Snags for Kennedy Said to Be Taxes, Housekeeper  —  ALBANY — Problems involving taxes and a household employee surfaced during the vetting of Caroline Kennedy and derailed her candidacy for the Senate, a person close to Gov. David A. Paterson said on Thursday, in an account at odds …

On Plane to Texas, Critiques of the Speech  —  WASHINGTON — On the plane, no longer Air Force One but now Special Air Mission 28000, they talked about the speech.  George W. Bush, the former president, was heading home to Texas with his inner circle, having just left the west front of the Capitol …

Obama flashes irritation in press room visit  —  President Obama made a surprise visit to the White House press corps Thursday night, but got agitated when he was faced with a substantive question.  —  Asked how he could reconcile a strict ban on lobbyists in his administration …

Obama Orders Secret Prisons and Detention Camps Closed  —  WASHINGTON — Saying that “our ideals give us the strength and moral high ground” to combat terrorism, President Obama signed executive orders Thursday effectively ending the Central Intelligence Agency's secret interrogation program …

Secretary of State Clinton Arrives at Foggy Bottom  —  Hillary Rodham Clinton arrived for her first day of work at the State Department Thursday, assuming the mantle of the nation's chief diplomat and preparing to name a pair of renowned diplomats to serve as special emissaries to the Middle East and South Asia.

Obama to Bush: I Can Release Your Records.  Don't Like It?  Sue.  —  On his first day in office, President Obama put former president Bush on notice.  His administration just released an executive order that will make it difficult for Bush to shield his White House records …

Pa. defense firm raided by FBI  —  Federal agents raided the offices of a Western Pennsylvania defense contractor that has received millions in federal earmarks at the request of Rep. John Murtha, according to local media reports.  —  The offices of Kuchera Industries and Kuchera Defense Systems …

Glenn Beck freaks out about the missing Bible at Obama's do-over swearing in.»  —  Today on his new Fox News show, Glenn Beck panicked about the re-do oath of office President Obama took last night, because Obama did not place his hand on a Bible.  “I checked.

“Whore for the far-right”  —  The Huffington Post demonstrates its moral superiority and commitment to Obama-esque positivity by breaking out the w-word again.  They're incensed that conservatives on Fox News would dare to express dissenting views of the inaugural festivities.

John Thain's $87,000 Rug  —  Merrill Shocker: CEO Thain's $87,000 Office Rug by Charlie Gasparino  —  Full Coverage: Obama Inauguration, Bush Farewell  —  Blogs and Stories  —  In a Daily Beast/CNBC exclusive, Charlie Gasparino reveals how Merrill Lynch's CEO spent over $1 million …

Book, TV deal in Sarah Palin's future?  —  Politician enlisting help of superstar D.C. attorney  —  NEW YORK — It looks like Sarah Palin may be ready to tell her remarkable story in print.  —  The former GOP vice presidential candidate has apparently enlisted the help …

Our Struggle for the Soul of our Nation  —  In remarks delivered yesterday at the Cardinal O'Connor Conference on Life, Robert P. George reflected on the history of the pro-life movement and offered advice for its future.  —  Thirty-six years ago tomorrow, the Supreme Court of the United States handed …

Geithner Hints at Harder Line on China Trade  —  WASHINGTON — Timothy F. Geithner, who moved closer to confirmation as Treasury secretary on Thursday, told senators that President Obama believed China was “manipulating” its currency, suggesting a more confrontational stance toward that country than under the Bush administration.

Unilateral al-Qaeda ceasefire with the U.S.?  —  Mohammed Essam Derbala, one of the leaders of the Egyptian al-Gama'a al-Islamiya, today called on Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda to declare a unilateral four month ceasefire [hudna] with the United States to test Barack Obama's pledges to establish …

Cheney Speaks Out on Libby  —  Former vice president calls prosecution a “serious miscarriage of justice” and disagrees with Bush's decision.  —  Former Vice President Dick Cheney disagreed publicly with his boss just four times in the eight years they served together.

Obama CIA choice won't call waterboarding torture  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's choice to head the CIA declined on Thursday to call waterboarding “torture,” only days after his attorney general nominee condemned the interrogation practice as precisely that.

Fred Hiatt and the Washington establishment's bizarre concept of “due process”  —  Barack Obama will have spent his first several days in office issuing a series of executive orders which, some quibbling and important caveats aside, meet or actually exceed even the most optimistic expectations …

The New Anti-Semitism  —  Obama's put a dent in racism.  Will he defend Jews?  —  America has just thrown one of the world's biggest parties, rejoicing with good reason at the fall of the racial barrier to the White House.  But bigotry ebbs and flows on many fronts, and a question …

Chris Matthews' Inaugural Jib-Jabbery  —  The MSNBC motormouth talks a lot, says nothing.  —  Nobody in TV news stir-fries his ideas and serves them to the audience faster than MSNBC's Chris Matthews.  Drawing from a larder filled with old anecdotes, unreliable metaphors, wacky intuition …

Clinically Depressed Poodle Mauls Former French President Chirac  —  Former French President Jacques Chirac was rushed to a hospital after being mauled by his pet dog who is being treated for depression, in a dramatic incident that rattled the ex-president's wife.