AP - No longer foes but not yet allies, President-elect Barack Obama and John McCain buried their bitter campaign in public smiles and searched for common ground in private on Monday, discussing possible collaboration on climate change, immigration, Guantanamo Bay and more.

Reuters - Stunned, bedraggled evacuees began returning home on Monday to three areas of southern California ravaged by wildfires, some finding their homes and cars reduced to piles of smoldering, melted rubble.

AP - Even a make-believe psychic couldn't spot the scam when an actor disrupted a scene for "Medium" involving Patricia Arquette, who stars as psychic Allison DuBois in the NBC drama.

AP - Barack Obama's incoming administration is unlikely to bring criminal charges against government officials who authorized or engaged in harsh interrogations of suspected terrorists during the George W. Bush presidency. Obama, who has criticized the use of torture, is being urged by some constitutional scholars and human rights groups to investigate possible war crimes by the Bush administration.

AP - Citigroup, widely seen as the sickest Wall Street bank, will make some of the most severe cuts in the history of U.S. business — 53,000 jobs — as it tries to slash costs and get back to basics before it's too late.

AP - Astronauts hitched a giant shipping crate full of home improvement "goodies" to the international space station on Monday, a critical step for boosting the population in orbit.

Reuters - The top U.S. military officer on Monday gave a cautious welcome to the new U.S.-Iraqi pact that calls for U.S. forces to leave the country in three years, but he warned security conditions could change.

Reuters - U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke came to Capitol Hill on Monday to field questions from leading Democrats on how the $700 billion financial bailout bill is working.

Reuters - A report released on Monday concluded that Gulf War syndrome is a legitimate illness suffered by more than 175,000 U.S. war veterans who were exposed to chemical toxins in the 1991 Gulf War.

Reuters - Stocks fell on Monday on concerns of an accelerating global slowdown after Japan's surprise news it had fallen into recession and Citigroup Inc, the No. 2 U.S. bank, said it would cut 52,000 jobs, far more than had been expected.

AP - Prospects dimmed Monday for enactment of a $25 billion bailout for the faltering auto industry before year's end, as congressional Democrats and the Bush administration seemed headed for a stalemate.

AP - The U.S.-Iraqi security pact now before parliament calls for U.S. forces to leave Iraq's cities by June 30 in recognition of an improved security climate, but the deadline poses a key test for Iraqi forces in places like Baghdad and the northern city of Mosul where attacks still occur daily.

AP - The outgoing Bush administration has told top lawmakers it does not plan to use at least half of the $700 billion bailout fund that Congress approved this fall to aid the financial industry, congressional officials said Monday. The Treasury Department denied the claim, but stopped short of saying the funds would be tapped.

AP - The son of an Arab monarch took the King of Pop to court Monday, charging that Michael Jackson took $7 million as an advance on an album and an autobiography that he never produced.

Reuters - The White House and congressional Democrats launched a post-election showdown on Monday over how to rescue U.S. automakers with millions of jobs, more than a century of iconic brands, and potentially economic confidence, riding on the outcome.