WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Roland Burris proclaimed himself the new junior senator from Illinois -- but it appeared only one fellow Democrat in the U.S. Senate chamber publicly agreed with him.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Barely two weeks before George W. Bush leaves the White House, Bollywood is ready with a farewell present -- a film that takes pot shots at the outgoing U.S. president.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President-elect Barack Obama said on Tuesday he expects to inherit a U.S. budget deficit approaching $1 trillion and his administration would have to make some tough budget choices.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Republican California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has vetoed a budget plan pressed by Democrats who control the state legislature, an aide said on Tuesday evening.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President-elect Barack Obama has asked neurosurgeon and CNN medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta to be U.S. surgeon general, a senior Democrat said on Tuesday.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Republican lawmakers in California joined with anti-tax activists on Tuesday in a lawsuit to block a tax plan by Democrats who control the state legislature to help fill the growing state budget shortfall.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Sen. Christopher Dodd, chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, on Tuesday scheduled a hearing for January 13 to consider President-elect Barack Obama's nominee to head the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President-elect Barack Obama has asked neurosurgeon and CNN medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta to be surgeon general, The Washington Post reported on Tuesday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice flew to New York on Tuesday to discuss with key powers how to get a ceasefire in Gaza that the United States says must be durable, sustainable and indefinite.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - California has nearly $44 billion in infrastructure projects ready to start and capable of creating nearly 800,000 jobs, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger told President-elect Barack Obama in a letter on Tuesday in which he urged a "substantial federal stimulus program."

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, brother of U.S. President George W. Bush, on Tuesday ruled out running for a Senate seat he had been considering contesting.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President-elect Barack Obama said on Tuesday he expects to inherit a U.S. budget deficit approaching $1 trillion and his administration would have to make some tough budget choices.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrats celebrated their increased clout in the U.S. Congress on Tuesday, swearing in new members who are expected to help President-elect Barack Obama enact a massive economic stimulus package.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President-elect Barack Obama gave a strong defense on Tuesday to his unannounced choice to lead the CIA, Leon Panetta, in the face of criticism that Panetta lacks experience on intelligence matters.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department said on Tuesday it wanted "an immediate ceasefire" in Gaza but U.S. officials quickly stressed they would not budge from their stance that it must be durable, sustainable and indefinite.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and his second-in-command have been rendered ineffective by international anti-terrorist efforts, a senior U.S. counterterrorism official said on Tuesday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Urinary infections caused by improper use and placement of catheters are the top cause of infections among hospital patients, but simple measures can prevent them, the U.S. government said on Tuesday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President-elect Barack Obama said on Tuesday that he expects to inherit a U.S. budget deficit approaching $1 trillion and that his administration would have to make some tough budget choices.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - How much does it cost to spend $350 billion?

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The new U.S. Congress convened on Tuesday under pressure to pass an economic stimulus package that Barack Obama could sign into law soon after being sworn in as president on January 20.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will go to the United Nations on Tuesday to help with international efforts to arrange a ceasefire in Gaza, the State Department said.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The man named by the scandal-plagued governor of Illinois to replace President-elect Barack Obama in the U.S. Senate failed to gain entry on Tuesday when the chamber's secretary rejected as incomplete his credentials for the seat.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The new U.S. Congress convenes on Tuesday under pressure to deal with a worsening economy by passing a stimulus package that Barack Obama could sign into law soon after being sworn in as president.

MINNEAPOLIS (Reuters) - Democrat Al Franken beat Republican incumbent Norm Coleman to win the U.S. Senate seat from Minnesota, officials conducting a final recount said on Monday, though the loser promised to challenge the result.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid yielded to Republican threats and agreed on Monday not to immediately seat fellow Democrat Al Franken, whose razor-close victory in Minnesota faces legal challenges.