Reports: Gupta approached for surgeon general

CNN says President-elect Barack Obama has approached its medical correspondent, Sanjay Gupta, to be the country's next surgeon general.

Biden's right at home, Burris denied

Sen. Joe Biden is still a member of the Senate club, but Roland Burris isn't — not yet anyway. But the legislative hopeful still attracted the largest  press scrum Tuesday at the opening of the 111th Congress.

Feinstein supports Burris' bid for Senate seat

Roland Burris failed to capture President-elect Barack Obama's old Senate seat Tuesday in a wild piece of political theater, but the Democrats' opposition cracked when a key chairwoman said seating him was simply the legal thing to do.

Fed sees long-lasting downturn

Federal Reserve officials feared the economy would be stuck in a painful rut for some time despite their decision to slash interest rates to a record low.

Iran lurks behind Gaza conflict

Israel's fight with Hamas in Gaza, like the war with Hezbollah in Lebanon two years ago, is a broader proxy battle between Western allies and Iran for the very future of the Middle East.

Brain pacemaker benefits Parkinson's patients

Parkinson's patients who had electrodes implanted in their brains improved more than those who took only medicine, according to the biggest test yet of deep brain stimulation.

Apple cutting some iTunes prices

Apple is cutting the price of some songs in its market-leading iTunes online music store to 69 cents and plans to begin selling all tracks without copy protection.

Diet, not exercise, plays key role in weight loss
Though better nutrition coupled with exercise has long been the favored prescription for losing weight and avoiding obesity, a new study suggests diet actually plays the key role.

Pending home sales hit record low

Pending sales of existing U.S. homes dropped to a seven-year low in November, data showed on Tuesday.