National/World

The new Democratic-controlled Congress has opened for business.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says Roland Burris doesn't have the credentials he needs to take the Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama but Burris is getting support from at least one Democratic senator.

Electronic unemployment filing systems have crashed in at least three states in recent days amid an unprecedented crush of newly jobless Americans seeking benefits.

President Bush is designating three areas of the Pacific as national marine monuments in the biggest marine conservation effort in history.

President-elect Barack Obama says the nation probably faces huge deficits for years to come, but heavy spending is needed now to spur the economy.

Five Blackwater Worldwide security guards have pleaded not guilty to manslaughter charges in the 2007 shooting deaths of 17 Iraqi civilians in Baghdad.

Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff is investigating the college football's Bowl Championship Series for a possible violation of federal antitrust laws.

Police in Virginia say the boy drove nearly six miles toward school before hitting an embankment and a utility pole.

The government estimates it will spend $6.5 million by the end of January in salaries and other administrative costs for the $700 billion financial rescue program.

Members of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's impeachment panel plan to move forward even if they don't get to hear federal wiretaps of the governor's conversations.