The Curious Retention of Robert Gates  —  Barack Obama's national security team—at this early stage—presents more questions than answers.  His selection of Hillary Clinton to be secretary of state has been a much-chewed-over topic of pundit puzzlement.  And with the Monday morning unveiling …

Dow Plunges 680 Points as Recession Is Declared  —  The evidence of a recession has been widespread for months: slower production, stagnant wages and hundreds of thousands of lost jobs.  —  But the nonpartisan National Bureau of Economic Research, charged with making the call for the history books …

David Gregory To Moderate “Meet The Press”  —  David Gregory will take the reins as moderator of NBC's “Meet the Press,” the Huffington Post has learned.  Gregory has been a leading contender for the permanent spot since Tom Brokaw stepped in as interim moderator following Tim Russert's death in June.

Franken May Ask Senate to Intervene in Minn. Recount  —  Democrat Al Franken's campaign said Monday that as many as 1,000 absentee ballots were improperly disqualified in Minnesota's Senate race, and that it may appeal to courts or the U.S. Senate to order that those ballots be counted.

Bush says some voters backed Obama ‘because of me’  —  President Bush says he wants to be remembered as a president who stuck to his values.  (GETTY IMAGES)  —  (CNN) - President Bush told an interviewer that his presidency may have helped Barack Obama win the White House.

Liberals: Dion would be PM  —  VIDEO: Tories toss policy, release secret tapes  —  Liberal Leader Stephane Dion shakes hands with caucus members following a caucus meeting on Parliament Hill, in Ottawa Monday Dec. 1, 2008.  The Liberals have said they have agreed to form a coalition government …

Fox News shut out again at Obama press conference.  —  Fishbowl DC has been keeping tabs of which media outlets have been allowed to ask a question at President-elect Barack Obama's five press conferences so far.  They report Fox News is 0-5.  “Questions instead went to such outlets as ABC …

If Matthews Is Mulling A Senate Run, He Shouldn't Be On The Air  —  If Chris Matthews is seriously considering a run for Arlen Specter's Senate seat, he shouldn't be on the air right now.  —  One of the reasons millions of people rely on NBC as a news source is that it's objective and driven by a fidelity to covering the news.

We must stand by our most important ally.  —  It's in human nature to mention any personal connection when offering solidarity, so I shall just briefly say that on my first visit to India, in 1980, I stayed at the Taj Mahal in Bombay, visited the “Gateway of India” and took a boat to Elephanta Island …

India Security Faulted as Survivors Tell of Terror  —  At Tourist Haunts and Train Station, Swiftly Launched Assault Overwhelmed Police; Home Affairs Minister Steps Down  —  MUMBAI — As waiters started setting dinner buffets in Mumbai's luxurious hotels, the killings that would ravage …

Muslim graveyard refuses to bury terrorists in Mumbai  —  Nico Hines, and Rhys Blakely in Mumbai  —  A Muslim graveyard in the heart of Mumbai has broken with Islamic tradition and refused to bury the bodies of nine terrorists who were killed during the attack on India's financial capital.

Credit-card industry may cut $2 trillion lines: analyst  —  (Reuters) - The U.S. credit-card industry may pull back well over $2 trillion of lines over the next 18 months due to risk aversion and regulatory changes, leading to sharp declines in consumer spending, prominent banking analyst Meredith Whitney said.

U.S. Warned India in October of Potential Terror Attack  —  NSA Now Tracking Captured Phones, U.S. Connections  —  U.S. intelligence agencies warned their Indian counterparts in mid-October of a potential attack “from the sea against hotels and business centers in Mumbai,” a U.S. intelligence official tells ABCNews.com.

Reporter to Obama: Um, didn't you belittle Hillary's foreign policy cred during the primaries?  —  Sure he did, but you can't hold him to things he said in the heat of battle.  Remember, this is a guy who lied repeatedly on the stump about a pillar of American trade policy and then climbed down as soon as it was safe to do so.

Deepak Blames America  —  The media look within to explain the sick delusions of the Mumbai killers.  —  If the Mumbai terror assault seemed exceptional, and shocking in its targets, it was clear from the Thanksgiving Day reports that we weren't going to be deprived of the familiar, either.