Israel has agreed to establish a "humanitarian corridor" to supply residents of Gaza with aid as international concerns about conditions among civilians mount, according to a government statement.

Members of Congress won't be allowed to slip earmarks into the economic recovery package Congress will soon take up, President-elect Barack Obama said Tuesday.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN's chief medical correspondent, has been approached by Barack Obama's transition team about the U.S. surgeon general's post, according to sources inside the transition and at CNN. Gupta, a neurosurgeon, has served as a White House fellow and as a special adviser to then-first lady Hillary Clinton.

A New Year's Day shooting in which a subway police officer fired a deadly shot into the back of an unarmed man has the San Francisco Bay Area demanding answers, while authorities are appealing for patience. Bay Area Rapid Transit spokesman Linton Johnson told CNN affiliate KTVU-TV that the officer is presumed innocent and described him as devastated.

When Apple vice president Philip Schiller takes the stage here Tuesday morning for the keynote address at the Macworld Conference & Expo, he'll face a good-news, bad-news scenario.

The recent carnage in Gaza has left little doubt that within the tortured dynamic of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, both the chicken and the egg have completely and utterly lost their minds.

John Travolta and Kelly Preston have returned to Ocala, Florida, with the remains of their teenage son, a family friend told CNN on Tuesday.

The Purple Heart medal, awarded to service members who have been physically wounded in combat, will not be given for a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder, a Pentagon statement said.

Could someone without intelligence experience effectively lead the United States' top spy agency, particularly in a time of war?

Roland Burris was denied entry to the Senate chambers today as he tried to claim the seat once held by President-elect Barack Obama. Burris said the secretary of the Senate rejected his credentials, and therefore he would not be allowed access to the floor. An attorney for Burris said the rejection was unlawful.

Gail Parker was was an environmentalist who gave speeches about America's polluted waterways. She volunteered at the local hospital, helped the elderly and cancer patients. In 1993, Parker was killed -- probably for her purse and jewelry -- and her body was left in the Arizona desert. Her daughter has raised the reward to $50,000 for anyone who can provide information that helps break the cold case.

The Israeli military said Hamas militants positioned in a U.N. school in northern Gaza fired mortar shells at Israeli forces today, prompting Israeli forces to return fire, according to its initial investigation. Three artillery shells believed to have been fired by the Israeli forces struck near the perimeter of the school in Jabalya, killing at least 30 people and wounding 55, according to a U.N. official.

The number of homes under contract to be sold fell 4% in November, according to a report released Tuesday.

Far more civilians than Hamas fighters are arriving for treatment of war wounds at Gaza's main hospital as Israel's military incursion into the territory continues, two doctors say.

Ron Asheton, the guitarist for the influential punk rock band The Stooges, was found dead this morning, police tell the Detroit Free Press.

Phil Lesh is on the phone.

As a candidate, Barack Obama promoted hybrid cars.

German billionaire Adolf Merckle, one of the richest men in the world, committed suicide Monday after his business empire got into trouble in the wake of the international financial crisis, Merckle's family said Tuesday in a statement.

Several European countries said Tuesday their supply of natural gas from Russia had been cut or reduced amid a dispute over payments between Russia and Ukraine.

To most Democrats and many Americans, the Bush/Cheney nightmare is over!