EPA Eases Emissions Regulations for New Power Plants  —  The Environmental Protection Agency ruled yesterday that new power plants are not required to install technology to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, rejecting an argument from environmental groups.  —  The ruling, in a memorandum signed …

Document drop: The story behind Change.gov  —  I've obtained documents sent to a reader in response to his FOIA request regarding the creation of Barack Obama's Change.gov website.  It gives you the rest of the story.  You'll recall last month that I blogged several questions about the propriety …

Johnston's arrest was oxycontin-related  —  WASILLA — Wasilla resident Sherry L. Johnston, mother of Bristol Palin's boyfriend, faces a Jan. 6 court date for an oxycontin-related arrest at her home by Alaska State Troopers.  —  Little additional information was available Friday on the case …

If criminal penalties are removed, what will deter lawbreaking by political officials?  —  (updated below)  —  The Washington Post's Ruth Marcus today perfectly expresses the consensus view of establishment Washington regarding the exemption which political elites should and do enjoy from the rule of law …

GERRY: SHE'S NOT READY  —  Geraldine Ferraro gave a thumbs down to Caroline Kennedy's bid for the Senate yesterday - even as the Camelot daughter won her biggest endorsement for the job, The Post has learned.  —  Ferraro, the first woman nominee for vice president, sent a letter …

“The search for knowledge, truth and a greater understanding of the world around us”  —  In the latest weekly address, President-elect Barack Obama took a bold stand for making decisions based on science and facts rather than ideology as he introduced leading members of his science and technology team.

A Chance for Consensus on Iraq  —  After our visit to Iraq this month, it is clear that what was once unthinkable there is now taking place: A stable, safe and free Iraq is emerging.  Violence has fallen to the lowest level since the first months of the war.

Nepotism NY style as clans vie for seat  —  The appointment of the New York Senate seat Hillary Clinton will shortly vacate has become a struggle among political dynasties, with the question being which family ends up on top.  —  It involves no fewer than five intertwined political clans …

Veep-Hunting  —  Looking for the party line on Cheney?  Here it is.  —  Angler  —  The Cheney Vice Presidency  —  by Barton Gellman  —  Penguin, 384 pp., $27.95  —  Anyone still interested in the sorry state of mainstream journalism should have a good, long look at Barton Gellman's blistering portrait of Dick Cheney.

We're in the fast lane to Bailoutistan  —  Recommend  —  “See the USA in your Chevrolet!” trilled Dinah Shore week after week on TV.  —  Can you still see the USA in your Chevrolet?  Through a windscreen darkly.  —  General Motors now has a market valuation about a third of Bed …

Bush on His Record  —  The president defends his democracy agenda and his economic interventionism.  —  Air Force One  —  As he sits at his mile-high desk, clad in his Air Force One crew jacket, George W. Bush is as he has ever been: upbeat, focused, confident in his past decisions and in the future.

Tech followups on NYTimes.com blockage in China (updated)  —  On December 19, the NYTimes.com site was apparently blocked all across China.  For the sake of completeness, these followups.  —  1) Could the problem be related to a recent physical break in three of the four main internet cables connecting Asia to North America?

Rick Warren and the Presidency  —  Barack Obama's invitation to evangelical powerhouse Rick Warren to deliver the inaugural invocation has angered abortion and gay rights advocates.  They are overreacting.  The invitation merely confirms Obama's admirable willingness to reach out across a relatively broad ideological spectrum .