Vladimir Putin, who has dominated Russian politics for more than a decade, was sworn in Monday as the country's president two months after winning back the job in an election clouded by allegations of widespread fraud.

Japan-Nuclear-Energy-Ends

As Japan began its work week Monday morning, the trains ran exactly on time, the elevators in thousands of Tokyo high rises efficiently moved between floors and the lights turned on across cities with nary a glitch. What makes this Monday so remarkable is that for the first time in four decades, none of the energy on this working day is derived from a nuclear reactor.

SPORT-Cycling-Giro-Cavendish-Goss

A dramatic pile-up one hundred meters from the finish line during stage three of the Giro d'Italia paved the way for Matthew Goss to claim Orica GreenEdge's first Grand Tour victory.

DOMESTIC

POL-Poll-Romney-Obama-Tied

A new poll released Monday indicates President Barack Obama and presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney are in a dead heat, six months ahead of the November 6 election.

North-Carolina-Edwards-Trial

The attorney for a 101-year-old billionaire donor whose money is at the center of John Edwards' corruption trial told jurors Monday that his client knew the hundreds of thousands of dollars she gave the former U.S. presidential candidate was not a campaign contribution.

Michigan-Down-Syndrome-Athlete

A Michigan high school student athlete with Down syndrome might get to keep playing sports during his senior year despite his age as a state athletic association called on schools to waive ages in "narrowly defined" circumstances.

MONEY-Stocks

U.S. stocks recovered Monday afternoon from modest losses earlier in the day, as investors considered the implications of leadership changes in France and Greece, with the S&P 500 adding about half a point.

Connecticut-Racial-Profiling

A few months after four East Haven police officers were arrested for allegedly targeting and harassing Latinos, Connecticut's state legislature passed a bill Monday to beef up safeguards against racial profiling.

US-Hikers-Iran-Married

Two American hikers held in Iran and accused of spying after straying across the unmarked border there have been married in California, an attorney said.

Tennessee-Missing-Children

Two days after two bodies tied to the investigation were found, authorities continued to ask for the public's help Monday in locating a man considered "armed and dangerous" and three Tennessee sisters and their mother whom he allegedly abducted

ENT-Stern-Warning

"Shock Jock" Howard Stern's addition to "America's Got Talent" as a judge on the NBC show could cause advertisers "countless millions of dollars in customer goodwill," a parents group warned. Stern, whose show is heard on Sirius XM Radio, was hired to replace CNN host Piers Morgan as a judge for the seventh season of the highly rated talent competition.

Indiana-Bullied-Teen

An Indiana mother who sent her gay son to school with a stun gun after administrators apparently didn't do enough to stop the bullying against him said she would do it again -- even though the teen now faces expulsion.

SPORT-NFL-Seau-Brain-Study