Obama Defers to Bush, for Now, on Gaza Crisis  —  WASHINGTON — When President-elect Barack Obama went to Israel in July — to the very town, in fact, whose repeated shelling culminated in this weekend's new fighting in Gaza — he all but endorsed the punishing Israeli attacks now unfolding.

My Response to the Mean-Spirited “Barack the Magic Negro”  —  The sending of a Christmas greeting by Chip Saltsman to the members of the Republican National Committee that includes a recording of the so-called parody, “Barack the Magic Negro” is not only offensive, it is shocking and saddening in the extreme.

Study: ‘Virginity pledges’ are ineffective  —  Youths who promise abstinence are also less likely to use protection  —  Teenagers who pledge to remain virgins until marriage are just as likely to have premarital sex as those who do not promise abstinence and are significantly less likely …

TV News Winds Down Operations on Iraq War  —  Quietly, as the United States presidential election and its aftermath have dominated the news, America's three broadcast network news divisions have stopped sending full-time correspondents to Iraq.  —  “The war has gone on longer than a lot …

George, Abe, Rick & Barack  —  I'm leaving the country the day of Barack Obama's inauguration.  —  It's nothing personal.  Nor, I hasten to add — lest some people get too excited — is it anything permanent.  It's just that I happen to have a speech to give in Canada.

McAuliffe's Prowess As Fundraiser Grabs Spotlight in Va. Race  —  RICHMOND — With his booming voice, quick wit and gregarious nature, Terry McAuliffe established a reputation as one of the world's best political fundraisers, soaking up hundreds of millions of dollars for Democratic causes and candidates.

Fifty Herbert Hoovers  —  No modern American president would repeat the fiscal mistake of 1932, in which the federal government tried to balance its budget in the face of a severe recession.  The Obama administration will put deficit concerns on hold while it fights the economic crisis.

‘Stimulus’ Doesn't Have to Mean Pork  —  How Obama can reform government while boosting the economy.  —  President-elect Barack Obama says he will create or protect some three million jobs by spending a massive amount of federal dollars to build roads and other “shovel ready” government projects across the country.

Robert Graham, a Sculptor of Monuments in Bronze, Dies at 70  —  SANTA MONICA, Calif. — The sculptor Robert Graham, whose massive bronze works are seen on civic monuments across the United States, including the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial in Washington and the Duke Ellington Memorial in New York, died here on Saturday.

Lessons for Other Smokers in Obama's Efforts to Quit  —  Will one of President-elect Barack Obama's New Year's resolutions be to quit smoking once and for all?  —  His good-humored waffling in various interviews about smoking made it plain that Mr. Obama, like many who have vowed to quit at this time of year, had not truly done so.

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.