Arizonan will head Homeland Security  —  Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano (D) has been chosen to serve as secretary of the vast and troubled Department of Homeland Security for President-elect Obama, Democratic officials said.  Napolitano is a border governor who will now be responsible …

Waxman wrestles gavel from Dingell  —  Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) will become the next chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee after House Democrats voted to replace current Chairman John Dingell (D-Mich.).  —  Waxman won 137-122 in the secret ballot vote.

Challenged ballots: You be the judge  —  Representatives from the campaigns of Sen. Norm Coleman and Al Franken have been challenging ballots across the state.  —  It's your turn to play election judge.  Tell us how you would rule in the case of these challenged ballots.

McCain Pollster Explains Loss, Calls Frank Luntz A Moron  —  The chief pollster for John McCain's presidential campaign offered a candid diagnosis of how his candidate was done in, on occasion reserving harsh words for fellow Republicans.  —  Bill McInturff, speaking at a National Journal breakfast …

Antiwar groups fear Barack Obama may create hawkish Cabinet  —  Activists note that most of the candidates for top security posts voted for the 2002 resolution authorizing President Bush to invade Iraq or otherwise supported launching the war.  —  Reporting from Washington …

Iran Said to Have Nuclear Fuel for One Weapon  —  Iran has now produced roughly enough nuclear material to make, with added purification, a single atom bomb, according to nuclear experts analyzing the latest report from global atomic inspectors.  —  The figures detailing Iran's progress …

Health Insurers Offer to Accept All Applicants, on Condition  —  The health insurance industry said it would support a plan requiring insurers to accept all customers, but asked that Congress require all Americans to have coverage in return.

Most Americans Back Idea of Clinton as Secretary of State  —  Nearly 8 in 10 Democrats favor the possibility  — USA - Election 2008 - Elections - Government - Party Affiliation - The Presidency - Americas - Northern America  —  PRINCETON, NJ — A new Gallup Poll finds a majority of Americans …

GOP Takes Another Image Hit Post-Election  —  Republicans favor tacking right; independents offer mixed guidance  — USA - Democrats - Favorability - Government and Politics - Political Parties - Republicans - Americas - Northern America  —  PRINCETON, NJ — The Republican Party's image …

Things That Could Have Been Brought To My Attention Yesterday  —  In today's Journal, Newt Gingrich and Peter Ferrara argue that instead of Barack Obama's hodgepodge of tax credits, we should have a straightforward middle-class tax cut that lowers the 25 percent bracket to 15 percent.

Judge Orders Five Detainees Freed From Guantánamo  —  In the first hearing on the government's evidence for holding detainees at the Guantánamo Bay detention camp for nearly seven years, a federal judge ruled on Thursday that five prisoners were being held an unlawfully and ordered their release.

Senate GOP in big funk  —  A day after losing Ted Stevens' seat, along with their best hope for getting Joe Lieberman to cross over, Senate GOP leaders preached party unity as the key to surviving the Obama years.  —  If that doesn't work, there's always psychotherapy.

Conservative Transportation Policy  —  Politico reports on conservatives trying to think of some ideas: … I'm not sure exactly what Strassel has in mind, but to my way of thinking an enormous amount of good could be done if conservatives were more interested in applying really basic free market principles to transportation policy.

Kerry poised to cap long journey  —  Will lead panel that thrust him to fame in '71  —  EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/GETTY IMAGES/file Barack Obama and John Kerry embraced at a political rally in Charleston, S.C., during the presidential campaign in January.  (EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/GETTY IMAGES/file)

An unpardonable use of power  —  A departing president probably can't help thinking about the judgment of history.  At the end of eight years, President Bush likely isn't any different.  With the nation's attention focused on his successor, it may seem as if there is little opportunity left …

Auto Execs Fly Corporate Jets to D.C., Tin Cups in Hand  —  There are 24 daily nonstop flights from Detroit to the Washington area.  Richard Wagoner, Alan Mulally and Robert Nardelli probably should have taken one of them.  —  Instead, the chief executives of the Big Three automakers opted …