Court won't review Obama's eligibility to serve  —  Featured Topics: - Barack Obama - Presidential Transition  —  WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court has turned down an emergency appeal from a New Jersey man who says President-elect Barack Obama is ineligible to be president because he was a British subject at birth.

9/11 suspects ask to make ‘confessions’ at Gitmo  —  GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba - The alleged mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks and four co-defendants told a military judge Monday they want to immediately confess at their war-crimes tribunal, setting up likely guilty pleas and their possible executions.

Tribune files for bankruptcy  —  Chicago Tribune parent Tribune Co. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection today in Delaware so it can restructure its debt.  —  The Chicago Cubs and Wrigley Field, which Tribune Co. has on the auction block, are not part of the filing.

Liberals voice concerns about Obama  —  Liberals are growing increasingly nervous - and some just flat-out angry - that President-elect Barack Obama seems to be stiffing them on Cabinet jobs and policy choices.  —  Obama has reversed pledges to immediately repeal tax cuts for the wealthy and take on Big Oil.

Thain Spars With Board Over Bonus at Merrill  —  Merrill Lynch & Co. chief John Thain has suggested to directors that he get a 2008 bonus of as much as $10 million, but the battered securities firm's compensation committee is resisting his request, according to people familiar with the situation.

Times Co. to borrow against building  —  The New York Times Company plans to borrow up to $225 million against its mid-Manhattan headquarters building, to ease a potential cash flow squeeze as the company grapples with tighter credit and shrinking profits.  —  The company has retained Cushman …

‘Mumbai mastermind’ arrested in Pakistan  —  Pakistani security forces have raided a suspected training camp used by Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), the militant group blamed for last month's attack on Mumbai, and arrested several of the group's activists, government officials said today.

Iraqi Carnage Detailed  —  Blackwater guard describes 2007 fusillade that killed 14 civilians  —  A military contractor has provided federal investigators with a first-person account of a shooting in Baghdad last year that resulted in the death of 14 unarmed Iraqi civilians, according to a court filing just unsealed.

Small Isn't Beautiful  —  President-elect Barack Obama and a Democratic Congress are about to serve up a supersized helping of big-government liberalism.  Conservatives will be inclined to oppose much of what Obama and his party cook up.  And, I believe, rightly so.

Gore and Obama to Discuss Climate Change  —  Former Vice President Al Gore at the Democratic National Convention in August.  (Photo: Damon Winter/The New York Times)  —  CHICAGO — Former Vice President Al Gore will visit President-elect Barack Obama here on Tuesday ­­to discuss energy …

Wright: Obama made ‘bad’ choice to distance self, but it's ok  —  President-elect Barack Obama made a “bad decision” by distancing himself from the Rev. Jeremiah Wright and his church, Wright said Sunday — but that's OK.  —  “He's still my child,” Wright said in a sermon in which he expressed pride …

In Defense Of Sarah Palin  —  Will, a loyal Dish reader, writes: … I agree.  While signing off, Andrew mentioned the months long argument he and I have had with regard to Sarah Palin's fifth child.  I am the only other person who has read all the obstetrician interviews …

Our Mutual Joy  —  Opponents of gay marriage often cite Scripture.  But what the Bible teaches about love argues for the other side.  —  From the magazine issue dated Dec 15, 2008  —  Let's try for a minute to take the religious conservatives at their word and define marriage as the Bible does.

Stoking Fear Everywhere You Look  —  With unemployment figures beginning to resemble a mushroom cloud and the Fed running out of card tricks, I told a friend we were going to spend the weekend at my house making hard choices — scrutinizing every expense, eliminating spending where we could and downsizing at every turn.

The Malcolm Gladwell Backlash  —  I've really been taken aback by a lot of the hostile response to Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers that I've read.  This isn't a book without flaws.  But the flaws in the book are flaws that have long been present in Gladwell's writing.

Romney paves way for possible '12 run  —  Bulk of PAC fund goes for political ambitions  —  “It is more essential than ever that conservative candidates and organizations have the resources they need to get their message out to voters.”  - Republican Mitt Romney, former governor of Massachusetts.

Auto Bailout Deal Appears to Be Likely by End of the Day  —  WASHINGTON — An agreement between the White House and Congressional Democrats over the shape of a rescue plan for the American auto industry appears to be imminent, President Bush's chief spokeswoman and a Congressional leader said Monday.

Mayors Ask Congress for Money — But Please Don't Call It a ‘Bailout’  —  T.W. Farnam reports on politics.  —  A delegation of American mayors is meeting with Democratic congressional leaders today to ask for a piece of the economic stimulus package taking shape — and they met …