Hurley's World

In a move that leaves a post-election legal challenge the last hope for Republican Sen. Norm Coleman, Minnesota's high court has denied his campaign's request to consider about 650 additional rejected absentee ballots.

Leon Panetta, chief of staff in President Clinton's White House, will be President-elect Barack Obama's choice to be director of the CIA, two Democratic officials told CNN on Monday.

Roland Burris, the controversial appointee to fill Barack Obama's Senate seat, planned to go to Washington on Monday as top Democrats and Republicans meet to try to work out a bipartisan solution to their Senate dilemma.

CNN's Wolf Blitzer spoke Monday with Roland Burris, picked by Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich to fill President-elect Barack Obama's U.S. Senate seat. Below is a full transcript of the interview:

Article II, Section 2 of the United States Constitution grants the president "power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States." With a stroke of his pen, the man in charge can make legal trouble disappear. As one might expect, this practice can be a bit controversial.

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson is withdrawing his nomination to be commerce secretary, he and President-elect Barack Obama said in statements Sunday.

Just days after the U.S. military formally handed authority of Baghdad's "Green Zone" over to the Iraqis, the new American Embassy opened in Baghdad.

Griffin Bell, who served as attorney general in the Carter administration, has died, according to the Carter Center in Atlanta, Georgia. He was 90.

Though Sir David Frost doesn't see his 1977 interviews with former President Richard Nixon as "an intellectual 'Rocky' " -- in the words of "Frost/Nixon" playwright and screenwriter Peter Morgan -- he does agree that the sessions had their "adversarial" moments.

Executive power has been one of the defining characteristics of President George W. Bush's administration.

Now that President-elect Barack Obama has nominated Sen. Hillary Clinton to be his secretary of state, the governor of New York will appoint a new senator to fill the vacancy.

President-elect Barack Obama has tapped Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine to serve as the next chairman of the Democratic National Committee, replacing former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, two Democratic officials told CNN Sunday.

A state election board on Monday will announce Democrat Al Franken has defeated Republican incumbent Norm Coleman in Minnesota's U.S. Senate race, state officials told CNN Sunday.

Senate Democratic leaders have scheduled a meeting with Roland Burris, who was chosen by embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich to fill the Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama, a Democratic source said Saturday.

One of the last remaining steps in Minnesota's U.S. Senate race recount was temporarily halted Saturday morning when attorneys with Republican incumbent Norm Coleman's campaign attempted to stop the counting of about 950 improperly rejected absentee ballots.

Sen. John Cornyn weighed in on Minnesota's close and still unresolved U.S. Senate race, saying Friday that no one should be seated until a winner is made official by both Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie and Gov. Tim Pawlenty.

A clash over the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama will intensify next week on Capitol Hill when Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's pick to fill that seat arrives in Washington.

This past year was full of unexpected twists and turns on the campaign trail.

President-elect Barack Obama is expected to meet with congressional leaders Monday to discuss his proposal for the new economic stimulus plan, which leaders are now referring to as an "economy recovery plan," a Senate Democratic leadership aide said Friday.