Paterson Picks Gillibrand for Senate Seat  —  ALBANY — Gov. David A. Paterson has selected Representative Kirsten Gillibrand, a 42-year-old congresswoman from upstate who is known for bold political moves and centrist policy positions, to fill the United States Senate seat vacated by Hillary Rodham Clinton …

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.

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.”

Officials: Obama to reverse abortion policy  —  Featured Topics: - Barack Obama - Presidential Transition  —  WASHINGTON - In a long-expected move, President Barack Obama plans to sign an executive order ending the ban on federal funds for international groups that perform abortions …

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.

The Jack Bauer Exception  —  Obama's executive order wants it both ways on interrogation.  —  Most politicians would rather do anything than make a difficult choice, and it seems President Obama hasn't abandoned this Senatorial habit.  To wit, yesterday's executive order on interrogation …

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.

Obama's Inaugural Surprise  —  Fascinating speech.  It was so rhetorically flat, so lacking in rhythm and cadence, one almost has to believe he did it on purpose.  Best not to dazzle on Opening Day.  Otherwise, they'll expect magic all the time.  —  The most striking characteristic …

Suspected US missile strikes kill 18 in Pakistan  —  ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Two suspected U.S missile attacks killed 18 people Friday in Pakistan just east of the Afghan border, security officials said, the first such strikes since the inauguration of President Barack Obama.

The Frigid Fingers Were Live, but the Music Wasn't  —  It was not precisely lip-synching, but pretty close.  —  The somber, elegiac tones before President Obama's oath of office at the inauguration on Tuesday came from the instruments of Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman and two colleagues.

ACLU Lays Off A Tenth Of Workforce  —  The American Civil Liberties Union, impacted by the unfolding economic crisis, laid off ten percent of its national workforce this week.  Thirty-six staffers lost their jobs, including five in the Washington, D.C. legislative office, a source familiar with the firings told the Huffington Post.

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.

McCain floats Kyl for president  —  Former GOP presidential nominee John McCain on Thursday named fellow Arizona Senator Jon Kyl as a potential 2012 presidential candidate.  —  Asked on CNN's “Larry King Live” if he plans to support Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin in the Republican presidential primaries …

First Stem-Cell Trial Is Approved  —  In a watershed moment for one of the most contentious areas of science and American politics, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration cleared the way for the first-ever human trial of a medical treatment derived from embryonic stem cells.