It's been a rough start for President-elect Barack Obama in first week back at work in Washington, from violence flaring in Gaza to showdowns brewing in the U.S. Senate. But Obama is staying focused on his economic stimulus plan, even if key Republicans remain skeptical.

Former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris has said he intends to go the Capitol Tuesday and begin serving as the state's junior U.S. senator. That looks unlikely, however, because the man who appointed Burris, Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, is facing corruption charges.

President Bush plans to designate three remote Pacific island chains as national monuments. The move will mark the largest marine conservation effort in history.

Verdicts are expected soon in the ongoing scandal over tainted milk in China. The contaminated milk has so far killed six children and made nearly 300,000 sick. The government last week announced details of a compensation plan. Some victims' families are questioning the plan saying the amounts are too low.

Verdicts are expected soon in the ongoing scandal over tainted milk in China. The contaminated milk has so far killed six children and made nearly 300,000 sick. The government last week announced details of a compensation plan, but some victims' families are questioning the plan.

The House Financial Services Committee holds a hearing Monday into the scandal involving disgraced investor Bernard Madoff. Madoff is accused of running a $50 billion Ponzi scheme. Chairman Paul Kanjorski, a Democrat from Pa., tells Steve Inskeep the hearing will investigate why the Securities and Exchange Commission failed to detect the scandal.

Israel's incursion into Gaza has continued for more than a week. Best-selling author Michael Oren is a senior fellow at the Shalem Center in Jerusalem. He's also a reservist working as a spokesman for the Israeli military. He tells Ari Shapiro that this large scale military operation should succeed in deterring Hamas rocket attacks while previous smaller operations failed.

Because of the fighting in Gaza between the Israeli military and Hams militants, it's been difficult to get aid to civilians. A relief convoy from Egypt is headed for the Gaza Strip, but it is slow going.

At a southside Chicago Church last night, there was an emotional introduction for Roland Burris. He's the man selected to fill the vacant U-S Senate seat in Illinois. Democrats have vowed not to seat him because Burris was named by embattled Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich. However, Burris says he's ready for a showdown.

New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson has withdrawn his nomination to be commerce secretary in the Obama Administration. Richardson took his name out of the running amid a federal grand jury investigation into government contracts.

President-elect Barack Obama is in Washington getting ready for his upcoming inauguration. Obama meets with congressional leaders on his economic stimulus plan Monday. Top Democrats are warning that even if lawmakers move quickly, it could take weeks to get the plan ready to be signed into law.

Israeli tanks and infantry units pushed farther into the Gaza Strip on Sunday. Gaza medical officials say more than 30 civilians have been killed since Saturday night; Israeli officials say one Israeli soldier was killed and several dozen were lightly wounded.

Host Liane Hansen talks with NPR's Eric Westervelt, who was at the Israel border with Gaza, about the latest on the Israeli ground attack in Gaza.

Israeli troops overnight took control of a substantial portion of the northern Gaza Strip. Backed by tanks and warplanes, they appear to be attempting to surround the dense population center of Gaza City and to divide the territory in half.

Israeli troops backed by tanks and warplanes took control of significant areas of the northern Gaza strip Sunday, but they encountered stiff resistance from Hamas guerrilla fighters.

Shawn Goldsmith has accomplished a rare feat for a Boy Scout — he earned all 121 merit badges available. You only need 21 to get the title "Eagle" Scout. "If I run into a stranger, there's definitely something to talk about. I have 121 topics to talk about," he says when asked why he did it.

Chinese dairies linked to the tainted milk scandal that sickened thousands of children sent a mass text-message to mobile phone users. "We sincerely apologize and beg your forgiveness," it said.

Mark Regev tells NPR that Israel's ground operation in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip could "end tomorrow — if we can be assured that the civilian population in the southern part of our country will no longer be on the receiving end of these terrible Hamas rockets."

After a week of bombing strikes from the air, Israel sent ground troops into Gaza on Saturday. The operation penetrated the territory at several points and was designed to seize areas of north Gaza being used to launch rockets against Israel, Israeli military officials said.

Israeli air strikes have left more than 400 Gazans dead, and Hamas has continued its rocket fire into Israel. President-elect Obama moves to Washington while his old Senate seat remains the center of controversy in Illinois.

The Israeli military offensive against Hamas militants in Gaza has now been going on for eight days. But the strikes haven't stopped Hamas rockets, which have reached farther into Israel than ever before.

Israeli warplanes continued to strike targets in Gaza over night and into the morning, but that has not stopped Palestinian rockets landing inside Israel.

Robert Malley, director of the International Crisis Group's Middle East program, and Martin Indyk, director of the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution, discuss the possible challenges faced by the incoming Obama administration in the Middle East.

Grocery retailer Giant, which operates about 160 pharmacies in the mid-Atlantic states, is offering free generic drugs this winter. The company says it knows it will lose money, but says its pharmacists have heard many anecdotes about families struggling.

Israel seeks a new situation on the ground, says Sallai Meridor, Israel's ambassador to the United States. He says in order for Israel to agree to a cease-fire, the rocket fire from Hamas must stop and Iran should not be allowed to build a terror base on Israel's border.