British journalist Christopher Stevens talks about his new book, Thirty Days Has September: Cool Way to Remember Stuff. Stevens says the book is aimed primarily at children and was based on his experience teaching his autistic son.

President-elect Barack Obama has met with his team of economic advisers in Washington and said the government must get its own fiscal house in order. He said new spending in the stimulus package will be carefully monitored, and won't include earmarks.

Roland Burris came to Washington, D.C., on Tuesday to take his seat as the junior senator from Illinois, but the Democratic leadership in the Senate kept him out. Despite getting shunned, Burris says the law is on his side.

The economic slowdown has begun to pinch NASCAR. Stock car racing is an expensive sport and waves of layoffs are filtering down now that corporate sponsors are driving away.

Congress is unlikely to meet President-elect Barack Obama's plea for an economic stimulus package that would be ready by the time he takes office Jan. 20. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer says the package is likely to be ready for Obama's signature by mid-February.

President-elect Barack Obama is reported to have picked CNN'S medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta to be the next surgeon general.

The Consumer Electronics Show, the biggest showcase for new electronics products, is in Las Vegas this week. Those attending are trying to console themselves that their sales in 2008 are projected as flat, or only down between 3 and 4 percent.

At Bard College at Simon's Rock in Great Barrington, Mass., students can start college when they are still in high school. In contrast to many early-college programs, students live at this school and truly go to college.

Violence continued in the Gaza Strip today as reports surfaced of an Israeli strike on a school that killed more than 30 people. Ahmed Abu Hamda, who is a Gaza resident and a news producer for many news networks, including NPR, says everyone is panicked and trying to stay find a safe place to stay.

The new House of Representatives was sworn in with pomp, circumstance and an ambitious Democratic agenda. Nancy Pelosi was re-elected speaker and the Democrats changed some House rules, such as repealing term limits for committee chairs. This has Republicans grousing at the festivities.

A few weeks ago at a truck terminal in Peshawar, Pakistan, the Taliban torched dozens of trucks destined for U.S. forces in Afghanistan. The terminal is a monument to the vulnerability of the U.S.-NATO supply route.

President-elect Barack Obama has named former White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta as his choice for CIA director. Tim Weiner, author of Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA, talks about past CIA directors and their experience when they took office.

Listeners respond to the story on Washington, D.C.'s Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee and are moved by the story of Canine Corps, a free kennel for Pennsylvania service personnel.

In its last appearance at Macworld — and the first without CEO Steve Jobs — Apple introduced the new MacBook Pro with a longer battery life, and changes to rights management in iTunes. Tom Krazit of CNET News says Jobs has been the main attraction at the expo for some time and his absence must have weighed on some people's minds.

As Israeli forces press their offensive in the Gaza Strip, the death toll among Palestinian civilians is increasing. Israel blames Hamas for the casualties, saying the Islamist militants are operating amid the civilian population.