The world has never seen such freezing heat  —  A surreal scientific blunder last week raised a huge question mark about the temperature records that underpin the worldwide alarm over global warming.  On Monday, Nasa's Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), which is run …

Exclusive: Gregory Craig to be White House counsel  —  Gregory B. Craig, a well-known Washington lawyer who quarterbacked President Bill Clinton's impeachment defense, has been chosen White House counsel by President-elect Barack Obama, according to Democratic officials.

Across U.S., Big Rallies for Same-Sex Marriage  —  SAN FRANCISCO — In one of the nation's largest displays of support for gay rights, tens of thousands of people in cities across the country turned out in support of same-sex marriage on Saturday, lending their voices to an issue that many gay men …

Say Goodbye to BlackBerry?  Yes He Can, Maybe  —  WASHINGTON — Sorry, Mr. President.  Please surrender your BlackBerry.  —  Those are seven words President-elect Barack Obama is dreading but expecting to hear, friends and advisers say, when he takes office in 65 days.

5 Myths About an Election of Mythic Proportions  —  The 2008 presidential election ended less than two weeks ago, but the mythmaking machine has already begun to churn.  President-elect Barack Obama transformed the face of the electorate!  The Republican Party will be a miserable minority in Congress for the next century!

The Moose Stops Here  —  ELECTION junkies in acute withdrawal need suffer no longer.  Though the exciting Obama-McCain race is over, the cockfight among the losers has only just begun.  The conservative crackup may be ugly, but as entertainment, it's two thumbs up!

World Leaders Agree to Seek Major Reform  —  Group Pledges Cooperation to Restore Growth  —  World leaders holding an emergency meeting to combat the economic crisis agreed yesterday to a far-reaching action plan that, over the next 4 1/2 months, would begin to reshape international financial institutions …

Barack Obama links Israel peace plan to 1967 borders deal  —  Uzi Mahnaimi in Tel Aviv and Sarah Baxter  —  Barack Obama is to pursue an ambitious peace plan in the Middle East involving the recognition of Israel by the Arab world in exchange for its withdrawal to pre-1967 borders …

WHY WE SHOULDN'T BAIL OUT THE BIG THREE AUTOMAKERS  —  That beeping sound you hear this week is the semi-truck being backed up to the Federal Treasury in Washington.  After being filled with taxpayer billions, it's on its way to Detroit.  —  A heaping bailout for the Big Three automakers …

Obama's Lincoln  —  During the campaign, he pledged to be a unifying leader.  Good thing for Obama there are other presidents whose experiences he can draw on, including one, in particular, from his home state.  —  From the magazine issue dated Nov 24, 2008  —  It is the season to compare Barack Obama to Abraham Lincoln.

Whose President Is He Anyway?  —  CHICAGO — It did not go unnoticed among the paisans that Barack Obama loves a four-star Italian restaurant on the Magnificent Mile near the lakefront.  Not some pizza joint, but “the Ferrari of Italian cooking,” as Spiaggia's chef and co-owner, Tony Mantuano, puts it.

Insurers in last-minute bid for Treasury money  —  Hartford buying small savings and loan to qualify for government bailout  —  SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Several insurers, including Hartford Financial Services Group and Genworth Financial Inc., made last-minute bids for billions of dollars in government money Friday.