President Obama and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki met in Washington Monday to mark the approaching end of the Iraq war. But Iran is happy to see US troops go and will bear watching. 

The Dow fell 162 points to close at 12021after two big ratings agencies said the fiscal pact between European leaders would make little difference in solving the region's debt problems.

A Famine Early Warning System – which accurately predicted the 2011 drought in the Horn of Africa – warns that millions of West Africans may face a food crisis in 2012.

AP - The Supreme Court stepped into the fight Monday over a tough Arizona law that requires local police to help enforce federal immigration laws — pushing the court deeper into hot, partisan issues of the 2012 election campaign.

AP - President Barack Obama heralded the end of the divisive Iraq war Monday, and warned Iraq's neighbors that the United States would remain a major player in the region even as it brings its troops home.

AP - Trading accusations of greed, Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich challenged each other Monday to return millions made in private business as the race for the GOP presidential nomination turned increasingly acerbic and personal at the start of a three-week sprint to the Iowa caucuses.