(CNN) -- He forged his views of war and the military as a young man in mine-plagued fields of Vietnam. Now Chuck Hagel may become the first Vietnam veteran and first enlisted soldier to serve as U.S. defense secretary.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- John Brennan joined the CIA as a young man after responding to a newspaper want ad. Now, at 57, he could become its next director.

(CNN) -- The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a long-standing appeal from scientists who tried to block funding of stem cell research on human embryos.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Barack Obama signed into law Sunday a $9.7 billion Superstorm Sandy aid package following delays over fiscal cliff bickering, warnings of dwindling federal funds and swirling controversy over millions of dollars for unrelated projects.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton left home to return to work Monday morning for the first time since she was sidelined by illness, a concussion and a blood clot, according to a schedule released by the State Department.

On Monday, many grisly details of what happened could be presented in a Colorado court at a preliminary hearing for the shooting suspect, James Holmes.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Lawmakers began a new session of Congress with the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, still fresh in their minds -- inspiring a new push to pass gun laws that could prevent another tragedy.

STEUBENVILLE, Ohio (CNN) -- Amid social media pressure and allegations of a cover-up, leaders in Steubenville, Ohio, have launched a website to keep the community updated on a rape case that has consumed the small Ohio town.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Just hours after taking office, the new House of Representatives reinstated a team of ethics investigators that had faced what seemed like a certain death due to lawmakers' inaction.

(CNN) -- The former Arizona congresswoman who survived a mass shooting in her district roughly two years ago paid a visit Friday to Newtown, Connecticut, where last month a gunman killed 27 people and himself in one of the deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history.