than the overall economy, the 6.1 percent growth rate for all health care spending was the slowest since 1998. In 2006, spending increased 6.7 percent.
TOKYO (AP) - Toyota is suspending production at all 12 of its Japan plants for 11 days over February and March, a stoppage of unprecedented scale for the nation's top automaker as it grapples with shrinking global demand. The last time Toyota Motor Corp. halted production at all its Japan plants was in August 1993, when demand plunged because of a rising yen, and that was for only one day, according to the company.
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) - Left out of the national title game, Colt McCoy and Texas made the most of their trip to the Fiesta Bowl. McCoy hit Quan Cosby for a 26-yard touchdown with 16 seconds to play, lifting third-ranked Texas to a 24-21 victory over No. 10 Ohio State on Monday night. The Longhorns had hoped to use the Fiesta Bowl to persuade voters they deserved a share of the national championship if Oklahoma beats Florida in Thursday night's BCS final. The Associated Press Top 25 is Texas' only chance at nabbing a slice of the title but the close victory over the Buckeyes may not be enough to persuade voters.
