Vice President Dick Cheney said Sunday that Israel did not seek U.S. approval before a ground invasion against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the bloodiest Mideast clash in years now escalating into urban warfare.

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip –– A missile hit their uncle's house, which was made of concrete and so, the Basal family had thought, safer than their more flimsy one. Fida Basal, 20, was not there when the missile struck Sunday, the day after Israel began its ground invasion of Gaza. But her sister, Hanin, 18, was.

NYALA, Sudan –– International mediators pushing for new negotiations on Darfur are being hampered by divisions among Darfur's rebels and by some rebels' hopes that genocide charges will bring down Sudan's president.

BAGHDAD
A woman hiding among Iranian pilgrims with a bomb strapped under her black robe killed more than three dozen people Sunday outside a Baghdad mosque during ceremonies commemorating the death of one of Shi'ite Islam's most revered saints.

NEW YORK | Just a dozen years ago, newspapers on either side of Arlington, Texas, fought fiercely for every reader in the fast–growing city, spending millions of dollars to expand their staffs and cover the smallest meetings and sporting events.
So it came as a surprise that the Dallas Morning News and the Fort Worth Star–Telegram started sharing photos and concert reviews in November.

WASHINGTON (AP) ––President–elect Barack Obama received a rude welcome to Washington on Sunday as congressional Democrats dashed his hopes for a speedy response to the worst economic crisis in decades.

NEW DELHI | The sophistication of the Mumbai attacks points to the involvement of "state actors" in Pakistan, India's home minister said Sunday, ahead of a visit to the United States with a dossier of evidence.

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip –– Thousands of Israeli troops backed by tanks and helicopter gunships surrounded Gaza's largest city and fought militants at close range Sunday, the first full day of an overwhelming ground offensive in the coastal territory.

RAHAT, Israel | A rocket exploded a few 100 yards from Mateb Abu Nasr's house, driving home the message that tens of thousands of Israeli Arabs living within range of militant attacks from Gaza are just as vulnerable as their Jewish neighbors.

Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine is set to become the next chairman of the Democratic Party.
Two Democratic officials said Sunday that President–elect Barack Obama has chosen the governor to take over the Democratic National Committee.

Notable events leading to New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson's withdrawal of his bid to become commerce secretary:

WASHINGTON –– Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico, President–elect Barack Obama's nominee for commerce secretary, withdrew from consideration for that job Sunday, saying a pending investigation into whether his administration gave lucrative contracts to a political donor would have "forced an untenable delay" in his confirmation.

CHICAGO –– Just days before a high–stakes showdown in the nation's capital, the man selected to take President–elect Barack Obama's vacated U.S. Senate seat sought spiritual and political support Sunday at a South Side Chicago church.

Taliban militants in a former tourist region of Pakistan have banned girls from school beginning this month, claiming female education is contrary to Islam.

WASHINGTON –– President–elect Barack Obama plans to include about $300 billion in tax cuts for workers and businesses in his economic recovery program as he seeks to win over congressional skeptics worried that he was too focused on government spending, advisers said Sunday.

A couple articles of note today.

ROOSEVELT: Sirota attempts to cast aspersions on recent research that shows how Roosevelt policies prolonged the Depression. His article is by no means seminal, but you might be interested in reading my criticism.

HEALTH CARE DEBATE: By far, the best article of the day relates to Obama's health care solutions, plural because several Democrats are still feeding input into the policy decision. This subject will have probably the biggest impact on the US in future decades. Unfortunately, that impact will be as great as the bankruptcy of Medicare and Social Security.

How many more of these wild–eyed liberal schemes can the country afford? The real solution is to get health care solutions back into the hands of the consumer. Most of the Democrats' plans do just the opposite. They take away personal choice and LIBERTY. And they place the decisions into the hands of bureaucrats in Washington DC.

Survival of our capitalistic Democracy is at stake. The receivers of government largess will soon exceed the taxpayers ability to give. For sure, they will outvote the workers who provide the funds. This is one of the major criteria for the failure of democracies. When those voting can take away the wealth of producers and give it to the non–producers, the minority of producers will be unable to stem the tide. Democracy will fail.

On that happy note, try to have a good week.

In the three years since Hurricane Katrina, immigrant laborers drawn to the construction and service industry jobs created by the storm's destruction have transformed this rebuilding city. In an accelerated version of the already rapid Hispanic migration to the South, they are forging their own support networks, establishing businesses, packing churches and starting families – a process that usually takes a decade or more.

VIENNA, Austria (AP) ––More nations must take in Guantanamo inmates once the U.S.–run prison closes, the U.N.'s torture investigator said Monday, insisting that many were held simply because they were "in the wrong place at the wrong time."

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) | Some business owners in this crime–plagued city say recent enforcement of a decades–old ordinance prohibiting some types of barbed wire and razor wire is making Newark more attractive – to thieves.

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) ––Israel seized control of high–rise buildings and attacked houses, mosques and smuggling tunnels as it pressed its offensive against the Gaza Strip's Hamas rulers on Monday, even as a stream of European leaders headed to the region to push for a truce.

Houma, La. (AP) ––Federal investigators were set to begin probing Monday why a helicopter bound for an offshore oil platform crashed in Louisiana's marshlands, killing eight and critically injuring another.

BEIJING, China (AP) ––China launched a major crackdown on Internet pornography Monday targeting popular online portals and major search engines such as Google.

GUATEMALA CITY, (AP) ––A northern Guatemala mudslide has left at least 22 people dead and 15 injured.

The family of a Navy pilot missing since his plane was shot down during the first Gulf War isn't ready to give up hope that he is alive and say they will oppose any decision to declare him killed in action.

President–elect Barack Obama's main inaugural ball on Jan. 20 will be dubbed a "Neighborhood Ball" and will focus on ordinary Americans, giving some free tickets to D.C. residents and using technology to link communities around the country with the event.

NEW YORK | The recession has reached the ritzy Rainbow Room, the special–occasion spot that overlooks Midtown Manhattan from high above the tourist–attracting Rockefeller Center skating rink.

Fifteen years after his uprising shocked Mexico's status quo, and a year after he more or less dropped out of public view, Subcommander Marcos made a comeback appearance.