EXCLUSIVE Interview With Sarah Palin  —  “Thank you, sir.  It is an honor to be named your “Conservative of the Year.'”  —  That's how Sarah Palin began her third interview this year with HUMAN EVENTS Political Editor John Gizzi.  She spoke to Gizzi last April as the first of 16 Republicans …

Editors' Note  —  Earlier this morning, we posted a letter that was signed by Bertrand Delanoe, the mayor of Paris, sharply criticizing Caroline Kennedy.  —  This letter was a fake.  It should not have been published.  —  Doing so violated both our standards and our procedures in publishing signed letters from our readers.

Putting a CAP on Yglesias  —  It's been awhile since there's been a good, old fashioned “you can't do that in the blogosphere” controversy, but this morning Memeorandum brings us one in the form of a public rebuke to nomadic Center for American Progress (CAP) blogger Matthew Yglesias by CAP interim chief executive Jennifer Palmieri.

5 convicted of plotting to kill Fort Dix soldiers  —  CAMDEN, N.J. - Five Muslim immigrants were convicted Monday of plotting to massacre U.S. soldiers at Fort Dix in a case that tested the FBI's post-Sept. 11 strategy of infiltrating and breaking up terrorist conspiracies in their earliest stages.

For Conservative Radio, It's a New Dawn, Too  —  Amid all the pressures on the radio industry, news-talk stations see an opportunity — and his name is Barack Obama.  —  After eight years of playing defense for President Bush, the conservatives who dominate talk radio are back on offense.

Sweet Bailout  —  Looks to me like the $700 billion rescue package may have been $1.6 billion too large: … A lot of people are going to read this as a confirmation of the Sirota/Pence view that government intervention was unnecessary.  I don't see it that way.

Life Without Bubbles  —  Whatever the new administration does, we're in for months, perhaps even a year, of economic hell.  After that, things should get better, as President Obama's stimulus plan — O.K., I'm told that the politically correct term is now “economic recovery plan” — begins to gain traction.

Newspaper Shuns Web, and Thrives  —  With 2008 drawing to a brutal close on the media beat — bankruptcies, daily newspapers that are no longer daily, magazines that are downsizing into brochures — a little ray of light appeared in my e-mail inbox.  It was from a newspaper owner, of all people.

Developers Ask U.S. for Bailout  —  With a record amount of commercial real-estate debt coming due, some of the country's biggest property developers have become the latest to go hat-in-hand to the government for assistance.  —  They're warning policymakers that thousands of office complexes …

Coleman camp projects win, if court helps  —  Sen. Norm Coleman's (R) campaign said Monday it expected to defeat Democrat Al Franken in the Minnesota Senate race — but only if the Minnesota Supreme Court grants them a key victory in a lawsuit.  —  Coleman campaign officials told reporters …

Poll finds public split on Obama aides' contacts with Blagojevich  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — A new national poll indicates Americans are split on whether aides to President-elect Barack Obama did something inappropriate in their contacts with embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

Krugman in contact with the Obama team?  —  Yes.  —  When master economist, columnist, and plain ole intellectual (so few left these days) Paul Krugman was asked this morning* about whether or not he was “in communications” with the Obama administration regarding the economy, he declared …

Biden: I'll be different vice president  —  (CNN) — In an interview with CNN's Larry King that will air at 9 p.m. ET Monday, Vice President-elect Joseph Biden discussed what role he will play in decision-making at the White House.  Biden also said the U.S. will remove combat troops from Iraq within two years.

Toyota Expects Its First Loss in 70 Years  —  TOKYO — Toyota Motor, the Japanese auto giant, announced Monday that it expected the first loss in 70 years in its core vehicle-making business, underscoring how the economic crisis is spreading across the global auto industry.

Obama's Cabinet To The Right Of Democrats in Congress  —  In the 110th Congress, there were 236 Democrats in the U.S. House, 49 in the Senate, and two “Independents” who caucused with Democrats.  Of those 287 congresscritters, 74 were members of the New Democratic Coalition, which is affiliated with the DLC.

Where'd the bailout money go?  Shhhh, it's a secret  —  Featured Topics: - Barack Obama - Presidential Transition  —  WASHINGTON - It's something any bank would demand to know before handing out a loan: Where's the money going?  —  But after receiving billions in aid from U.S. taxpayers …

Inauguration Day Crowd Estimate Reduced by Half  —  Officials are casting doubt on an early projection that 4 million to 5 million people could jam downtown Washington on Inauguration Day, saying it is more likely that the crowd will be about half that size.

Howard Dean, a Victim of His Own Success?  —  As Democratic National Committee chairman, Howard Dean helped put a Democrat in the White House — but made his share of enemies in the party along the way.  As his DNC tenure ends, he's a free agent.  (By Mark Wilson — Getty Images)

The City Where the Sirens Never Sleep  —  Detroit is dying.  But, it is not dead yet.  —  This is the place where bad times get sent to make them belong to somebody else, thus, it seems easy to agree about Detroit because the city embodies everything the rest of the country wants to get over.

Headless Bodies Found in Mexico  —  9 of the 12 Corpses Left on Busy Street As Drug War Rages  —  The decapitated bodies of 12 men were discovered early Sunday scattered in and around a state capital in southern Mexico.  Nine of the headless corpses were strewn along a busy street …