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 …

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.

KENNEDYS LIVID AS GOV ASKED CAROLINE TO ‘LIE’  —  An “apoplectic” Kennedy family is seething over the rough treatment that heiress apparent Caroline got from Gov. Paterson's office and is spoiling for revenge, several sources close to the clan have told The Post.

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 …

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.

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 …

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 …

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.

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 …

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.”

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

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.

Drug Lawyer Turns Informant, Stings Clients  —  Share This: Digg!  —  This is an amazing story.  Frank Pignatelli was a criminal defense attorney representing drug defendants in Akron Ohio.  He got busted for helping his clients buy stash houses and faced a criminal indictment.

‘Soviet’ Britain swells amid the recession  —  PARTS of the United Kingdom have become so heavily dependent on government spending that the private sector is generating less than a third of the regional economy, a new analysis has found.  —  The study of “Soviet Britain” …