CHICAGO – Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich met with a renowned Chicago criminal lawyer Saturday as he weighed his legal options on how to fight a scandal that has left his career in tatters and disrupted President-elect Barack Obama’s White House transition. The Democratic governor had a four-hour... 

NEW YORK – A prominent cigarette paper maker with drug-culture cachet is accusing a T-shirt company of stealing its distinctive style for a design celebrating President-elect Barack Obama’s victory. Bambu Sales Inc. — a 244-year-old firm that proudly notes its products’ inclusion... 

A perplexing new chapter is unfolding in Barack Obama’s racial saga: Many people insist that “the first black president” is actually not black. Debate over whether to call this son of a white Kansan and a black Kenyan biracial, African-American, mixed-race, half-and-half, multiracial... 

WASHINGTON – President-elect Barack Obama, relatively young and inexperienced, is facing a rapidly growing list of monumental challenges as he prepares to take the reins of a nation in turmoil. “I do not underestimate the enormity of the task that lies ahead,” Obama said after his... 

WASHINGTON – With Congress gridlocked and the economy floundering, the Bush administration declared Friday it would step in to prevent the “precipitous collapse” of the U.S. auto industry and the disastrous loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs sure to follow. A day after the sudden... 

WASHINGTON – The inauguration committee of President-elect Barack Obama, who ran on a platform to change the way business is done in Washington, is selling four-day packages of four tickets to his historic swearing-in ceremony and parade plus some extras in exchange for ,000. The deal does represent... 

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – In an unprecedented move, the Illinois attorney general asked the state’s highest court Friday to strip scandal-plagued Gov. Rod Blagojevich of his powers. Lisa Madigan took the action as pressure on the governor intensified to step down and lawmakers considered impeachment.... 

MANAMA, Bahrain – The commander of the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet expressed doubt Friday about the wisdom of launching attacks against Somali pirates on land — a proposal the U.S. is circulating to the U.N. Security Council. U.S. Vice Adm. Bill Gortney told reporters that striking pirate... 

Dec. 12 (Bloomberg) — The competition to fill President- elect Barack Obama’s former U.S. Senate seat moved away from backroom politicking and into the open yesterday, after U.S. prosecutors charged that Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich tried to peddle the post to the highest bidder. ... 

WASHINGTON – A bailout-weary Congress killed a billion package to aid struggling U.S. automakers Thursday night after a partisan dispute over union wage cuts derailed a last-ditch effort to revive the emergency aid before year’s end. Republicans, breaking sharply with President George W.... 

WASHINGTON – Prospects for passage of a billion auto industry rescue package dimmed Thursday amid strong Republican opposition, despite urgent appeals by both President-elect Barack Obama and the Bush White House. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell came out against the legislation —... 

WASHINGTON – Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton would make about ,700 less as secretary of state than her predecessor, Condoleezza Rice. Congress late Wednesday lowered the salary for the nation’s top diplomat to keep Clinton’s nomination from running afoul of the Constitution. An obscure...