To Combat Obama, Al-Qaeda Hurls Insults  —  Soon after the November election, al-Qaeda's No. 2 leader took stock of America's new president-elect and dismissed him with an insulting epithet.  “A house Negro,” Ayman al-Zawahiri said.  —  That was just a warm-up.

Deep in Debt, and Now Deep in Worry  —  NOT long ago, a woman in California called me for advice.  She is divorced, with two children, and has a series of interlocking financial problems.  —  She lives in a lovely home in a stylish inland enclave.  It has an interest-only mortgage …

Which Governor Is Wackier?  —  I love Blago.  —  I love his beady little eyes.  I love his Serbian shock of hair.  I love his flaring nostrils.  I love the way he jogs through the snow under indictment, like a stork in spandex trying to gallop.  I love the way he compares himself …

West Wing on steroids in Obama W.H.  —  President Barack Obama is taking far-reaching steps to centralize decision-making inside the White House, surrounding himself with influential counselors, overseas envoys and policy “czars” that shift power from traditional Cabinet posts.

Time to Unravel the Knot of Credit-Default Swaps  —  WITH a new administration in Washington, let us hope that there will be an interest in defining the origins of the financial crisis, its abettors and, most important, its resolution.  —  Any honest assessment must include the role …

Biden: I Am Not “Deputy President”  —  In his first interview as Vice President, Joseph Biden told CBS News' Bob Schieffer that he does not see his role to be “deputy president.”  Rather, said he hopes to be a “confidant, advisor and essentially the last guy in the room when [President Obama] makes critical decisions.”

McCain won't vote for stimulus as it stands  —  But Obama economic adviser says the current plan is balanced  —  WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama dispatched his top economic adviser and vice president Sunday to relentlessly press their sales pitch for an $825 billion stimulus package …

Blagojevich in NBC interview compares himself to Gandhi, King and Mandela  —  Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy  —  Impeached Gov. Blagojevich, on the first leg of his media blitz timed to the start of his impeachment trial, in an NBC interview broadcast …

Hamas tried to hijack ambulances during Gaza war  —  In ruins... a masked Hamas militant walks through the devastated area of east Jabaliya in the northern Gaza Strip.  —  Jason Koutsoukis in Gaza City  —  PALESTINIAN civilians living in Gaza during the three-week war with Israel have spoken …

SHERMAN FREDERICK: The ugly side of the inauguration  —  Obamamania's mean streak  —  Ironic that on Inauguration Day, when President Barack Obama told Americans it was time to take personal responsibility and “grow up” as a country, some of his supporters behaved like spoiled children in booing George W. Bush.

Challenges loom as Obama seeks space weapons ban  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's pledge to seek a worldwide ban on weapons in space marks a dramatic shift in U.S. policy while posing the tricky issue of defining whether a satellite can be a weapon.

Pro-Israel rally crashed in Sweden  —  Protestors gathered to support Israel were pelted with eggs and bottles, then dispersed by police  —  A pro-Israel rally in Malmo, Sweden was torn apart Sunday by pro-Palestinian residents who arrived on the scene with eggs, bottles, and tear gas grenades which they threw at Israel's supporters.

Israeli PM in war crimes pledge  —  Rights groups say white phosphorus shells were fired into built-up areas of Gaza  —  Any Israeli soldiers accused of war crimes in the Gaza Strip will be given state protection from prosecution overseas, the country's PM has said.

McCain wants a stimulus rewrite  —  Featured Topics: - Barack Obama - Presidential Transition  —  Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) told Fox News Sunday this morning that he would not support the stimulus package as the House Democrats have written it because it includes too much wasteful spending.