Paterson Picks Gillibrand for Senate  —  Gov. David A. Paterson has selected Representative Kirsten Gillibrand to fill New York's empty U.S. Senate seat, according to a person who spoke to the governor.

Obama flashes irritation in press room  —  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 …

Does a Glass Ceiling Persist in Politics?  —  Kennedy's Withdrawal Illustrates a Double Standard, Some Say  —  With her abrupt exit this week from consideration for the Senate, Caroline Kennedy added her name to a growing list: women who have sought the nation's highest offices only to face insurmountable hurdles.

Freed by U.S., Saudi Becomes a Qaeda Chief  —  BEIRUT, Lebanon — The emergence of a former Guantánamo Bay detainee as the deputy leader of Al Qaeda's Yemeni branch has underscored the potential complications in carrying out the executive order President Obama signed Thursday that the detention center be shut down within a year.

Fair-Wage Bill Clears The Senate  —  High Court Decision Would Be Overturned  —  A wage-discrimination bill that narrowly failed less than a year ago moved closer to becoming law last night, when the Senate passed the legislation and sent it back to the House for final consideration.

Bush's ‘War’ On Terror Comes to a Sudden End  —  President Obama yesterday eliminated the most controversial tools employed by his predecessor against terrorism suspects.  With the stroke of his pen, he effectively declared an end to the “war on terror,” as President George W. Bush had defined it …

Stimulus Plan Meets More GOP Resistance  —  Obama to Reiterate Appeal for Bipartisanship  —  Just days after taking office vowing to end the political era of “petty grievances,” President Obama ran into mounting GOP opposition yesterday to an economic stimulus plan that he had hoped would receive broad bipartisan support.

EXECUTIVE ORDER — ENSURING LAWFUL INTERROGATIONS  —  By the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, in order to improve the effectiveness of human intelligence gathering, to promote the safe, lawful, and humane treatment of individuals …

The Frigid Fingers Were Live, but the Music Wasn't  —  Itzhak Perlman, Yo-Yo Ma and two colleagues performed at the inauguration, but the music had been recorded.

Worm Infects Millions of Computers Worldwide  —  A new digital plague has hit the Internet, infecting millions of personal and business computers in what seems to be the first step of a multistage attack.  The world's leading computer security experts do not yet know who programmed the infection, or what the next stage will be.

Submission in the Netherlands  —  “The Freedom Party (PVV),” read yesterday's press release, “is shocked by the Amsterdam Court of Appeal's decision to prosecute Geert Wilders for his statements and opinions.  Geert Wilders considers this ruling an all-out assault on freedom of speech.”

Obama to Lift Family-Planning ‘Gag Rule’  —  Move Would Restore Funds to International Groups Involved With Abortion; Timing Shows Sensitivity to Foes of Roe v. Wade  —  WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama will issue an order restoring U.S. funding for international family-planning groups involved with abortion.

Obama ready to cut Karzai adrift  —  As support for Afghan leader wanes, rivals go to Washington for meeting with new President  —  Barack Obama's arrival in the White House and the wind of change sweeping through Washington could lead to the ousting from power of Hamid Karzai, President of Afghanistan, The Independent has learnt.

COULTER VS. COLMES & MCCLELLAN ON DR. PHIL (VIDEO)  —  Today on Dr. Phil, the subject was “President Obama - Hope Vs. Reality.”  Ann Coulter, Alan Colmes, and Scott McClellan were guests.  I was absolutely SHOCKED by the warm reception Ann got from Dr. Phil's audience, especially since they're in California.

Ill. gov tells AP that strain is like Pearl Harbor  —  CHICAGO (AP) — Illinois' embattled but defiant governor turned to the history books to describe the emotional strain on him and his family, comparing his arrest last month to Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor.

Grand New Party: Republican ‘rebuilding’ begins today  —  Washington, DC:  —  Built on a swamp by a Frenchman.  —  Gee, how could that go wrong?  —  Well, how about entrusting self-appointed beltway insiders and “experts” with the harrowing task of rebuilding a fractured, demoralized Republican Party?

The 25 Most Influential Liberals In The U.S. Media  —  Edited by Tunku Varadarajan, Elisabeth Eaves and Hana R. Alberts, 01.22.09, 04:02 PM EST  —  Listen for their voices during the Obama era.  —  Barack Obama's inauguration was the formal point at which the reigning ideology in Washington changed from “conservative” to “liberal.”

The First Test  —  There is a strong case to be made for a short, sharp stimulus package to restrain the collapse of the American economy.  This would involve big, simple programs with immediate impact — a temporary cut in the payroll tax, big aid to the states, expanded unemployment insurance and food stamps.

RNC Race Too Close to Call as Election Approaches  —  Races for national party chairman invariably are covered as if they are presidential campaigns.  That's understandable, since elections are involved.  But it's also misleading.  —  When Republican National Committee members gather …