With most ballot challenges settled, Franken leads by 48  —  With most ballot challenges settled, Democrat Al Franken holds a 48-vote lead over Republican Sen. Norm Coleman in the U.S. Senate recount, according to a Star Tribune analysis of a draft report from the Secretary of State's office.

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.

The Choice Is Ours Now  —  This is a message for my brothers and sisters who have fought so long and so hard for gay rights and liberty.  We have spent a long time climbing up this mountain, looking at the impossible, changing a thousand year-old paradigm.  We have asked for the right to love …

Paparazzi Photog Gets a ‘Pec-tacular’ Obama Shot  —  HONOLULU — More than a dozen photographs of a bathing suit-clad President-elect Barack Obama surfaced online Monday showing the shirtless Chicagoan accompanied by his wife, Michelle, and their two young daughters on the white-sand beach in front of their vacation home.

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.

Clinton Moves To Widen Role Of State Dept.  —  WASHINGTON — Even before taking office, Hillary Rodham Clinton is seeking to build a more powerful State Department, with a bigger budget, high-profile special envoys to trouble spots and an expanded role in dealing with global economic issues at a time of crisis.

Sarah Palin: Conservative of the Year  —  Sarah Palin wins HUMAN EVENTS' prestigious “Conservative of the Year” Award for 2008 for her genius at annoying all the right people.  The last woman to get liberals this hot under the collar would have been ... let's see now ... oh, yeah: Me!

Many Muslims skeptical of Fort Dix verdicts  —  Yes, they talked tough, fired guns and watched jihadist videos.  —  But the five young Muslims convicted Monday of plotting to kill soldiers at Fort Dix may not have been guilty of anything more than youthful braggadocio and poor judgment.

Poll: 1 in 5 say Cheney worst vice president ever  —  CNN Deputy Political Director  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — A new national poll suggests that one out of five Americans think that Dick Cheney is the worst vice president in American history.  —  Twenty-three percent of those questioned …

A Special Note Re: Hummus  —  This is James Bennet, editor of The Atlantic.  —  Most readers know that the views expressed on Jeffrey's blog are his own and don't always reflect the views of The Atlantic.  Such is the case with regard to Jeffrey's comments on the relative merits of hummus and baba ghanoush.

European Nations Discussing Accepting Guantanamo Detainees  —  Under Bush, Nations Refused to Resettle Guantanamo Prisoners  —  European nations have begun intensive discussions both within and among their governments on whether to resettle detainees from the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay …

Name that Party: Scandal-ridden Ohio A.G.'s Party Affiliation Irrelevant; Party Affiliation of Mother of Mother of Child of Son of Arrestee Highly Relevant?  —  Time for ANOTHER fun round of “Name that Party!!!”  —  Marc Dann was an elected official in Ohio who is now embroiled in a scandal.

Bush v. Gore Set to Outlast Its Beneficiary  —  The Supreme Court's decision in Bush v. Gore, issued eight years ago this month, was widely understood to work like that tape recorder in “Mission: Impossible.”  It was meant to produce a president and then self-destruct.