McKinney relief boat rammed by Israeli navy  —  A boat carrying international peace activists, including former Georgia congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, and medical supplies to the embattled Gaza Strip sailed back into a Lebanese port on Tuesday after being turned back and damaged by the Israeli navy, organizers of the trip said.

‘Magic Negro’ flap might help Saltsman  —  The controversy surrounding a comedy CD distributed by Republican National Committee chair candidate Chip Saltsman has not torpedoed his bid and might have inadvertently helped it.  —  Four days after news broke that the former Tennessee GOP chairman …

Blagojevich to name Burris to Senate  —  Then Governor-elect Rod Blagojevich introduces his board of advisors, including Roland Burris (to the governor's left) in November 2002.  —  (Tribune file photo / Chuck Berman)  —  Gov. Rod Blagojevich is expected today to name former Illinois …

Add Up the Damage  —  Does anyone know where George W. Bush is?  —  You don't hear much from him anymore.  The last image most of us remember is of the president ducking a pair of size 10s that were hurled at him in Baghdad.  —  We're still at war in Iraq and Afghanistan.

From the left, a call to end the current Dutch notion of tolerance  —  AMSTERDAM: Two years ago, the Dutch could quietly congratulate themselves on having brought what seemed to be a fair measure of consensus and reason to the meanest intersection in their national political life …

Reading Into Bush's Book List  —  In what without a doubt is the most astounding op-ed piece of the year, Karl Rove reveals that his friend and former boss, George W. Bush, has read probably hundreds of books over the course of his presidency.  One of them was Albert Camus' “The Stranger,” …

2008 Weblog Awards Finalists  —  Here is a complete list of the finalists for The 2008 Weblog Awards.  Finalists badges (hosted by Imageshack) will be available Wednesday.  Voting is scheduled to begin on January 5, 2009.  —  Please note that the names of the Technorati Autority categories have changed …

U.S. Agrees to a Stake in GMAC  —  WASHINGTON — The Treasury Department injected $5 billion into GMAC, the automobile financing company, as part of a deal announced Monday night that will let GMAC convert itself into a bank holding company to reduce its borrowing costs and thus borrow money at low rates from the Federal Reserve.

GOP warns against stimulus rush  —  Congressional Republicans on Monday criticized a $1 trillion stimulus as wasteful spending and signaled they will oppose having the bill ready by President-elect Obama's inauguration on Jan. 20.  —  Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) …

Obamas may come out of woodwork  —  Just days before the election, the media focused briefly on the news that Barack Obama's paternal aunt was living illegally in public housing in Boston.  —  While the story didn't get much traction, it offered a glimpse of things to come …

Breaking Up Is Harder to Do After Housing Fall  —  When Marci Needle and her husband began to contemplate divorce in June, they thought they had enough money to go their separate ways.  They owned a million-dollar home near Atlanta and another in Jacksonville, Fla., as well as investment properties.