Obama Makes His Way by Train to Washington  —  PHILADELPHIA — President-elect Barack Obama stepped onto a vintage train car, built at a time when a black man's ascendancy to the presidency was impossible in America, and traveled to Washington on Saturday in a three-day prelude to his inauguration as the country's 44th president.

Israel Declares It Will Cease Fire; U.N. School Hit  —  JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of Israel announced late Saturday night that the Israeli military would begin a unilateral cease-fire in Gaza within hours while negotiations continued on how to stop the resupply of Hamas through smuggling from Egypt.

Obama refuses to surrender Blackberry … Despite legal and security hurdles, president-elect Barack Obama says he has a plan to retain his beloved Blackberry once he moves into the White House next week.  —  Interviewed by CNN Friday, Obama said the smartphone was among the tools …

Does Holder's “waterboarding is torture” comment implicitly commit him to prosecuting Bush administration officials?  Ever-hopeful observers say yes, but Holder's statement that waterboarding is torture is hardly news; his soon-to-be boss has said the same thing.  The chances of prosecution remain slim for diverse reasons.

The Growing Foreclosure Crisis  —  One oft-repeated assertion no longer holds true.  Those in trouble are not, primarily, lower-income borrowers.  The foreclosure crisis has become a wave, afflicting neighborhoods of every stripe — but particularly communities created by the boom itself.

BLOCK THE STIMULUS, HELP THE GOP.... Former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, now seeking the chairmanship of the Republican National Committee, has a new reason to oppose an economic rescue package: it might help Democrats. … Now, from a policy perspective, most of this is incoherent.

Obama may not lift stem cell limits  —  PHILADELPHIA - President-elect Barack Obama signaled Friday that he might not use his executive authority to reverse Bush-era limits on stem cell research, but instead might wait for Congress to change the policy.  —  Obama pledged during the campaign …

Admit It: The Surge Worked  —  It's no longer a close call: President Bush was right about the surge.  According to Michael O'Hanlon and Jason Campbell of the Brookings Institution, the number of Iraqi war dead was 500 in November of 2008, compared with 3,475 in November of 2006.

Barnicle Man, Barnicle Man, Doing The Things That Barnicles Can  —  Matthew Yglesias at Think Progress catches this Mike Barnicle/Mika Brezenski exchange on “Morning Joe”: … http://www.youtube.com/watch?  v=1MEjX6ITLqY  —  Yup, sure is a disgrace to journalism when you're anonymous ...

Florida Fund Manager Missing; Clients Say Money Gone  —  Jan. 17 (Bloomberg) — Arthur Nadel, a hedge-fund manager in Sarasota, Florida, has disappeared and clients are concerned they may have lost hundreds of millions of dollars, according to law enforcement officials.

Obama For America Becomes Organizing For America  —  PHILADELPHIA, PA — The Obama political machine is merging with the Democratic National Committee.  —  The President-elect launched Obama 2.0, or Organizing for America, this morning with a YouTube video.

Obama tries to seduce Republicans  —  It's no secret Barack Obama is trying to seduce Republicans these days.  But his conservative courting runs much deeper and wider than is publicly known.  —  Obama has had meetings with his former opponent John McCain, GOP congressional leaders …

Inaugural Panel Sells Exclusive TV Rights  —  Barack Obama's inaugural organizing committee has struck deals with three television networks to the tune of more than $5 million, giving the networks exclusive access to inaugural events.  But the arrangement is prompting questions …

In Search of One Bold Stroke to Save the Banks  —  In the immortal words of Yogi Berra, it's déjà vu all over again.  —  Wasn't it just four months ago that the government was racing to save the American International Group, forcing the sale of weak banks and writing huge checks to stabilize the teetering banking system?