Gay activists furious with Obama  —  Barack Obama's choice of a prominent evangelical minister to perform the invocation at his inauguration is a conciliatory gesture toward social conservatives who opposed him in November, but it is drawing fierce challenges from a gay rights movement that …

Organizing the White House Is Obama's First Test  —  All presidents come to realize how much structure matters.  —  As he organizes his presidency, Barack Obama continues to receive glowing reviews.  Three out of four Americans approve of how he's handling his transition.

Big News in Washington, but Far Fewer Cover It  —  WASHINGTON — A new president arrived from a new party.  The balance of power shifted in Congress.  Legions of fresh new faces showed up in the nation's capital with new ideas, eager to upend the way the country does business.

Conservative Leader Paul Weyrich Dies; First to Lead Heritage  —  Paul M. Weyrich, chairman and CEO of the Free Congress Foundation and first president of The Heritage Foundation, died this morning around 1 a.m. He was 66 years old.  Weyrich was a good friend to many of us at Heritage, a true leader and a man of unbending principle.

MINNESOTA SENATE RECOUNT, UPDATE XIII  —  Yesterday the Minnesota Supreme Court heard oral argument in Senator Coleman's petition to review the Board of Canvassers' “recommendation” that the one hundred plus counting locations throughout the state sort and count previously rejected “fifth pile” absentee ballots.

Forget the economy: Killer asteroids could pose real danger  —  WASHINGTON — A blue-ribbon panel of scientists is trying to determine the best way to detect and ward off any wandering space rocks that might be on a collision course with Earth.  —  “We're looking for the killer asteroid,” …

Madoff Misled SEC in '06, Got Off  —  Securities and Exchange Commission investigators discovered in 2006 that Bernard Madoff had misled the agency about how he managed customer money, according to documents, yet the SEC missed an opportunity to uncover an alleged Ponzi scheme.

The New Legitimacy  —  Solving social problems by redefining our terms.  —  Amid all the gloomy economic news, the New York Times brings us an encouraging report on social trends: … What accounts for the turnaround?  The Times explains: … The problem of illegitimacy and broken families …

Road closures extend overnight; county schools cancel classes  —  A rare winter storm swept through Southern Nevada Wednesday, dumping the most snow on the valley in nearly three decades, grounding flights at the airport, forcing the closure of major highways and closing schools for today.

Nassau Cops: PTA Mom, Boy Found Half Naked In Car  —  Police Come Across Fogged Up SUV On Elementary School Grounds In Baldwin; Residents Shocked, Horrified  —  A prominent PTA official is facing some serious allegations involving a teenage boy.  —  Police arrested Joan Tuckruskye …

Mayor's Aide Pushes Hard for Kennedy  —  When a powerful labor leader picked up the phone this week, he was surprised to hear the voice of a top aide to Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg of New York.  —  The aide, Kevin Sheekey, a deputy mayor, made it clear: Caroline Kennedy is going to be the next senator …

California Democrats devise plan to hike taxes  —  By structuring them as fees, they would skirt GOP opponents and raise $9.3 billion.  A court fight looms.  —  Reporting from Sacramento — California's Democratic leaders were planning a vote today on a brazen proposal to raise gas …

Children forced into cell-like school seclusion rooms  —  MURRAYVILLE, Georgia (CNN) — A few weeks before 13-year-old Jonathan King killed himself, he told his parents that his teachers had put him in “time-out.”  —  “We thought that meant go sit in the corner and be quiet for a few minutes …

The Torture Report  —  Most Americans have long known that the horrors of Abu Ghraib were not the work of a few low-ranking sociopaths.  All but President Bush's most unquestioning supporters recognized the chain of unprincipled decisions that led to the abuse, torture and death in prisons run …

Russia Plans to Test Obama, U.S. Diplomat Says  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) — Russia has become more rigid in dealing with the United States on issues like the Bush administration's plans for a missile shield in Europe, and it looks ready to test the administration of President-elect Barack Obama, a senior American diplomat said Wednesday.

Feds seek to freeze Blago campaign fund, sources say  —  Federal authorities plan to freeze Gov. Blagojevich's campaign fund, crippling the governor's ability to use the money for his legal bills.  —  In a letter this week, they put the Blagojevich camp on notice they intend to freeze the money, sources told the Chicago Sun-Times.

Former chiefs of staff meet with Emanuel  —  Most of the still-living former White House chiefs of staff had already offered their two cents to Rahm Emanuel at a breakfast earlier this month when it came time for perhaps the most serious man in a room of serious men to speak.

The Denouement of Howard Dean?  —  Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, the man regarded by many sharp political operatives as the progenitor of President-elect Barack Obama's successful 2008 campaign, finds himself without an obvious next job as his tenure at the head of the Democratic National Committee comes to an end.

Freed Bosnian Calls Guantanamo “The Worst Place In The World”  —  As three Bosnian Algerians — Mustafa Aid Idr, Hadj Boudella and Mohammed Nechla — returned to their families in Bosnia-Herzegovina on Tuesday, Ait Idr spoke briefly to reporters.  “For almost seven years,” he said …