Breaking: Obama unveils 21st Century New Deal  —  President-elect Barack Obama added sweep and meat to his economic agenda on Saturday, pledging the largest new investment in roads and bridges since President Dwight D. Eisenhower built the Interstate system in the late 1950s …

Shinseki Slated to Head VA, Obama Confirms  —  Retired Army Gen. Eric K. Shinseki will be introduced tomorrow as President-elect Barack Obama's nominee to head the Department of Veterans Affairs, a Democratic official familiar with the announcement said today.

Letter to Sean Hannity of Fox News  —  I sent the following letter to Sean Hannity recently in response to his misrepresentation of what I said on his show regarding the Mumbai terrorist attacks.  I have not received any response back from him.  Today I read it aloud on my Sirius-XM radio program …

Biden to limit role of vice president  —  Dialing back his predecessor's expansive view of the office, Vice President-elect Joe Biden plans on “restoring the Office of the Vice President to its historical role” as adviser to the president and tie-breaker in the Senate, an aide to Biden said Saturday.

The Real Bill Ayers  —  IN the recently concluded presidential race, I was unwillingly thrust upon the stage and asked to play a role in a profoundly dishonest drama.  I refused, and here's why.  —  Unable to challenge the content of Barack Obama's campaign, his opponents invented a narrative …

The GOP's “Yes We Can”  —  NYU prof. Clay Shirky discusses the underappreciated impact of “Dear Mr. Obama,” which he calls “the single most affecting video of the election”:

With only 46 days left, Americans start re-liking George W. Bush  —  It makes sense if you think about it.  But who's investing a lot of thought nowadays in President George W. Bush?  —  Not many.  But the folks over at the Gallup Poll have found historically that American voters tend …

Terrible employment numbers  —  A slump, a weak recovery, a worse slump  —  Most commentary on the terrible employment report has focused on the establishment numbers, because the number from the household survey that usually makes headlines, the unemployment rate, didn't rise all that much.

When a Job Disappears, So Does the Health Care  —  ASHLAND, Ohio — As jobless numbers reach levels not seen in 25 years, another crisis is unfolding for millions of people who lost their health insurance along with their jobs, joining the ranks of the uninsured.  —  The crisis is on display here.

The Big Three's real union problem  —  If there is hope for the Big Three and for the UAW, it rests in unionizing the foreign automakers' U.S. plants.  —  The Big Three are a mess, and there is plenty of blame to go around.  Washington lawmakers pondering the bailout for Detroit …

In New Strategy, U.S. Will Defend Kabul Environs  —  KABUL, Afghanistan — Most of the additional American troops arriving in Afghanistan early next year will be deployed near the capital, Kabul, American military commanders here say, in a measure of how precarious the war effort has become.

DO AMERICANS RECEIVE BETTER HEALTH CARE?  —  Noah Pollack starts this post by saying “I am far from knowledgeable about health care,” and then gets right down to the busy of proving it, using the oft-discredited prostate cancer stats to argue that “survival rates for many diseases are higher …

Pakistan's Jihad  —  In the war on terror, Islamabad is both with us and against us.  —  Just two days after the gunmen's siege in Mumbai ended, Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari went on CNN's Larry King Live to plead his case.  Even before the Indian authorities had brought the rampage to an end …

Dems, White House Agree To Auto Bailout  —  Pelosi Bows To Bush Condition On Deal Granting $15 Billion In Loans To Big Three  —  (CBS/AP) After weeks of tense discussions with the heads of the U.S. auto industry, Democratic Congressional leaders have reached an agreement that may just clear …

Public support grows, according to the new NEWSWEEK Poll.  —  When voters in California, Florida and Arizona approved measures banning same-sex marriage last month, opponents lamented that the country appeared to be turning increasingly intolerant toward gay and lesbian rights.