Aaron's Daily WWW Newspaper

NEW YORK - Wall Street proceeded warily into the first full week of 2009, trading mixed in premarket activity Monday ahead of readings on auto sales and construction spending.

FREEPORT, Bahamas - John Travolta said Sunday he and his wife Kelly Preston are "heartbroken" over the death of their chronically ill 16-year-old son, who collapsed at the family's vacation home on Grand Bahama.

BEIJING - China launched a major crackdown on Internet pornography Monday targeting popular online portals and major search engines such as Google.

TOKYO - Two sushi bar owners paid more than $100,000 for a Japanese bluefin tuna at a Tokyo fish auction Monday, several times the average price and the highest in nearly a decade, market officials said.

MINNEAPOLIS - The NFL divisional playoff lineup is set: Baltimore and Tennessee open next Saturday's action in the AFC. Then Arizona visits Carolina in an NFC game. On Sunday, Philadelphia travels to the Meadowlands to play the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants in the NFC. The final game of the weekend will be San Diego at Pittsburgh in the AFC.

GAZA (Reuters) - Combat between Israeli troops and Hamas militants raged on Monday as Israel pressed home its ground assault in Gaza in the face of French-led diplomatic efforts to broker a ceasefire.

LONDON (Reuters) - Cautious New Year optimism rippled through Asian and European stock markets on Monday as investors waited for news of tax-cutting plans in Germany and the United States.

MINNEAPOLIS (Reuters) - Democrat Al Franken will be declared the winner of the tight U.S. Senate contest in Minnesota, emerging from a ballot recount with a slim margin over Republican Norm Coleman, state officials said on Sunday.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - President-elect Barack Obama stumbled in his quest for a smooth transition on Sunday when New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson withdrew as his nominee for commerce secretary in the face of a legal inquiry.

(Reuters) - Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC was examined at least eight times in 16 years by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and other regulators, who often came armed with suspicions, the Wall Street Journal said.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India said it had handed over evidence on Monday that linked Pakistani militants to the Mumbai attacks, demanding a prompt investigation by Islamabad and piling diplomatic pressure on its nuclear-armed rival.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Officials from the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank on Sunday vowed to fight the damaging effects of deflation as the global economy suffers a deep and lengthy recession.

MOSCOW/KIEV (Reuters) - The European Union on Monday scheduled talks with Russia to press for a speedy resolution of a dispute with Ukraine that has reduced gas supplies to eastern and southern Europe.

GAZA CITY (AFP) - Israeli warplanes carried out intensive raids on Hamas targets on Monday as ground troops surrounded Gaza's main city, while Israel faced mounting diplomatic pressure for a ceasefire.

NEW DELHI (AFP) - India on Monday handed to Pakistan what it said was evidence linking the country to the Islamic militants who attacked Mumbai in November, India's foreign minister said.

BEIJING (AFP) - Chinese President Hu Jintao used one of his last official talks with his US counterpart George W. Bush to voice confidence that bilateral ties would remain strong, the foreign ministry here said.

HARARE, (AFP) - Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe could form a new government by the end of February despite a stalemate in unity talks, state media reported Monday as the 84-year-old leader began a month-long holiday.

ATHENS, (AFP) - A Greek policeman was seriously wounded early Monday when he was fired on with an assault rifle by unknown gunmen, police said.

PARIS (AFP) - European and Japanese officials on Monday warned the global downturn would worsen despite hopes that US president-elect Barack Obama could galvanise the world's largest economy with a new stimulus plan.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US President-elect Barack Obama will meet Monday with congressional leaders to discuss a massive economic stimulus plan Democrats hope to pass shortly after Obama takes office.