'I don't work for Obama'  —  Democrats must be “very, very careful” to avoid overreaching and will not rubber-stamp President-elect Obama's policies, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Tuesday.  —  In an interview with The Hill, Reid said it is essential for Obama …

Obama Wants Journalist Gupta for Surgeon General  —  President-elect Barack Obama has offered the job of surgeon general to Dr. Sanjay Gupta, the neurosurgeon and correspondent for CNN and CBS, according to two sources with knowledge of the situation.  —  Gupta has told administration officials …

Biden: Not consulting Senate on Panetta “a mistake”  —  Vice President-elect Joe Biden — offering one last defense of the institution he's inhabited for three decades — conceded the Obama transition team made a “mistake” in not consulting the Senate before tapping Leon Panetta to head the CIA.

The World's Pornographic Interest in Jewish Moral Failure  —  Okay, yesterday I was depressed.  Today, I'm just pissed off.  It's absolutely astonishing to me how interested the world is in Israel's failings.  This is the source of a bitter but hilarious observation I once heard a Kurdish leader make …

Report: Al-Qaida No. 2 blames Obama for Gaza fight  —  CAIRO, Egypt - Al-Qaida's No. 2 leader lashed out at President-elect Barack Obama in a new audio message Tuesday, accusing him of not doing anything to stop Israel's offensive in the Gaza Strip, according to an intelligence monitoring center.

Specter Attacks Choice for Attorney General  —  WASHINGTON — A leading Republican senator issued a broad attack on Tuesday on President-elect Barack Obama's pick as attorney general, Eric H. Holder Jr., questioning his political independence.  —  The senator, Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania …

End Times  —  VIRTUALLY ALL THE predictions about the death of old media have assumed a comfortingly long time frame for the end of print—the moment when, amid a panoply of flashing lights, press conferences, and elegiac reminiscences, the newspaper presses stop rolling and news goes entirely digital.

Richard Dawkins launches ‘There is no God’ adverts on buses across Britain  —  The archsceptic professor Richard Dawkins today launched Britain's first atheist campaign posting the message: “There's probably no God.  So stop worrying and enjoy your life” on the side of 800 British buses.

“We have no grand political scheme”  —  I spent the morning at a lecture organized by GWU's outstanding Homeland Security Policy Institute's Ambassador's Roundtable Series featuring Israel's Ambassador to the United States Sallai Meridor.  It was a profoundly dismaying experience.

French TV claims photos from 2005 showed damage from Israel's Gaza operation  —  French public television network France 2 on Tuesday revealed they had aired photographs that allegedly showed destruction caused by the Israel Air Force during Operation Cast Lead, which were in fact taken during …

Obama's Choice for Solicitor General Has Left a Breach in a Long Paper Trail  —  WASHINGTON — The New Republic called Elena Kagan a “wonderwonk” for her work on tobacco legislation in the Clinton administration.  She was, the magazine said, “a nerd who can talk tough.”

Obama to ride in style in GM limo  —  Armored '09 Cadillac to carry new president in inaugural parade.  —  WASHINGTON — President-elect Barack Obama is getting a new ride to go with his new address on Jan. 20.  —  General Motors Corp. recently delivered to the U.S. Secret Service a brand …

Bush wants gate on route to Dallas home  —  Just like his father, President George W. Bush will return to Texas when he leaves office.  —  And just like his father, he wants a gate to be installed along a public street to limit access to his neighborhood.  —  Dallas City Manager Mary Suhm …

‘Senator’ Biden's trip raises concerns  —  Joe Biden has always had a flair for doing things differently - but his upcoming trip to South Asia may set a new standard.  —  The vice president-elect will be traveling to Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan.  But he won't really be traveling …

240,000 dollars awarded to man forced to cover Arab T-shirt  —  NEW YORK (AFP) - An airline passenger forced to cover his T-shirt because it displayed Arabic script has been awarded 240,000 dollars in compensation, campaigners said Monday.  —  Raed Jarrar received the pay out on Friday …

Coleman sues over Minnesota Senate recount result  —  Republican Norm Coleman, who received 225 fewer votes than DFLer Al Franken in the U.S. Senate recount, will challenge the result in court.  He told reporters at a state Capitol news conference that a lawsuit, known as an election contest, would proceed.

THE FIRST TEN SENATE BILLS.  —  A Democratic aide on the hill passes along the first ten bills that Majority Leader Harry Reid will put in the hopper this evening to kick off the new session of Congress, as sent by leadership to various Senate Legislative Directors.

Dems plan pro-Israel resolution  —  WASHINGTON (JTA) — Top Democrats are planning to introduce a non-binding congressional resolution supporting Israel's goal in its Gaza Strip operation.  —  U.S. Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), the U.S. House of Representatives majority leader …

Livni: World Must Choose between Israel and Terror  —  (IsraelNN.com) Quartet Middle East envoy Tony Blair met with Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni Monday evening, hoping to find a way to persuade Israel to consider at least a temporary ceasefire in its Operation Cast Lead against the Hamas terrorist organization ruling Gaza.