The chairman of the Republican National Committee said he was "appalled" by a song called "Barack the Magic Negro" on a CD distributed by one of his political rivals.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said that despite President Bush's low approval ratings, people will soon "start to thank this president for what he's done."

As the violence rages in Gaza, President Bush is putting the blame squarely on Hamas, while President-elect Barack Obama is keeping a low profile and sticking by his belief that "there is only one president at a time."

Editta Sherman has marked more than half a century's worth of new years in her apartment above New York's Carnegie Hall. But it's unlikely she will be raising her glass there next year. Known as the Duchess of Carnegie, the 96-year-old came home a few days ago to find an eviction notice on her door. But she's not going without a fight. "They'll have to take me out of here with their bare hands," Sherman says.

Palestinians in Gaza's densely populated capital are in a state of panic as Israel continues its air assault and readies tanks at the border, a United Nations humanitarian spokeswoman told CNN on Monday.

Congressman Charles Rangel's fate hangs in the balance as a report concerning the Ways and Means Committee chairman is being prepared for release in early January.

Clint Eastwood doesn't know if he's a legend.

Somalia's transitional president has resigned amid a power struggle with the African nation's prime minister and parliament, sources told CNN on Monday.

Israeli jets pounded Hamas facilities in Gaza as Hamas retaliated with rockets. Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said the airstrikes will continue "until we have a change on the ground" and that Israel has not ruled out a ground war in Gaza. The death toll from the airstrikes has topped 300, Palestinian medical sources said.

Police say a sizable statue worth more than $10,000 was stolen this month from the posh Florida estate of Bernard Madoff, the Wall Street investment adviser accused of operating a $50 billion Ponzi scheme.

The dramatic developments in Gaza over the past three days have driven Arab citizens to the streets, where they have displayed anger directed first and foremost at their own governments.

The U.S. Army says it will honor the "heroism and sacrifice" of 350 U.S. soldiers who were held as slaves by Nazi Germany during World War II.

Pro-India parties have won enough seats in the state assembly to form a ruling alliance in Indian-administered Kashmir, according to tallies announced Sunday.

After being told by prosecutors that their testimony could jeopardize the ongoing criminal investigation, the Illinois House panel considering impeachment charges against Gov. Rod Blagojevich will not subpoena advisers to President-elect Barack Obama, the panel's chairwoman said Sunday.

A suicide car bomb blast near a voter registration site killed 16 people, 14 of them children, and wounded 58 in southeastern Afghanistan Sunday morning, according to a senior police official and the U.S. military.

Israeli airstrikes pounding Gaza are deepening the humanitarian crisis in an area that was already in deep distress, according to a United Nations aid official.

A suicide car bomb apparently targeting voters killed at least 37 people and wounded 16 others in the Bunair district of Pakistan's North West Frontier Province Sunday, a police official said.

The Iraqi Presidency Council approved a resolution Sunday that will allow non-U.S. foreign troops to remain in Iraq after a U.N. mandate expires at year's end.

The president-elect's senior adviser said that while Barack Obama is monitoring the situation in Gaza closely, "the fact is that there is only one president at a time."

From columns of cloud streaking over the Caspian Sea in January to vast tracts of cleared forest in Bolivia in December. In 2008, the NASA Earth Observatory has captured more stunning images of the Earth.