Obama takes 1st step in presidential bid  —  WASHINGTON - Democratic Sen. Barack Obama (news, bio, voting record) said Tuesday he is taking the initial step in a presidential bid that could make him the nation's first black to occupy the White House.  —  Obama announced on his Web site …

U.N.: 34,452 Iraq civilians killed in '06  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq - Nearly 35,000 civilians were killed last year in Iraq, the United Nations said Tuesday, a sharp increase from the numbers reported previously by the Iraqi government.  —  Gianni Magazzeni, the chief of the U.N. Assistance Mission for Iraq …

51% of Women Are Now Living Without Spouse  —  For what experts say is probably the first time, more American women are living without a husband than with one, according to a New York Times analysis of census results.  —  In 2005, 51 percent of women said they were living without a spouse …

Legalize It  —  HOW TO SOLVE AFGHANISTAN'S DRUG PROBLEM.  —  The British Empire once fought a war for the right to sell opium in China.  —  In retrospect, history has judged that war destructive and wasteful, a shameless battle of colonizers against colonized that in the end helped neither side.

Rumsfeld is gone, but the veep's other loyalists remain.  —  With the departure of his longtime friend Donald Rumsfeld, John Bolton's resignation as U.N. ambassador, and Democrats taking over Congress, times seem grim for the Dick Cheney wing of the Bush administration.

Choice of Martinez sparks GOP rebellion  —  Rebellion is brewing among conservatives on the Republican National Committee over President's Bush's attempt to "impose" Sen. Mel Martinez of Florida as "general chairman" of the party, who favors "amnesty" for illegal aliens.

FORMER U.N. OIL-FOR-FOOD CHIEF BENON SEVAN INDICTED OVER BRIBES FROM SADDAM'S REGIME  —  Benon Sevan.  —  Former U.N. Oil-for-Food chief Benon Sevan has been indicted in New York federal court for allegedly taking bribes under the program from Saddam Hussein's regime, U.S. authorities announced Tuesday.

Castro Reportedly in Grave Condition  —  MADRID, Spain (AP) — Ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro is in "very grave" condition after three failed operations and complications from an intestinal infection, a Spanish newspaper said Tuesday.  —  The newspaper El Pais cited two unnamed sources …

ABC's The Note: Bush Gave His 'Best TV Performance In Years' On 60 Minutes  —  President Bush appeared on CBS's 60 Minutes on Sunday night.  A host of media and conservative blogs were not terribly impressed with his performance:  —  New York Times blog: … Houston Chronicle blog:

AP: Iran Gets Army Gear in Pentagon Sale  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military has sold forbidden equipment at least a half-dozen times to middlemen for countries - including Iran and China - who exploited security flaws in the Defense Department's surplus auctions.

Yeas and Nays: Tuesday, Jan. 16  —  WASHINGTON - Jeff Dufour and Patrick Gavin cover people, power and politics in the beltway each weekday.  Email them at yan@dcexaminer.com .  —  Little to head WHCA's big night  —  He does a mean Ronald Reagan impersonation and his imitation of Richard Nixon is legendary.

Stop the Escalation in Iraq  —  To: Legislators, Staff, and Interested Parties  —  From: Progressive States Network  —  Re: Preventing Escalation in Iraq  —  This LegAlert discusses the President's proposed escalation in Iraq, its implications for states and the nation …

A crowded womb  —  A twin leans over and kisses the cheek of her sister in a heart-warming picture that would not be out of place in any family home.  —  Yet these siblings are a not even born and the astonishing images have been captured on a new 'four-dimensional' ultrasound scan of the womb.

McCain Was Against War In Iraq Before He Was For It  —  So I began looking through some old newspaper clippings on the Gulf War for some research I have been doing, and you just wouldn't believe what I happened across.  Featured prominently in one article from August of 1990 …

Iranian regime change: "Faster, please!"  —  ut as a politically divisive figure.  He's loved — and consulted at the highest levels — by his fellow travelers for his hard-line positions on the Middle East.  His catchphrase, "faster, please!" refers to the speed with which he'd like the United States to compel regime change in Iran.

Dinesh D'Souza: 'The Left is Afraid of Bush'  —  A new book by respected conservative pundit and best-selling author Dinesh D'Souza argues that Islamic antipathy toward the U.S. stems from liberal values promulgated by the "cultural left" and promoted abroad.

Burden Set to Shift On Balanced Budget  —  When he takes the House rostrum next week for the State of the Union address, President Bush will list among his goals a balanced federal budget, a shift for a president who has presided over record deficits while aggressively cutting taxes.

What Congress Can (And Can't) Do on Iraq  —  Congressional Democrats (and Republicans) who oppose President Bush's decision to send additional American troops to Iraq may frustrate his plan, but not — as suggested by Democratic Whip Jim Clyburn — by imposing 21,500 strings on the 21,500 new troops.