State

• Ill. governor makes brief courthouse appearance

  • Ill. governor's chief of staff resigns

  • Fundraiser emerges as key event in Illinois probe

  • Republicans criticize Obama aides' silence

National

• Shooting at Ore. funeral service wounds 1

• Bank blast kills police officer in Oregon

• DNA evidence awaits, but signs point to child's ID

• More governors get suspicious letters

• Administration unwilling to see automakers fail

  • Angry UAW members lash out at Southern senators

• Judge temporarily lifts Stevens' law license

• Funeral director convicted in N.Y. body parts trial

International

• Vancouver B.C. Christmas party shooting kills 1

• Commander: Troops to stay in cities past deadline

  • Gates visits Iraq to help prepare for troop cuts

• British PM visits UK troops near Afghan front line

• Zimbabwe: Cholera introduced by West

Politics

• Obama names N.Y. housing commissioner to head

• Foes ready to test Obama overseas

ODD & Extraordinary

• Woman ignites ex's clothes, burns storage unit

• Man without pants at doughnut shop gets probation

• Fla. woman drinking on roof asks man for more beer

• Malaysia burglar stuck for 3 days in haunted house

Science, Technology & The Environment

• Hunt for gas lead drillers to NYC watershed

• Upstate NY explorers ID rare boat in Lake Ontario

• Scientists find 2,000-year-old brain in Britain

Entertainment, Entertainers and the Arts

• Triple-threat Hugh Jackman shakes up Oscar format

• 2008: The year politics saturated our pop culture

• Actor Van Johnson, '40s heartthrob, dies at 92

Today

• This day in history

• The nation's weather