What Happens If You're on the Gay “Enemies List”  —  Ever since a slim majority outlawed gay marriage in California, opponents have waged national protests and petitions, urging the judicial system to reconsider the results of the Nov. 4 referendum.  (Proposition 8 overturned an earlier decision …

Barack Obama is warned to beware of a ‘huge threat’ from al-Qaeda  —  Security officials fear a ‘spectacular’ during the transition period  —  Barack Obama is being given ominous advice from leaders on both sides of the Atlantic to brace himself for an early assault from terrorists.

Obama's Talk With Clinton Starts Buzz  —  WASHINGTON — The end of the presidential campaign seemed to signal the completion of the Obama-Clinton drama.  But now it turns out there could be a surprise ending.  —  Advisers to the onetime rivals for the Democratic nomination confirmed Friday …

Interesting Times  —  George Packer writes about foreign affairs, politics, and books.  —  KILCULLEN ON AFGHANISTAN: “IT'S STILL WINNABLE, BUT ONLY JUST.”  —  I wrote about David Kilcullen two years ago, in a piece called “Knowing the Enemy.”  Few experts understand counterinsurgency …

Spam Turns Serious and Hormel Turns Out More  —  AUSTIN, Minn. — The economy is in tatters and, for millions of people, the future is uncertain.  But for some employees at the Hormel Foods Corporation plant here, times have never been better.  They are working at a furious pace and piling up all the overtime they want.

GOP senator: McCain betrayed Republican principles  —  MYRTLE BEACH, South Carolina (CNN) - South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint on Friday became one of the first high-profile Republicans to publicly criticize John McCain following his electoral defeat, blaming the Arizona senator …

Democrats Scale Back Stimulus Goals Until Jan. 20  —  Congressional Democrats yesterday abandoned plans to offer a wide-ranging economic stimulus plan next week, putting off any chance that the federal government would provide a major jolt to the economy until after President-elect Barack Obama is sworn in Jan. 20.

In Transition, Tangle of Ties to Lobbying  —  Correction Appended  —  WASHINGTON — President-elect Barack Obama has imposed stricter conflict-of-interest restrictions on his White House transition team than any president before him.  But a list of transition team members that his office …

Israel infuriated by U.K. plan to label West Bank produce  —  Relations between Israel and Britain remained strained on Thursday over Downing Street's intention to label products manufactured in West Bank settlements, a week before the expected arrival of British Secretary of State for Foreign …

Begich lead increases in race for Senate  —  Mark Begich has extended his lead over Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens to 1,022 votes with the latest count of absentee and questioned ballots.  The Elections Division counted 14,508 ballots today.  The count of absentee and questioned ballots will pick up Tuesday.

Post-Guantánamo: A New Detention Law?  —  As a presidential candidate, Senator Barack Obama sketched the broad outlines of a plan to close the detention center at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba: try detainees in American courts and reject the Bush administration's military commission system.