Obama's Plan to Close Prison at Guantánamo May Take Year  —  President-elect Barack Obama plans to issue an executive order on his first full day in office directing the closing of the Guantánamo Bay detention camp in Cuba, people briefed by Obama transition officials said Monday.

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 …

Replacing Voinovich: Contenders are already edging toward running in 2010  —  George Voinovich's decision to retire from the U.S. Senate injected courage Monday into politicians interested in his seat and ignited a lively race with national implications that could last nearly two years.

Crumble: Senate certifies Burris, will be seated this week  —  Think about this.  You've got a popular Democratic incoming president, a Democratic lieutenant governor and secretary of state, and overwhelming Democratic majorities both in Congress and in the Illinois legislature.

Olmert Says He Made Rice Change Vote  —  WASHINGTON — In an unusually public rebuke, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of Israel said Monday that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had been forced to abstain from a United Nations resolution on Gaza that she helped draft, after Mr. Olmert placed a phone call to President Bush.

Where Some See Mistakes, He Sees Disappointments  —  “This is the ultimate exit interview,” President Bush told the White House press corps yesterday as he faced it for a final time in the briefing room.  —  And the interviewee had come with well-rehearsed lines for any question his interviewers could devise.

Obama Shelves Jobs-Credit Proposal  —  Democrats Said $3,000 Tax Incentive Could Be Abused by Businesses  —  Bowing to widespread Democratic skepticism, President-elect Barack Obama will drop his bid to include a business tax break he once touted in the economic stimulus bill now taking shape on Capitol Hill, aides said last night.

Michael Moore Lawsuit  —  Due to many meetings and holiday travel, I am still working on pieces about the incredible U.S. soldiers who took me on some dangerous missions in December.  Also, my trip with Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, harvested important information.

Obama to Send More Troops to Afghanistan So Administration Has More Time to Evaluate Conflict  —  Obama Sees Troops As Buying Time, Not Turning Tide  —  President-elect Barack Obama intends to sign off on Pentagon plans to send up to 30,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan …

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 …

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.

Gulf Oil States Seeking a Lead in Clean Energy  —  ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — With one of the highest per capita carbon footprints in the world, these oil-rich emirates would seem an unlikely place for a green revolution.  —  Gasoline sells for 45 cents a gallon.

Stimulus slots more cash for schools  —  Federal aid for education could grow as much as $140 billion under a two-year economic stimulus bill now taking shape in Congress, where Democrats are proposing a new block grant for states and a $15 billion expansion of annual Pell grants to low-income college students.

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 …

Capitalism Freezes in Worldwide Winter of Discontent  —  A A A  —  Jan. 12 (Bloomberg) — As capitalism staggers through its first globalized economic crisis, the costs won't be measured only in dollars and cents.  —  From newly rich Russia to eternally impoverished sub- Saharan Africa …

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 …

No Shortage of Expert Advice on Mideast for Clinton  —  WASHINGTON — As Hillary Rodham Clinton prepares to take over as secretary of state, a coterie of emissaries who have made the Arab-Israeli conflict their specialty for decades is pushing for a more assertive and balanced American approach to a region once again torn by war.

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.”

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.”