Obama preparing order to close Gitmo  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Advisers to President-elect Barack Obama say one of his first duties in office will be to order the closing of the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay.  —  That executive order is expected during Obama's first week on the job …

Press Conference by the President  —  James S. Brady Press Briefing Room  —  THE PRESIDENT: Thank you.  Tapper.  We have been through a lot together.  As I look through the room, I see Jake, Mike, Herman, Ann Compton.  Just seemed like yesterday that — that I was on the campaign trail …

Student auctions off virginity for offers of more than £2.5 million  —  A student who is auctioning her virginity to pay for a masters degree in Family and Marriage therapy has seen bidding hit £2.5million ($3.7m).  —  Natalie Dylan, 22, claims her offer of a one-night stand …

Burris Cleared to Take Senate Seat  —  Senate Democratic leaders today cleared the way for Roland Burris to be seated as a senator from Illinois, after more than a weeklong spectacle surrounding the state's corruption scandal and the questioning of Mr. Burris's credentials.

Rice shame-faced by Bush over UN Gaza vote: Olmert  —  Featured Topics: - Barack Obama - Presidential Transition  —  JERUSALEM (AFP) - US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was left shame-faced after President George W. Bush ordered her to abstain in a key UN vote on the Gaza war, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said on Monday.

Israel bans Arab parties from running in upcoming elections  —  The Central Elections Committee on Monday banned Arab political parties from running in next month's parliamentary elections, drawing accusations of racism by an Arab lawmaker who said he would challenge the decision in the country's Supreme Court.

Process Server on Chief Justice Roberts: ‘Definitely a Gentleman’  —  There was no clandestine surveillance, no hiding behind bushes or in a parked car.  —  Daniel Portnoy says he walked up the driveway and knocked on the front door.  The homeowner opened the door.

On Analogies  —  I did a post the other day that used an anecdote from my real life to illustrate a point about the concept of self-defense.  Since the point was relevant to the debate over the fighting in Gaza, I tried to explicitly say that I didn't want the story to be read as an analogy since …

Blackwell: Gay ‘Compulsion’ Can be ‘Restrained’  —  Former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, a leading candidate for the chairmanship of the Republican National Committee (RNC), is coming under fire Monday for making remarks this summer that gays and lesbians suffer from a “compulsion” that can be “restrained.”

Huckabee: I'm not ‘pro-gay.’  —  Huckabee: I'm not ‘pro-gay.’»  —  During the presidential campaign, far-right conservative columnist Ann Coulter made a hobby of criticizing former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee as insufficiently conservative, including claiming that the virulently anti-gay Huckabee was “pro-sodomy.”

The Founders' Great Mistake  —  FOR THE PAST eight years, George W. Bush has treated the White House much as Kenneth Grahame's Mr. Toad treated a new automobile—like a shiny toy to be wrecked by racing the motor, spinning smoke from the tires, and smashing through farmyards until the wheels come off.

THE BEAST 50 MOST LOATHSOME PEOPLE IN AMERICA, 2008  —  50. Barack Obama  —  Charges: Beyond a few token acts of bipartisan marketing, Barry's major duty in the Senate was to avoid legislating, so he could pretend Washington-outsider status and nullify attacks on his non-existent policy positions.

Hamas raids aid trucks, sells supplies  —  Hamas on Monday raided some 100 aid trucks that Israel had allowed into Gaza, stole their contents and sold them to the highest bidders.  —  The IDF said that since terminal activity is coordinated with UNRWA and the Red Cross …

Proposition 8 Donor Maps, for San Francisco, Salt Lake City, and Orange County, are now posted at EightMaps.com.  Proposition 8, of course, was the proposition that amended the California Constitution to bar legal recognition of same-sex marriage.  The map is built — presumably automatically …

A COUPLE IN CHICAGO … MICHELLE OBAMA: There is a strong possibility that Barack will pursue a political career, although it's unclear.  There is a little tension with that.  I'm very wary of politics.  I think he's too much of a good guy for the kind of brutality, the skepticism.

In Israel, a Consensus That Gaza War Is a Just One  —  JERUSALEM — To Israel's critics abroad, the picture could not be clearer: Israel's war in Gaza is a wildly disproportionate response to the rockets of Hamas, causing untold human suffering and bombing an already isolated and impoverished population …

Top Army recruiter weighs fat camp for recruits  —  FORT JACKSON, S.C. - The Army has been dismissing so many overweight applicants that its top recruiter, trying to keep troop numbers up in wartime, is considering starting a fat farm to transform chubby trainees into svelte soldiers.

Is He Really That Crazy?  Why Would Mickey Rourke Defend George W. Bush?  —  After years of suffering the downside of a career in an industry that is famously vicious and unforgiving, Mickey Rourke is now back near the top.  Last night he won the Golden Globe for “best actor in a drama” in “The Wrestler.”

Go East, young man?  Californians look for the exit  —  LOS ANGELES - Mike Reilly spent his lifetime chasing the California dream.  This year he's going to look for it in Colorado.  —  With a house purchase near Denver in the works, the 38-year-old engineering contractor plans to move …

Powering a Google search  —  Not long ago, answering a query meant traveling to the reference desk of your local library.  Today, search engines enable us to access immense quantities of useful information in an instant, without leaving home.  Tools like email, online books and photos …

Study Critical of San Francisco Surveillance Cameras  —  SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) — San Francisco's surveillance cameras in high-crime areas do not prevent violent crime, according to a new study by researchers at the University of California.  —  The long-awaited study by the UC Center …