Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens loses re-election bid  —  Featured Topics: - Barack Obama - Presidential Transition  —  ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Sen. Ted Stevens, the longest serving Republican in Senate history, narrowly lost his re-election bid Tuesday, marking the downfall of a Washington political power …

An Exceedingly Strange New Respect  —  Hillary Clinton makes friends in some surprising precincts.  —  ‘Strange new respect’ is the term coined by Tom Bethell, an unhappy conservative, to describe the press adulation given those who drift leftward, those who grow “mature,” “wise,” and …

Let Detroit Go Bankrupt  —  IF General Motors, Ford and Chrysler get the bailout that their chief executives asked for yesterday, you can kiss the American automotive industry goodbye.  It won't go overnight, but its demise will be virtually guaranteed.  —  Without that bailout, Detroit will need to drastically restructure itself.

Obama exerts his power  —  President-elect Barack Obama, in the latest of several moves to heal election wounds, persuaded Democrats to reject stiff punishment for Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) despite his campaign efforts for Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).  —  Lieberman is the beneficiary …

Giving Up on God  —  As Republicans sort out the reasons for their defeat, they likely will overlook or dismiss the gorilla in the pulpit.  —  Three little letters, great big problem: G-O-D.  —  I'm bathing in holy water as I type.  —  To be more specific, the evangelical, right-wing …

Texas grand jury indicts Cheney, Gonzales  —  (CNN) — Vice President Dick Cheney and former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales have been indicted on separate charges related to alleged prisoner abuse in federal detention centers, Willacy County, Texas, District Attorney Juan Angel Guerra told CNN Tuesday.

A Sea of Unwanted Imports  —  LONG BEACH, Calif. — Gleaming new Mercedes cars roll one by one out of a huge container ship here and onto a pier.  Ordinarily the cars would be loaded on trucks within hours, destined for dealerships around the country.  But these are not ordinary times.

Holder Seen as Justice Choice as Obama Forms Team  —  WASHINGTON — President-elect Barack Obama's transition team has signaled to Eric H. Holder Jr., a senior official in the Justice Department in the Clinton administration, that he will be chosen as attorney general, but no final decision has been made …

WAXMAN VERSUS DINGELL.  —  I haven't given this the attention it deserves, but Henry Waxman's decision to challenge John Dingell for chairman of the Energy and Commerce committee is a HUGE deal.  Energy and Commerce is, along with Ways and Means, the key House Committee, with jurisdiction over both energy and health care legislation.

First lady got back  —  I'm a black woman who never thought I'd see a powerful, beautiful female with a body like mine in the White House.  Then I saw Michelle Obama — and her booty!  —  Michelle Obama waves to the crowd at the Democratic convention in Denver on Aug. 25, 2008.  —  Free at last.

Al-Qaida No. 2 says Obama betrays race  —  Al-Zawahri uses racial epithet in group's first message since U.S. election  —  CAIRO, Egypt - Al-Qaida No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahri has criticized President-elect Barack Obama, calling him a demeaning racial term implying that Obama is a black American who does the bidding of whites.

Big Three CEOs Flew Private Jets to Plead for Public Funds  —  Auto Industry Close to Bankruptcy But They Get Pricey Perk  —  The CEOs of the big three automakers flew to the nation's capital yesterday in private luxurious jets to make their case to Washington that the auto industry is running …

Recall specter hangs over high court as it considers Prop. 8 challenges  —  Backers of the measure banning gay marriage have said they will target justices who vote to overturn it.  Legal scholars say the court has no clear path to tossing out Prop.  8.  —  Reporting from San Francisco …