Hostages Held At Mumbai Hotels  —  Terrorists have conducted at least seven coordinated attacks in Mumbai's tourist areas, killing scores and taking ‘many hostages’.  —  Gunmen have targeted luxury hotels, a popular tourist attraction and a crowded train station in at least seven attacks across India's financial capital.

Franken loses absentee ballot appeal  —  The state Canvassing Board today rejected Democrat Al Franken's request to count absentee ballots his campaign says were wrongly rejected by poll judges.  —  Republican Sen. Norm Coleman's team had argued that the board lacks the power to include those ballots in the recount.

Joe Klein's extreme revisionism  —  (updated below)  —  Joe Klein, this week's Time Magazine, on George Bush's legacy: … Joe Klein, Face the Nation, May 4, 2003, with Bob Schieffer — 3 days after Bush's Mission Accomplished speech: … I'm glad that many people, including some journalists …

How the media talks about torture and the rule of law  —  (updated below)  —  Yesterday, The New York Times' Mark Mazzetti, in reporting on John Brennan's withdrawal from consideration for a top intelligence post, wrote: … I quoted that paragraph yesterday to show how the establishment media …

A NEW DAY FOR TURKEY.  —  Like Matt, I have strong sectarian feelings against turkey.  But unlike him, I'm a political realist, I believe in mitigation, not abolition.  So as long as turkey is going to sit like a colossus atop the Thanksgiving meal, we may as well figure out a way to reduce its suck factor.

Exclusive: NY Rail Plot Details Based on ‘Reliable’ FBI Source  —  New Information in Last 48 Hours Led to Public Warning  —  Uniformed police officers have flooded New York City's Penn Station, home to the Long Island Rail Road, following a warning from the FBI of a “plausible but unsubstantiated” …

Michelle Obama's ‘Mommy’ Stamp  —  When Michelle Obama took to describing her new role as mom in chief, my first reaction was to wince at her words.  My second reaction was to identify with them.  —  I was okay, actually, with what Obama said.  But I worried: Did she have to say it out loud, quite so explicitly?

Lori Drew Not Guilty of Felonies in Landmark Cyberbullying Trial  —  LOS ANGELES — Lori Drew, the 49-year-old woman charged in the first federal cyberbullying case, was cleared of felony computer-hacking charges by a jury Wednesday morning, but convicted of three misdemeanors.

About that advisory board  —  Too big to fail?  —  A thought I've had: there have been some complaints from movement progressives about the centrism/orthodoxy of Obama's economics appointments.  To some extent this was unavoidable, I think: someone like the Treasury secretary …

Send Bill Clinton to the Senate  —  Amid the blizzard of résumés blanketing Washington as the Obama era dawns, there is a superbly qualified candidate for full employment whose name has been overlooked.  We refer, of course, to William Jefferson Clinton, America's 42nd chief executive and commander in chief.

Lieberman Contributed to GOP Senate, House Candidates  —  Sen. Joe Lieberman's (I-Conn.) support of John McCain's presidential campaign was well known.  His contribution to Sen. Gordon Smith (R-Ore.) was not.  (By Melina Mara — The Washington Post Photo)  —  By Paul Kane

Why churches fear gay marriage  —  For author Richard Rodriguez, no one is talking about the real issues behind Proposition 8.  —  While conservative churches are busy trying to whip up another round of culture wars over same-sex marriage, Rodriguez says the real reason for their panic lies elsewhere …

Obama beats record for press conferences  —  In the 22 days since winning the White House, President-elect Barack Obama has taken 22 questions from reporters and has done two sit-down television interviews.  —  The Democrat held his fourth press conference since Nov. 4 in Chicago Wednesday morning …

Bad to the End  —  You know, president Bush had absolutely nothing to lose in the lame duck session.  Not a thing.  His reputation is already tarnished beyond repair.  His legacy — economic disaster, thousands of lives lost to questionable ends, torture, domestic surveillance …

LET SANTA LIGHT THE MENORAH  —  WHITE HOUSE IN HANUKKAH TREE GAFFE  —  Merry Hanukkah from the White House!  —  The president and the first lady invited leaders of America's Jewish community for a Hanukkah reception at the White House next month - but raised more than a few eyebrows …

Obama's Speechwriter Moves to the White House  —  CHICAGO - President-elect Barack Obama's wordsmith is moving to the West Wing.  —  In his latest round of White House staff announcements, Mr. Obama said Wednesday that he was naming Jon Favreau as his director of speechwriting.