Kennedy comes out for gay marriage  —  Caroline Kennedy is finally sharing some of her political opinions with the people she's campaigning to represent — casting herself in the liberal tradition of uncle Ted Kennedy, bucking Barack Obama by supporting same-sex marriage and disavowing Hillary Clinton's 2002 vote for the Iraq invasion.

'Karl Rove's IT guru' Mike Connell dies in plane crash  —  A top level Republican IT consultant who was set to testify in a case alleging GOP election tampering in Ohio died in a plane crash late Friday night.  —  Michael Connell — founder of Ohio-based New Media Communications …

White House Philosophy Stoked Mortgage Bonfire  —  “We can put light where there's darkness, and hope where there's despondency in this country.  And part of it is working together as a nation to encourage folks to own their own home.”  — President Bush, Oct. 15, 2002

As Outlook Dims, Obama Expands Recovery Plans  —  WASHINGTON — Faced with worsening forecasts for the economy, President-elect Barack Obama is expanding his economic recovery plan and will seek to create or save 3 million jobs in the next two years, up from a goal of 2.5 million jobs set just last month …

Franken expects to defeat Coleman by 35-50 votes  —  Al Franken's campaign is as close to declaring victory as it has throughout the weeks-long recount in the Minnesota Senate race.  —  Franken's campaign attorney Marc Elias said he expects Franken to be leading Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) …

“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.

Iraqi journalist who hurled his shoes at Bush was then viciously beaten  —  The Iraqi journalist who hurled his shoes at President George Bush was viciously beaten after being taken into custody, according to a police officer who accompanied him to prison.  —  Wrestled to the ground …

Cyber Jihad of Frustrated Losers Issue Fatwas Against Facebook  —  Well, ya know Facebook started a little counter offensive since al-Qaeda supporting terrorist sympathizers vowed to use Facebook to spread Jihadi propaganda.  —  What was the reaction?  They are getting Fatwas!

The Cost of Conservatism, in Trillions  —  Let's engage in a back of the envelope exercise for a moment: the cost of conservatism to America.  Right wingers want to de-emphasize the costs, and pump up the virtues.  They want to account for every penny of liberal projects but declare that conservative projects have no price.

China to the Rescue?  Not!  —  I had no idea that many of those oil paintings that hang in hotel rooms and starter homes across America are actually produced by just one Chinese village, Dafen, north of Hong Kong.  And I had no idea that Dafen's artist colony — the world's leading center …

Let them eat caviar: Milan poor to get seized delicacy for Christmas  —  Beluga caviar seized by Italian customs officers is to be distributed to poor people in Milan as a Christmas gift.  —  About 40kg (88lb) of caviar was confiscated in November after two couriers travelling from Poland were stopped with the hidden cargo.

Could We Uncover Watergate Today?  —  The death last week of W. Mark Felt — Bob Woodward's secret source, indelibly dubbed “Deep Throat,” who played such a crucial role in this newspaper's Watergate reporting — coincided with the appearance of Richard M. Nixon, as played by Frank Langella, on local movie screens.

Top Lawyer Urges Voiding California Proposition 8  —  SAN FRANCISCO — In a sharp rebuke to supporters of a contested state ballot measure that banned same-sex marriage, the California attorney general said Friday that the measure was constitutionally indefensible and should be overturned.