Pirates Seize Ship With U.S. Crew Off Coast of Somalia  —  Pirates commandeered a United States-flagged container ship with 20 American crew members off the coast of Somalia on Wednesday, the first time an American-crewed ship was seized by pirates in the area.

What happened in Minnesota  —  Minnesota's excruciatingly close Senate election between incumbent Republican Norm Coleman and former unfunny humorist Al Franken is in the final innings of the post-election proceedings.  Franken is of course a left-liberal Democrat about whom I have nothing good to say.

Electricity Grid in U.S. Penetrated By Spies  —  Robert Moran monitors an electric grid in Dallas.  Such infrastructure grids across the country are vulnerable to cyberattacks.  —  WASHINGTON — Cyberspies have penetrated the U.S. electrical grid and left behind software programs …

U.S. to Offer Aid to Life Insurers  —  Firms Face Capital Crunch; How Much They Will Get From TARP Remains Unclear  —  The Treasury Department has decided to extend bailout funds to a number of struggling life-insurance companies, helping an industry that is a lynchpin of the U.S. financial system …

Obama and Gates Gut the Military  —  The secretary's new budget will leave us weaker to pay for the president's domestic programs.  —  On Monday, Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced a significant reordering of U.S. defense programs.  His recommendations should not go unchallenged.

Obama team readying for confrontation with Netanyahu  —  In an unprecedented move, the Obama administration is readying for a possible confrontation with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by briefing Democratic congressmen on the peace process and the positions of the new government in Israel regarding a two-state solution.

Bow-ow-ow: Obama's painful missteps  —  Let the new president grow into the job — but he'd better do it fast!  Plus: Readers ask about everything from talk radio, morality and Mary McCarthy, to that big movie about a sinking ship.  —  Dear Camille,  —  In your column, you say …

Thoughts on Bill O'Reilly and Squeaky the Chicago Mouse  —  Dear Bill: Thanks for including the Chicago Sun-Times on your exclusive list of newspapers on your “Hall of Shame.”  To be in an O'Reilly Hall of Fame would be a cruel blow to any newspaper.  It would place us in the favor of a man …

ACORN, HuffPo Organizing Efforts to Infiltrate Tax Day Tea Parties  —  FNC's Cavuto says efforts underway to make protests appear as ‘fringe-group efforts’ and in some cases as ‘racist undertakings.’  —  Business & Media Institute  —  Acts of protest tend to be synonymous with the left …

“I am under a lot of pressure to not diagnose PTSD”  —  A secret recording reveals the Army may be pushing its medical staff not to diagnose post-traumatic stress disorder.  The Army and Senate have ignored the implications. … Listen to a segment of the recording of an Army psychologist at Fort Carson …

Ten principles for a Black Swan-proof world  —  1. What is fragile should break early while it is still small.  Nothing should ever become too big to fail.  Evolution in economic life helps those with the maximum amount of hidden risks - and hence the most fragile - become the biggest.

Want to Join Marcy and Me to Protest Banks on Saturday, April 11?  —  On Saturday, April 11, there are going to be demonstrations all across America to protest what the banks are doing to the country.  —  No, not the stupid teabagger protests, where people who never cared about George Bush spending …

Levi Johnston: My Family's Not White Trash  —  Tells Maggie Rodriguez Palins Spreading Lies About Him; He Seeks To Set Record Straight  —  Page 1 of 2  —  (CBS) Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, John McCain's running mate in last year's presidential race, is a new grandmother.

New campaign fights same-sex marriage  —  The National Organization for Marriage, a prominent backer of the successful campaign against same-sex marriage in California, is launching a $1.5 million ad campaign this morning aimed at forestalling same-sex marriage support in other key states.

Fox orders downsizing reality series  —  'Someone's Gotta Go' features real-life company layoffs  —  “You're fired” — but for real.  —  Fox has ordered a one-hour unscripted series that turns real-life company layoffs into a reality contest.  —  The show's working title is “Someone's Gotta Go.”

Obama to host Seder Thursday night  —  Article's topics: Barack Obama, Pessah, Seder,  —  US President Barack Obama will celebrate Passover Thursday night with staff and friends in what is believed to be the first White House Seder attended by an American president.

Keith Olbermann's scathing criticism of Obama's secrecy/immunity claims  —  Several weeks ago, I noted that unlike the Right — which turned itself into a virtual cult of uncritical reverence for George W. Bush especially during the first several years of his administration …

Gates: Why I Kept Troubled Ship, Swimming Vehicle  —  Defense Secretary Robert Gates says he only killed weapons programs in his reboot of the Pentagon's arsenal if the project's “budget was out of control, or they were overdue, or the technology was too great a risk.”