Some cities drop criminal-history question

Some major U.S. cities are eliminating questions from their job applications that ask whether prospective employees have ever been convicted of a crime.

Obama girls' first day at new school

Malia and Sasha Obama begin classes at Sidwell Friends under watchful eyes of, well, everyone.

Police search for boy missing 10 years
The 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.

Alaska trooper says politics slowed drug arrest

A drug investigator says authorities delayed the arrest of a woman tied to Gov. Sarah Palin's family until after the November election, in which Palin was the Republican vice presidential candidate, a newspaper reported.

Cuba allows access to Hemingway papers

Cuba on Monday began accepting requests for electronic access to more than 3,000 documents from Ernest Hemingway's home on the island, including the unpublished epilogue of "For Whom the Bell Tolls" and coded messages the author sent when using his yacht to hunt for German submarines during World War II.

NYT: Panetta pick for CIA reveals divisions

Leon E. Panetta has been selected by President-elect Barack Obama to head the C.I.A. The choice immediately revealed divisions in the Democratic Party.

Franken tops recount, lawsuit looms

The Minnesota state Canvassing Board certified results showing Democrat Al Franken the winner of the state's contested Senate race on Monday.

Richardson, Obama teams trade blame

The camps of President-elect Barack Obama and N.M. Gov. Bill Richardson have exchanged comments over the disclosure of information about an investigation into Richardson's gubernatorial office.

Obama, CNN Twitter accounts hacked
Social networking tool Twitter was hit by a major hacker attack on Monday, with several "high profile" accounts — including that of President-elect Barack Obama — taken over by computer criminals, the company said.

Holes in health care means teens face future ills
Many adolescents are falling through cracks in the health care system — what a major new report calls missed opportunities to shape the next generation's health.