Sorry, No Details  —  Lots of emails from readers asking about the chat with the president-elect this morning.  It was totally off the record and I'm a stickler for those rules.  I can say, however, the following: it's hard to express the relief I feel that this man will be the president soon.

History will show that George W Bush was right  —  The American lady who called to see if I would appear on her radio programme was specific.  “We're setting up a debate,” she said sweetly, “and we want to know from your perspective as a historian whether George W Bush was the worst president …

Geithner's Skill May Trump Tax Issue  —  WASHINGTON — If Timothy F. Geithner were a bank, he might well be considered “too big to fail.”  —  In better economic times, Mr. Geithner's confirmation to be President-elect Barack Obama's Treasury secretary might be in danger after the disclosure …

WARREN COUNTY, N.J. NEWS  —  Real-time news for Belvidere, Phillipsburg and more  —  Boy named Adolf Hitler, his sisters removed from parents' home by New Jersey authorities … State authorities have removed Adolf Hilter Campbell and his two sisters from their parents' home in Holland Township …

New official portrait released  —  Today we are releasing the new official portrait for President Barack Obama.  —  It was taken by Pete Souza, the newly-announced official White House photographer.  —  It is the first time that an official presidential portrait was taken with a digital camera.

Obama to End Military's 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Policy  —  WASHINGTON — President-elect Barack Obama will allow gays to serve openly in the military by overturning the controversial “don't ask, don't tell” policy that marred President Clinton's first days in office, according to incoming White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs.

Gannett to Furlough Workers for Week  —  The Gannett Company, the nation's largest newspaper publisher, said on Wednesday that it would force thousands of its employees to take a week off without pay in an effort to avoid layoffs.  —  Gannett, which owns 85 daily newspapers across …

Inaugural Freak Show  —  Blogs and Stories  —  You'll never believe how a Christian right congressman and two anti-abortion protestors have prepared the Capitol for the Obama's inauguration.  —  On January 7, second-term Republican Rep. Paul Broun of Georgia and two friends prayed over a door.

The Minnesota Recount Was Unconstitutional  —  There's still plenty of time for the state to get it right.  —  You would think people would learn.  The recount in the contest between Norm Coleman and Al Franken for a seat in the U.S. Senate isn't just embarrassing.  It is unconstitutional.

Poll: Broad Backing for Obama, Stimulus  —  WASHINGTON — Americans support the economic-stimulus plan being pushed by President-elect Barack Obama but worry the government will spend too much money and widen the budget deficit, a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll found.

U.S. military report warns ‘sudden collapse’ of Mexico is possible  —  President-elect Barack Obama listens as Mexico's President Felipe Calderon makes a statement to reporters in Washington, Monday, Jan. 12, 2009.  Mexico is one of two countries that “bear consideration for a rapid and sudden collapse …

AP Slammed Bush's ‘Extravagant’ Inaugural in '05, But Now It's Spend, Baby, Spend  —  Four years ago, the Associated Press and others in the press suggested it was in poor taste for Republicans to spend $40 million on President Bush's inauguration.  AP writer Will Lester calculated the impact …

Bank of America to Get Billions in U.S. Aid  —  Deal Is Said to Be Reached on Fresh Bailout Cash; Lender Told Government It Needed Funds to Absorb Ailing Merrill Lynch  —  WASHINGTON — The U.S. government has agreed to commit billions in additional aid to Bank of America Corp. to help …

Ex-Bush aide takes blame for ‘Mission Accomplished’  —  (CNN) - It's a moment President Bush has repeatedly called a mistake: Delivering a speech on board the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Spring of 2003 with a “Mission Accomplished” banner featured prominently behind him.

Newsweek Writer's Story Claiming That Torture Might Work Contradicts His 2006 Article Saying That It Doesn't  —  Newsweek Writer's Story Claiming That Torture Might Work Contradicts His 2006 Article Saying That It Doesn't»  —  In Newsweek's cover story this week, Evan Thomas and Stuart Taylor …

Police: Alleged marriage deal for daughter shows clash of rural Mexican, U.S. cultures  —  The story of the Greenfield man who allegedly sold his 14-year-old daughter to a young suitor for cash and beer went worldwide, and the police chief who ordered the arrest said Tuesday the incident arose from a clash of cultures.

‘War on terror’ was a mistake, says Miliband  —  The foreign secretary, David Miliband, today argues that the use of the “war on terror” as a western rallying cry since the September 11 attacks has been a mistake that may have caused “more harm than good”.  —  In an article in today's Guardian …

Obama's early stumbles  —  Longtime listener, first-time caller.  Although I wasn't yet alive in the times it describes, I too was blown away (pun intended) by “The Weather Underground” film, not so much by the namby-pamby William Ayers — who for all his scandalous reputation …

‘War on terror’ was wrong  —  The terrorist attacks in Mumbai seven weeks ago sent shock waves around the world.  Now all eyes are fixed on the Middle East, where Israel's response to Hamas's rockets, a ferocious military campaign, has already left a thousand Gazans dead.

R.I.P. Patrick McGoohan, The Prisoner's TV Visionary  —  “I am not a number, I am a free man!”  Patrick McGoohan's character Number Six shouted at the panoptic eye in the sky at the beginning of every episode of the revolutionary '60s sci-fi TV series The Prisoner.

Changes to recruiting  —  As we made clear during our last quarterly earnings call in October, Google is still hiring but at a reduced rate.  Given the state of the economy, we recognized that we needed fewer people focused on hiring.  —  Our first step to address this was to wind down almost …

It's an injustice to NOT marry girls aged 10, says Saudi cleric … Ten-year-old girls are ready for marriage, according to Saudi Arabia's most senior cleric.  —  Sheikh Abdul-Aziz Al Sheikh, the country's grand mufti, told Al Hayat newspaper that those saying ten or 12-year-old girls are too young to marry are being ‘unfair’ to them.

Nick Fury no more?  Samuel L. Jackson says 'Maybe I won't be Nick Fury'  —  EXCLUSIVE AND UPDATED  —  Samuel L. Jackson, clearly bristling, said today that negotiations to put him in the role of Nick Fury have broken down because “there seems to be an economic crisis in the Marvel Comics world.”