Time to Reboot America  —  I had a bad day last Friday, but it was an all-too-typical day for America.  —  It actually started well, on Kau Sai Chau, an island off Hong Kong, where I stood on a rocky hilltop overlooking the South China Sea and talked to my wife back in Maryland, static-free, using a friend's Chinese cellphone.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran to give alternative Christmas Day message  —  President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran will give a message of seasonal goodwill on Christmas Day as an alternative to the Queen's traditional broadcast, it has been announced.

Pastor says ‘God will punish Rick Warren’  —  Wiley Drake criticizes Warren, calls Obama ‘evil illegal alien.’  —  Recommend  —  BUENA PARK — Southern Baptist Pastor Wiley Drake bashed Saddleback Church Pastor Rick Warren this week, saying “God will punish” Warren for agreeing to give …

Resistance to Kennedy Grows Among Democrats  —  ALBANY — Resistance is emerging among Democratic officials against Caroline Kennedy as she pursues Hillary Rodham Clinton's seat in the United States Senate, with Gov. David A. Paterson bristling over suggestions that her selection is inevitable …

No winner in Senate race until 2009  —  Minnesotans will not know whether Democrat Al Franken or Republican Norm Coleman won the Senate race until next year.  Election officials, along with the two campaigns, have agreed on a framework for adding wrongly-rejected absentee ballots to the recount.

Defense Spending Would Be Great Stimulus  —  All three service branches are in need of upgrade and repair.  —  The Department of Defense is preparing budget cuts in response to the decline in national income.  The DOD budgeteers and their counterparts in the White House Office of Management …

CNN Poll: Obama transition draws approval of 4 in 5 Americans  —  (CNN) - Hawaii's always been a great spot for honeymoons — and Barack Obama, who's spending the holiday season there on the beach at Kailua, is unquestionably having one of the best in modern presidential history.

Obama's five rules of scandal response  —  Tuesday's report from the transition, detailing contacts between members of Obama's inner circle and embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and concluding that “nothing at all inappropriate” was discussed, won't be the final word on the subject …

Emanuel wanted to keep his seat ‘warm’  —  In addition to talking with Gov. Blagojevich about who would fill President-elect Barack Obama's Senate seat, Obama's newly minted chief of staff had something else on his mind: his own congressional seat.  —  Just after accepting the top post with Obama …

RAID ON PLAX HOME  —  WEAPONS FOUND IN LATEST WOE FOR FALLEN STAR  —  Police yesterday seized a small cache of weapons and ammo from the Totowa, NJ, home of troubled Giants star Plaxico Burress, possibly setting up the suspended grid star for more legal trouble, law-enforcement sources said.

Unemployment Filings Reach 26-Year High  —  The number of people filing for unemployment benefits hit a 26-year high last week, as the deepening recession forced more employers to cut jobs.  —  First-time claims for unemployment rose 5.4 percent, to 586,000 for the week ending Dec. 20, the Labor Department reported this morning.

Obama's Afghan Troop-Surge Plan May Prove Too Much, Too Late  —  Dec. 24 (Bloomberg) — Sending more U.S. forces to Afghanistan is an idea whose time has come.  The question is whether the time when it could work has already gone.  —  President-elect Barack Obama, departing President George W. Bush …

For Stimulus Plan, Obama Team Weighing ‘Green’ Jobs vs. Traditional Projects  —  Obama Weighs Them Vs. Traditional Projects  —  In one of the first internal struggles of the incoming Obama administration, environmentalists and smart-growth advocates are trying to shift the priorities …

The Only Facts So Far: 10 Balls, 5 Locations  —  News flash!  Rumors are true!  —  The Presidential Inaugural Committee — trumpets, please! — is hosting 10 official balls on the night of Jan. 20.  —  These, ladies and gentlemen, are the only parties where Barack Obama …

Brit signs off  —  Last night, Brit Hume finished his tenure as “Special Report” anchor, and will now become a senior political analyst at the network (with stops on “Fox News Sunday").  —  A few weeks ago, I asked Sam Donaldson, a former colleague at ABC, about Hume's decision.

President Bush pardons Brooklyn home scammer  —  BY JOHN MARZULLI IN NEW YORK AND JAMES GORDON MEEK IN WASHINGTON  —  President Bush pardoned a Brooklyn real estate developer accused of scamming hundreds of poor, minority homebuyers - and whose father donated $28,500 to the Republican Party this year.

As Christmas Approaches, Muslims Erect ‘Allah Has No Son’ Banner in Nazareth  —  Nazareth, Israel (CNSNews.com) - As Nazareth's Christians prepare to celebrate Christmas, they are playing down the appearance of a confrontational Islamic banner that challenges an elemental Christian belief.

UAW Vows to Fight Salary Concessions  —  Labor Leaders Seek to Renegotiate White House Terms on Auto Bailout  —  The nation's automakers are preparing to ask for wage and benefits concessions from their workers in early January to meet the conditions of a $17.4 billion federal aid package …

The New York Times Company Reports November Revenues  —  NEW YORK—(BUSINESS WIRE)—The New York Times Company announced today that in November total Company revenues from continuing operations decreased 13.9% compared with the same month a year ago.  Advertising revenues decreased 20.9% and circulation revenues increased 4.2%.

Military center tracking Santa's sleigh ride  —  COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Who says Santa Claus doesn't exist?  —  The military personnel charged with being the eyes in the sky are certainly acting like he does — and they've been joined on the Internet by millions of believers.