Top Items:
Alex West / The Sun:
Deadliest weapon so far... the plague — Terrorists train ... but they face invisible killer — At least 40 al-Qaeda fanatics died horribly after being struck down with the disease that devastated Europe in the Middle Ages. — The killer bug, also known as the plague …
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Eli Lake / Washington Times:
Al Qaeda bungles arms experiment — Biological or chemical weapons — An al Qaeda affiliate in Algeria closed a base earlier this month after an experiment with unconventional weapons went awry, a senior U.S. intelligence official said Monday. — The official, who spoke on the condition …
Discussion:
Right Wing News, Jihad Watch, Stop The ACLU, Riehl World View, Israel Matzav and Pat Dollard
Sheryl Gay Stolberg / New York Times:
On Moving Day for 2 First Families, a Bit of Magic by 93 Pairs of Hands — WASHINGTON — The peaceful transfer of power that will take place at the Capitol on Inauguration Day is, to many, a miracle of American democracy. But down at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue, another sort of miracle will occur: Moving Day.
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Washington Post:
On First Full Day, Obama Will Dive Into Foreign Policy — President-elect Barack Obama will plunge into foreign policy on his first full day in office tomorrow, finally freed from the constraints of tradition that has forced him and his staff to remain muzzled about world affairs during the 78-day transition.
Peter Baker / New York Times:
The Nation Awaits Its 44th President — WASHINGTON — On the day before moving into the nation's most storied house, Barack Obama visited a shelter for teenagers with no home. With sleeves rolled up, he spent a few minutes painting for the benefit of the cameras that trail him everywhere now.
Barton Gellman / Washington Post:
Obama's Moment Arrives — Historians Say He Could Redefine the Presidency — Barack Obama takes office today with a realistic prospect of joining the ranks of history's most powerful presidents. — The more familiar observation, that he confronts daunting trials, enhances that prospect.
Andrew Breitbart / Big Hollywood:
I Pledge to Ridicule Celebrities Who Refuse to Recognize We Are At War With People Who Want to Kill Them, Too — Many of the celebrities that were central to demonizing and making life impossible for President Bush for eight loathsome years NOW want to help with the heavy lifting of bringing America …
Discussion:
Wizbang, Sister Toldjah, Gateway Pundit, RedState, Flopping Aces, Weekly Standard, Blue Crab Boulevard and Reason
Christopher Hitchens / Slate:
Why I'm not sorry that George W. Bush beat Al Gore and John Kerry. — Yes, yes, I was on the downtown streets of Washington bright and early, mingling with the bright-eyed and the wide-eyed. Yes, by all means I was there on the Mall Sunday afternoon, feeling no more moist than the next person …
Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
VERY POOR CHOICE — As most of you likely know, the inauguration committee sold HBO the exclusive rights to broadcast yesterday's inaugural concert festivities. I don't think that was a good idea since certainly not every American subscribes or can subscribe to HBO.
Discussion:
Balloon Juice
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Jonn Lilyea / This ain't Hell …:
BDS rages in DuPont Circle — This morning, in DuPont Circle, eight blocks from the White House, Bush Derangement Syndrome raged among the old coots of VFP, VVAW, IVAW, Code Pink, World Can't Wait and who knows who else was there. Their main attraction was throwing shoes at this thirty-foot blow …
Discussion:
The Other McCain
Eric Dash / New York Times:
Mexican Billionaire Invests in Times Company — The New York Times Company said Monday it had reached an agreement with the Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim Helú for a $250 million loan intended to help the newspaper company finance its businesses. — Under the terms of the deal …
Huma Khan / Political Punch:
Jill Biden Tells Oprah Her Hubbie Offered Choice of VP or Secy of State — During the taping of the Oprah Winfrey show today, Dr. Jill Biden said that her husband, the vice president-elect, was given a choice of being either vice president or secretary of State.
Discussion:
The Note, Washington Wire, The Reaction, MyDD, Michelle Malkin, Marc Ambinder, Hot Air, Washington Post, TBogg, The Raw Story, The New Republic and TPMDC
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Michael Isikoff / Newsweek:
No Pardon For Libby — Bush uses clemency powers sparingly to the end — I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby was convicted of lying and obstructing a leak investigation over the run-up to the Iraq war. — In a move that has keenly disappointed some of his strongest conservative allies …
Discussion:
Associated Press, Newshoggers.com, Think Progress, MyDD, TIME.com, At-Largely, Firedoglake and Real Clear Politics
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Associated Press:
Cheney Pulls Muscle and Is in Wheelchair — WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Dick Cheney pulled a muscle in his back on Monday while moving boxes and will be in a wheelchair for Tuesday's inauguration ceremony. — The White House press secretary, Dana Perino, said Mr. Cheney was helping …
Wall Street Journal:
Fiat Nears Stake in Chrysler That Could Lead to Takeover — By STACY MEICHTRY in Rome and JOHN STOLL in Detroit — In an attempt to revive two of the world's storied auto makers, Italy's Fiat SpA and Chrysler LLC are poised to announce a partnership as soon as today in which Fiat …
Discussion:
Daimnation!
John / Power Line:
PRESIDENT BUSH: AN ASSESSMENT — President Bush leaves office mostly unloved, with some poll respondents saying that they consider him one of our worst presidents ever. This in itself is odd. Generally, our worst Presidents have been one-termers, for obvious reasons: James Buchanan …
Andrew Malcolm / Top of the Ticket:
Will-be President Obama lauds would-be president McCain — It was a tough, nearly 2-year-long battle that cost Americans upward of $1 billion just between the last two men left standing. — And tonight at a special D.C. dinner, on the eve of becoming the nation's 44th president at Tuesday's inauguration …
John Collins Rudolf / New York Times:
Banks Foreclose on Builders With Perfect Records — TEMPE, Ariz. — Dave Brown, one of this city's best-known home builders, had kept his head above water through the housing downturn, not missing a single interest payment on his loans. So he was confounded a few months back when one of his banks …
Discussion:
The Big Picture
Matthew Cooper / TPMDC:
The Racial Thaw — It's a cliche that people who came of age after the civil rights movement, can't imagine the world of Jim Crow and segregation that preceded them. To a lesser extent, at 45—I turn 46 on Wednesday—I find it slightly hard to explain what America's racial environment …
Washington Post:
Inauguration Day — THE DAWN of a new presidency is always a time of awe and anxiety. The awe comes in bearing witness to the peaceful transfer of power as a new chapter of national history unfolds. The anxiety speaks to an untested new leader and the challenges he will face.
Khaled Abu Toameh / Jerusalem Post:
‘Hamas torturing Fatah members in Gaza’ — Hamas militiamen have rounded up hundreds of Fatah activists on suspicion of “collaboration” with Israel during Operation Cast Lead, Fatah members in the Gaza Strip told The Jerusalem Post on Monday. — They said the Hamas crackdown on Fatah intensified …
Discussion:
Berman Post, Seraphic Secret, Don Surber, Israel Matzav, Weasel Zippers, QandO, The Muqata, Associated Press and Jules Crittenden