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....

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) -- Israel's expanding ground and air offensive against Gaza's Hamas rulers took a heavy civilian toll Monday, including three young brothers reported killed by a crashing shell and wounded who filled hospital corridors....

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) -- 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....

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" despite boiling controversy over his appointment to President-elect Barack Obama's seat in Congress....

EL DORADO, Kan. (AP) -- 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....

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) -- Israel's expanding ground and air offensive against Gaza's Hamas rulers took a heavy civilian toll Monday, including three young brothers reported killed by a crashing shell and wounded who filled hospital corridors....

JERUSALEM (AP) -- The contours of a cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas are emerging, with diplomacy focusing on international guarantees, including foreign border monitors to oversee any agreement....

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) -- Wailing in grief, Salah Samouni banged his head against a wall inside the hospital morgue where the bodies of his three young nephews lay on the floor Monday....

JERUSALEM (AP) -- Israel military says 3 soldiers killed, 24 wounded by friendly fire....

UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- The Palestinians urged the U.N. Security Council on Monday to quickly adopt a resolution calling for an immediate end to Israeli attacks in Gaza and a permanent cease-fire, including international border monitors and an international force to protect civilians....

PARIS (AP) -- A European convert to Islam allegedly caught on camera beside Osama bin Laden denied Monday any role in a 2002 suicide attack on a Tunisian synagogue allegedly ordered by the self-described mastermind of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the U.S....

ATHENS, Greece (AP) -- Greek anti-terror police are investigating an attack Monday against riot police in Athens that severely wounded a policeman and raised fears of a resurgence of domestic terrorism....

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) -- The son of an Islamic preacher became the first Moroccan-born mayor of a Dutch city Monday, an appointment welcomed by his political friends and foes as a landmark in the successful integration of immigrants....