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.

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 …

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.”

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

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.