GOP senators target two Obama nominees  —  Partisan lines have formed around President-elect Obama's two most embattled Cabinet picks, with Eric Holder and Tim Geithner facing increasing criticism from Republicans.  —  Democrats, who have not shied away from attacking Obama's economic team …

Biden Outlines Plans to Do More With Less Power  —  WASHINGTON — He was in the Senate for 36 years and visited the White House under seven presidents.  But Joseph R. Biden Jr. has never seen the inside of the vice president's office in the West Wing.  “I never thought a lot about the vice presidency …

War on Hamas Saps Palestinian Leaders  —  JERUSALEM — Israel hoped that the war in Gaza would not only cripple Hamas, but eventually strengthen its secular rival, the Palestinian Authority, and even allow it to claw its way back into Gaza.  —  But with each day, the authority, its leader …

Israel Strikes U.N. Complex in Gaza Strip  —  GAZA — Amid reports that a United Nations building had been hit, Israeli forces shelled areas deep inside Gaza City and edged forward toward the city center Thursday, sending thousands of panicked residents fleeing from their homes, witnesses said.

Democrats Finishing Up Stimulus Proposal  —  President-Elect Is Expected to Tout Plan Tomorrow  —  Congressional Democrats are putting the final touches on an economic stimulus package worth almost $850 billion, hoping to have the details ready in time for President-elect Barack Obama …

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.

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 …

‘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.

Intelligence Court Rules Wiretapping Program Legal  —  WASHINGTON — A federal intelligence court, in a rare public opinion, is expected to issue a major ruling validating the power of the president and Congress to wiretap international phone calls and intercept e-mail messages without a court order …

U.N. Agency That Runs School Hit in Gaza Employed Hamas and Islamic Jihad Members  —  The United Nations agency that administers a school in Gaza where dozens of civilians were killed by Israeli mortar fire last week has admitted to employing terrorists to work at its Palestinian schools in the past …

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.

EXCLUSIVE: Panetta faces rendition queries  —  Panel eyes CIA pick's role in shaping policy during the Clinton era  —  President-elect Barack Obama's choice for CIA director, Leon Panetta, served as White House chief of staff during the time the Clinton administration accelerated a practice …

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 …

Confirm Geithner; Approve The TARP Funds, and Get The Stimulus Right  —  Flying back to California from D.C. last night on Jet Blue I watched a few hours of the panels on the financial stations chewing over the dispiriting retail news from December, the illness of Steve Jobs …

The Audacity of Hoops … The path is a familiar one: Ancestry in Kansas; influences from Africa; a kind of apotheosis in Michael Jordan's Chicago; eventual acclamation by the world.  And while, no, basketball itself won't be sworn in next Tuesday as the 44th president of the U.S. …

Where Is Oil Going Next?  —  HOUSTON — From the Indian Ocean to the South Atlantic to the Gulf of Mexico, giant supertankers brimming with oil are resting at anchor or slowly tracing racetrack patterns through the sea, heading nowhere.  —  The ships are marking time, serving as floating oil-storage tanks.

Assembly retirements teach a corrosive lesson  —  As regular state workers braced for unpaid two-day-a-month furloughs, top staffers in the state Assembly walked away from their jobs last month with richer pensions that are likely to cost taxpayers a bundle.  —  How much?  No one knows.

Obama Charms Even a Night's Grand Ol' Party  —  At one point during the party, CNBC's Larry Kudlow asked Barack Obama why he had hired several of the liberal guests who appeared on his program but left him Robert Reich.  —  “So someone will stick up for me on your show,” the president-elect replied.

Best of All Possible Presidencies  —  What a sunny view Condoleezza Rice took in a valedictory conversation with Post journalists this week.  She could have been Dr. Pangloss's daughter in her steadfastly upbeat account of the world.  Asked about policies she regretted, she offered the cheerful retort …

Key step to Chavez term law vote  —  Venezuela's national assembly has approved a constitutional amendment to remove limits on how many times President Hugo Chavez can serve.  —  The amendment, which applies to all elected officials, must be approved by a referendum within 30 days, a vote correspondents say is set to be close.

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.