Former Illinois attorney general Roland Burris may be allowed to fill the Senate seat left vacant by President-elect Barack Obama, but he would be subject to an unusual vote by the full Senate before taking office.

Democratic Senate candidate Al Franken won a weeks-long recount in Minnesota on Monday and declared victory in the race even though the final outcome could be determined by a state court.

Defiant and upbeat, Illinois U.S. Senate appointee Roland Burris said Monday that upon arriving in Washington, he plans to tell Democratic leaders: "I'm here to take my seat." But Burris faces an uphill battle on Capitol Hill, where his fellow Democrats have pledged not to confirm anyone appointed by embattled Gov. Rod Blagojevich to fill the seat left vacant by Barack Obama's election as president.

The Minnesota Supreme Court on Monday rejected Republican Norm Coleman's request to count an additional 654 rejected absentee ballots in the state's U.S. Senate race, taking away his last option for overtaking Democrat Al Franken in the recount.

The Senate is dusting off a parliamentary rule book that hasn't been used in 60 years to prevent Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich from having a say in Barack Obama's replacement.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told a group of Michigan Democrats that the current primary system is "fundamentally flawed" and he supports changing the 2012 primary calendar to reduce the influence of early contests in Iowa and New Hampshire.

The famed bean soup served in Senate restaurants is made up of dried navy beans, smoked ham hocks, onions and a million-dollar tab for the taxpayer.

Congress is taking new whacks at the cigarette industry, banning tobacco sales in Senate buildings and -- more importantly -- seeking a significant federal tax increase on cigarettes.