Padilla convicted of terrorism support  —  MIAMI - Jose Padilla was convicted of federal terrorism support charges Thursday after being held for 3 1/2 years as an enemy combatant in a case that came to symbolize the Bush administration's zeal to stop homegrown terror.

Wow, that didn't take long.  —  Yesterday I wondered whether the big news orgs would continue describing the imminent September Iraq progress report as representing solely the word of General Petraeus — as the Gospel According To Petraeus — now that we know that the report is being written by the White House.

The T-Bill Message for Bush & Bernanke  —  The power outage in banking and credit markets continues to deepen as the sub-prime mortgage infection spreads throughout the U.S. and the global financial system.  —  As I mentioned in yesterday's column, it is time for a major Fed operation.

Fred Thompson's Gamble  —  When Fred Thompson makes his long-delayed entrance into the Republican presidential race, he will not tiptoe quietly.  Instead, he will try to shake up the establishment candidates of both parties by depicting a nation in peril from fiscal and security threats …

UN: Peru quake death toll reaches 450  —  ICA, Peru - Rescuers struggled across a shattered countryside on Thursday to reach victims of a magnitude-8.0 earthquake that the U.N. said killed at least 450 people.  More than 1,500 people were reported injured.  —  The center of the destruction …

MSNBC Newsroom Booed Bush State of the Union  —  UPDATE: Joe and Mika discuss this NB item.  See below.  —  Joe Scarborough has pulled back the curtain on the liberal bias at MSNBC, describing an incident in which people in its newsroom ceaselessly booed President Bush during a State of the Union address.

Patriotic parents needed to reignite Ruskie baby boom  —  MOSCOW - This would make a heck of a reality TV show.  —  The baby-poor Russian region of Ulyanovsk wants to its people to procreate, and has come up with a holiday and prizes to encourage them to their duty for Mother Russia.

It's Not Just Scott Beauchamp … Scott Beauchamp was the last straw.  I realized that I need a scorecard to keep track of all the fallen journalists, journalistic mistakes and major and minor screw-ups in the media.  I couldn't find one already made, although Wikipedia came close, so I started my own.

Dutch bishop: Call God 'Allah' to ease relations  —  Roman Catholic leader stokes already heated debate on religion  —  AMSTERDAM - A Roman Catholic Bishop in the Netherlands has proposed people of all faiths refer to God as Allah to foster understanding, stoking an already heated debate …

Cost of Saving the Climate Meets Real-World Hurdles  —  On the Internet, erasing your role in climate change seems as easy as ordering a DVD — and cheaper than a cup of coffee a day.  —  With a click, a credit card and $99, visitors can pay a Silver Spring nonprofit group, Carbonfund.org …