An Unnecessary War  —  I know from personal involvement that the devastating invasion of Gaza by Israel could easily have been avoided.  —  After visiting Sderot last April and seeing the serious psychological damage caused by the rockets that had fallen in that area, my wife, Rosalynn …

Obama Promises Bid to Overhaul Retiree Spending  —  WASHINGTON — President-elect Barack Obama said Wednesday that overhauling Social Security and Medicare would be “a central part” of his administration's efforts to contain federal spending, signaling for the first time that he would wade …

NBC's Matthews Won't Run for Senate  —  Chris Matthews, the host of the MSNBC program “Hardball,” told his staff on Wednesday night that he would not run for the Senate in 2010 from Pennsylvania.  —  For much of the last year, Mr. Matthews had been considering entering the Senate race …

Obama, Dems face hard sell on stimulus  —  Faced with record deficits and a skeptical public, Democrats are doubling up efforts to sell their economic recovery plan, with President-elect Barack Obama taking the lead in a speech Thursday designed to lay out the case for government action.

Red Cross Reports Grisly Find in Gaza  —  Israel Accused of Blocking Aid to Wounded  —  The International Committee of the Red Cross said Thursday that it had found at least 15 bodies and several children — emaciated but alive — in a row of shattered houses in the Gaza Strip and accused …

Obama to Name Lawyer Friend To Regulatory Affairs Position  —  President-elect Barack Obama will name Cass R. Sunstein, a close friend and one of the nation's top constitutional lawyers, to a senior-level post in charge of government regulation, a transition official said.

Army Sends ‘Dear John Doe’ Letters to Families of Fallen Troops  —  The Army mistakenly sent letters addressed “Dear John Doe” to 7,000 family members of soldiers who died in Iraq and Afghanistan, unleashing calls from troubled relatives and prompting a formal apology yesterday from the Army's top general.

President Bush Tried to Rein In Fan and Fred  —  Democrats and the media have the housing story wrong.  —  Mythmaking is in full swing as the Bush administration prepares to leave town.  Among the more prominent is the assertion that the housing meltdown resulted from unbridled capitalism under a president opposed to all regulation.

Obama Builds Powerful Team of White House Advisers  —  Influential Advisers May Compete With Cabinet  —  President-elect Barack Obama is assembling a new and influential cadre of counselors just steps from the Oval Office whose power to direct domestic policy will rival, if not exceed, the authority of his Cabinet.

Daschle to Face Tough Questions on Competition in Health Insurance  —  WASHINGTON — When Tom Daschle shows up for a confirmation hearing on Thursday, senators are likely to grant him all the courtesies due a former Senate majority leader.  —  But that does not mean Mr. Daschle should expect only softball questions.

Protester Calls for Jews to ‘Go Back to the Oven’ at Anti-Israel Demonstration  —  Like many other protests of Israel's campaign in Gaza, this one ended badly — police had to cool an ugly fight between supporters of Israel and Gaza, breaking up the warring sides as their screaming and chanting threatened to turn into something worse.

Senate's Democratic majority clears path for Roland Burris  —  Pressure by President-elect Barack Obama leads to about-face  —  WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate's Democratic majority opened the way Wednesday for Roland Burris to become Illinois' next senator, pressured by President-elect Barack Obama …

Will The Real Christina Romer Please Stand Up?  —  Her research rejects a fiscal stimulus.  —  Most people in the incoming Obama administration—and, indeed, most people— believe that the Keynesian model of the economy is basically correct.  Developed from the theories of John Maynard Keynes …

China Losing Taste for Debt From the U.S.  —  HONG KONG — China has bought more than $1 trillion of American debt, but as the global downturn has intensified, Beijing is starting to keep more of its money at home, a move that could have painful effects for American borrowers.