Egyptians open fire on Palestinians  —  Egyptian border guards have opened fire on Palestinians who breached the border to escape Israel's assault on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.  —  An Egyptian security official said there were at least five breaches along the nine-mile border and hundreds of Palestinian residents were pouring in.

Condoleezza Rice: “I'm Not A Type A”  —  Outgoing Secretary Of State Shares Thoughts With Sunday Morning … She's been called the administration's “warrior princess,” the true believer who's visited scores of countries, traveling a million miles to implement, explain, and defend, president George W. Bush's foreign policy.

Anger, sadness over fabricated Holocaust story  —  NEW YORK (AP) - It's the latest story that touched, and betrayed, the world.  —  “Herman Rosenblat and his wife are the most gentle, loving, beautiful people,” literary agent Andrea Hurst said Sunday, anguishing over why she, and so many others …

The Year in Review  —  How weird a year was it?  Here's how weird:  — O.J. actually got convicted of something.  — Gasoline hit $4 a gallon — and those were the good times.  — On several occasions, “Saturday Night Live” was funny.  — There were a few days there in October …

Obama bristles as the bubble closes in on him  —  HONOLULU - The media glare, the constant security appendage and the sheer production that has become a morning jog or a hankering for an ice cream cone - it's been closing in on Barack Obama for some time.  —  Now the president-elect appears …

Goodwin: Say goodnight, Caroline  —  In the beginning, just three long weeks ago, the idea of Caroline Kennedy being a United States senator had a certain ring to it.  The Camelot myth still has shelf life and a merger with the historic Obama presidency provided an intriguing story line.

Laura Bush: Shoe-throwing ‘was an assault’  —  While President Bush shrugged off an Iraqi reporter who threw his shoes at him during a press conference, the First Lady said the incident was no laughing matter.  —  “It was an assault,” she said.  “And the president laughed it off …

The banality of vacation  —  Just got my fifth pool report of the day, from the Trib's John McCormick , who reports that Obama is at a friend's house, and that reporters could glimpse “a couple jet skiis moving about in the water” and “a group of people watching from shore.”

Win, Win, Win, Win, Win ...  How many times do we have to see this play before we admit that it always ends the same way?  —  Which play?  The one where gasoline prices go up, pressure rises for more fuel-efficient cars, then gasoline prices fall and the pressure for low-mileage vehicles vanishes …

Cars leaving lots without drivers  —  A half-dozen trailers rolled up to Eckenhoff Cadillac Buick Pontiac GMC in Jenkintown bright and early and wiped the lot clean of $8.4 million in inventory - Hummers, Cadillacs and all.  —  “Load up, leave.  Load up, leave. . . .” …

Bernie's funda-mental defense  —  If you thought Bernard Madoff's $50 billion investment scheme was audacious, get ready for his alibi.  Lawyers for the accused scammer are exploring an insanity defense, we hear.  —  “Bernie's family and his attorneys may argue that, somewhere along the line …

CITY PENSION NIGHTMARE  —  The city's five pension funds have lost close to 30 percent in the Wall Street crisis this year - threatening to hit taxpayers like an economic tsunami for years to come, experts are warning.  —  An estimated $30 billion in recent pension investment losses …