Yahoo! News: U.S. News

Democratic opposition to seating Burris cracks (AP)

AP - Senate Democrats are looking for ways to defuse the standoff that has denied Roland Burris the vacated Senate seat of President-elect Barack Obama of Illinois, but maybe not much longer.

Experts: Crosswinds a factor in Denver air crash (AP)

AP - It was very windy when a Continental Airlines jet was destroyed while trying to take off in Denver last month, leading aviation safety experts to cite crosswinds as a likely factor in the accident.

Boy's 1999 disappearance raises questions, regrets (AP)

AP - No one claims to know what happened that summer in 1999 when 11-year-old Adam Herrman disappeared from the mobile home park where he lived with his adoptive parents.

End to Minn. Senate race pushed even further out (AP)

AP - Minnesota's grueling U.S. Senate race, already dragging on two months past Election Day, has now moved even further from the voters — and into the hands of lawyers.

Engineer: Tenn. ash spill warning signs ignored (AP)
AP - The nation's largest government-run utility ignored two small leaks that could have provided a warning years before a coal ash pond collapsed, flooding a neighborhood with a billion gallons of sludge, a former federal regulator contends.
State unemployment claim systems overwhelmed (AP)

AP - Electronic unemployment filing systems have crashed in at least three states in recent days amid an unprecedented crush of thousands of newly jobless Americans seeking benefits, and other states were adjusting their systems to avoid being next.

2 men, teen charged in gang rape of Calif. lesbian (AP)

AP - Two men and a teenager were charged Tuesday in the alleged gang rape of a lesbian in the San Francisco Bay area.

AP Exclusive: Calendar shows key Ill. gov meetings (AP)
AP - Gov. Rod Blagojevich's official calendar shows he met with a top union official in his Chicago office the day before Barack Obama was elected president — just as federal prosecutors say the governor was scheming to trade Obama's Senate seat, possibly for a cushy union job.
Ala. policeman feared missing arrested in Vegas (AP)

AP - Sgt. Faron White's job running a squad that targeted drug dealers, gamblers and other organized crime in a northern Alabama city earned him accolades but was filled with pressure.

Gov. Schwarzenegger rejects latest budget proposal (AP)
AP - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed an $18 billion deficit-cutting package Tuesday that legislative Democrats characterized as the only "game in town."
Blagojevich race card lands softly in Senate fight (AP)

AP - The first race card of the Obama era is now in play. In an apparent bid to save his political life — or perhaps just irritate and confound his enemies — Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is trying to wedge a black man into the all-white Senate. On Tuesday, Blagojevich's choice, Roland Burris, was turned away on Capitol Hill when he tried to take his seat.

Ex-eBay CEO largely unknown amid Calif. gov.'s bid (AP)

AP - Former eBay executive Meg Whitman brings intrigue and a big bank account to California's beleaguered Republican Party.

Death of Travolta's son raises medical questions (AP)

AP - Millions of children and adults have seizures in the United States, but dying from one is rare. That only adds to the confusion and mystery surrounding the life and death of Jett Travolta, the 16-year-old son of actors John Travolta and Kelly Preston.

Obama plays food critic on Chicago public TV (AP)
AP - Barack and Michelle Obama are known for nights out on the town in Chicago, dining at some of its poshest restaurants with the smartest chefs. But who knew the president-elect was a food critic?
LA water cops hunt wasteful faucets, sprinklers (AP)
AP - The green thumbs who keep lawns lush and flora flourishing in the city have found a new foe among the aphids, white flies and other yard pests — the water police.
Prosecutor: Ex-Calif. sheriff cheated to get job (AP)

AP - A former Orange County sheriff gave power to a millionaire businessman who laundered money to help him win his first election, then continued accepting bribes and kickbacks in exchange for the influence of his office, a federal prosecutor said Tuesday in closing arguments.

Police arrest parishioners at New Orleans church (AP)
AP - Police on Tuesday cleared out two New Orleans Catholic churches occupied by former parishioners opposed to the archdiocese's decision to close them, breaking down a door at one.
Lawyer: Train engineer regularly used cell phone (AP)
AP - Lawyers for more than a dozen victims in a deadly commuter rail crash accused the engineer's employer of ignoring complaints that he regularly used his cell phone while operating trains.
Ore. woman wakes up wounded by bullet through wall (AP)
AP - It wasn't until the nurse in the emergency room lifted up a phone and said, "We've got a gunshot victim," that Sandra Howell understood why her arm hurt so much.
Ex-refugee now 1st Vietnamese-American congressman (AP)

AP - When Anh "Joseph" Cao was 8 and Saigon was about to fall, his mother asked if he wanted to take a trip to the beach.