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Child welfare officials in Texas say they'll take immediate steps to comply with a state Supreme Court ruling that children removed from a polygamist compound be reunited with their parents. The court said welfare officials overstepped their authority.

On Friday, presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain squared off at the University of Mississippi in the first of three scheduled debates. But some say that neither of the candidates gave a stellar performance in their exchanges over foreign policy and the economic crisis.

Gustav is no longer a hurricane, but that doesn't mean all is well yet for residents of the Gulf Coast. Millions are still far from home in shelters across the region. One such shelter is a gymnasium in Shreveport, La., that has become home to about 800 people.

The Democratic Republic of Congo has for years been fraught with devastating economic and political crises, often resulting in violent conflict. Among the countless victims of the violence are the women, many of whom have been raped and sexually abused. A new play, Ruined, tells their story on stage.

Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich was impeached by the Illinois House on Friday and will soon face trial. Also, this week Roland Burris continues his push to be seated as the embattled governor's successor to President-elect Barack Obama. Chicago Sun-Times columnist Mary Mitchell offers an update on the complicated political drama.

In our Christmas tradition, writer David Sedaris is back for another holiday storytelling of his life as Crumpet the Elf. The not-so-secret alter-ego of Sedaris was a Santa's little helper in a Macy's department store. Sedaris recounts the tale from his memoirs The SantaLand Diaries.

In a 5-4 vote Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court declared for the first time that the Second Amendment to the Constitution guarantees the right of individual Americans to keep and bear arms. The court said gun ownership is an individual right, not connected with military service, and that it can be regulated in some ways.

Jazz singer Rene Marie decided not to perform "The Star Spangled Banner" at a Denver civic event, and instead sang "Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing," known as the black national anthem. And that decision has been met with widespread scorn. Marie explains the fallout and why she doesn't regret her decision.

The presumed Democratic presidential nominee met Monday with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and senior U.S. and Iraqi officials in Iraq. But Sudarsan Raghavan, the Washington Post's Baghdad bureau chief, says Obama reporters with no details of his discussions.

The U.S. House of Representatives issued an unprecedented apology to black Americans on Tuesday for the institution of slavery and subsequent Jim Crow laws that for years discriminated against blacks. Rep. Steve Cohen, a Democrat from Tennessee, drafted the resolution and explains its timing.