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 …

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 …

Pelosi Shrugs off Alcatraz as Possible Terror Detention Facility  —  Republicans opposing an Obama administration order to close Guantanamo Bay prison facility within a year suggest sending terror detainees to House Speaker Pelosi's district.  —  FOXNews.com

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 …

Obama, please stop appeasing the Republicans to pass your stimulus package  —  Obama, please stop playing nice with the Republicans in Congress to pass your legislation.  The country rejected conservative philosophy and turned to you to try and navigate us out of this economic Armageddon that we are facing.

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 …

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.

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.”

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.

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.

Economy in free fall in fourth quarter  —  Worst quarter since early 1980s, and more to come  —  WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — The U.S. economy contracted violently in the fourth quarter, with gross domestic product falling at its fastest pace in more than 25 years, economists said ahead …

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.