AP - Rep. John Murtha, the tall, gruff-mannered former Marine who became the de facto voice of veterans on Capitol Hill and later an outspoken and influential critic of the Iraq War, died Monday. He was 77. The Pennsylvania Democrat had been suffering from complications from gallbladder surgery. He died at Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington, Va., with his family at his bedside, the hospital said.

AP - The world's tallest skyscraper has unexpectedly closed to the public a month after its lavish opening, disappointing tourists headed for the observation deck and casting doubt over plans to welcome its first permanent occupants in the coming weeks.

AP - Michael Jackson's personal physician pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter Monday, setting the stage for a sensational celebrity courtroom drama as prosecutors attempt to prove Dr. Conrad Murray caused the pop star's death.

AP - Former child television star Gary Coleman pleaded guilty Monday to a misdemeanor criminal mischief charge related to a domestic violence incident last April.

AP - Federal workers and school children got a day off Monday as the Mid-Atlantic region dug out from as much as 3 feet of snow that made travel nearly impossible and knocked out power to tens of thousands of people.

AP - Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have begun legal action against a British tabloid that reported the celebrity couple was going to split, a lawyer acting on their behalf confirmed Monday.

AP - Deep inside millions of computers is a digital Fort Knox, a special chip with the locks to highly guarded secrets, including classified government reports and confidential business plans. Now a former U.S. Army computer-security specialist has devised a way to break those locks.

AP - The Democratic nominee for Illinois' lieutenant governor dropped out of the race Sunday night, less than a week after winning the nomination, amid a political uproar about his past.

AP - The women tattooed his name and portrait on their bodies and gave their children his name — Savior.

AP - The Dow Jones industrial average closed below 10,000 for the first time in three months Monday on nagging concerns about debt loads in Europe.

AFP - Toyota dealers in five southeastern US states have pulled their ads from local ABC television affiliates over complaints about coverage of the automaker's recalls, the network said Monday.

AP - Republicans gave a chilly reception Monday to President Barack Obama's invitation to discuss health care in a bipartisan, televised setting later this month, part of the White House effort to revive the stalled legislation.

AFP - A US decision to freeze spending on treatment for HIV in several African countries has prompted concern that some of the gains made against the AIDS epidemic since 2003 could be reversed.

AP - Iran pressed ahead Monday with plans that will increase its ability to make nuclear weapons as it formally informed the U.N. nuclear agency of its intention to enrich uranium to higher levels.

AP - The New Orleans Saints' victory over Indianapolis in the Super Bowl was watched by more than 106 million people, surpassing the 1983 finale of "M-A-S-H" to become the most-watched program in U.S. television history, the Nielsen Co. said Monday.

AP - A week after brake problems surfaced with its Prius, Toyota still has yet to say whether it will recall the popular hybrid — and analysts say further delays could be devastating to the automaker's already damaged reputation.

AP - Iran said it will cut ties with the British Museum on Monday because of the museum's failure to lend Tehran an ancient Babylonian artifact described as the world's earliest bill of rights.

AP - Could this turn into something more than political theater? President Barack Obama's televised dialogue with Republican lawmakers on health care, promised for later this month, has the makings of an entertaining exchange. But the differences between the basic Democratic and GOP ideas are stark — and the two sides have increasingly hardened their positions in this election year.