CHICAGO (AP) -- President-elect Barack Obama will meet with congressional leaders to discuss his economic stimulus plan and other legislative issues soon after his arrival in Washington in the coming days....

Australia is considering a request from the Bush administration to resettle detainees from Guantanamo Bay, though it is unlikely to accept, the prime minister's office said Friday.

The Nederland man who shot and killed a general manager at Eldora Mountain Resort killed himself after getting into a shootout with a deputy, the Boulder County coroner's office said.

The U.S. Coast Guard is searching for a cruise ship employee who fell overboard, just two days after Mexico called off its search for a passenger believed to have fallen off another ship into the Gulf of Mexico.

Three adults and two children were killed early Thursday in a house fire in Washington, an official said.

Britney Spears’ brother tied the knot in a private New Orleans ceremony on New Year's Eve, People Magazine reports.

ASPEN, Colo. (AP) -- They rang in 2009 a day late in Aspen after a former resident unhappy that his hometown has become a resort playground for the wealthy vowed "mass death" and left four bombs around downtown before killing himself....

A Muslim family was removed from an AirTran flight after passengers became concerned about their conversation over the safest place to sit. Atif Irfan says AirTran officials refused to let his family back on the plane, even after FBI investigators cleared them of wrongdoing.

Tiny diamonds found in the soil are "strong evidence" a comet exploded on or above North America nearly 13,000 years ago, leading to the extinction of dozens of mammal species, according to a study.

Investigators posted photos of the unidentified victims of a catastrophic nightclub fire outside a Bangkok police station Friday in hopes that relatives would be able to identify them.

The second suspected U.S. missile strike in two days killed four suspected Islamic militants in northwest Pakistan, intelligence officials said Friday.

SEATTLE (AP) -- Falling snow and a high threat of avalanches prompted officials to close three main east-west mountain passes in Washington state on New Year's Day and at least two of the highways were expected to remain shut down into Friday....

The passengers on a flight from Reagan National Airport allegedly made suspicious remarks.

Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten and national security adviser Stephen Hadley express frustration over inability to improve the president's popularity.

The hotel that will be home to President-elect Barack Obama and his family for the next couple of weeks offers one of Washington's best views of their future home, the White House, and a past linked with political movers and shakers.

Israel on Thursday bombed the homes of two top Hamas military figures, killing at least one of them. Nizar Rayan was described as ranking "among Hamas' top five decision-makers." The strikes occurred hours before Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said the assault on Hamas in Gaza has "achieved changes."

Following the government's billion dollar bailout to the automobile and financial sectors, a Connecticut lawmaker is petitioning to save the local newspaper, Reuters reported.

A fire raced through a two-story nightclub packed with hundreds of well-heeled New Year's revelers early Thursday, killing at least 61 people as they stampeded to escape the raging flames.

A woman and her two small daughters got more than their expected scenic tour through downtown Vienna on Thursday, when a team of unruly horses took them on a wild ride — leaving the coachman behind.