Vatican blocks Caroline Kennedy appointment as US ambassador  —  The Vatican has blocked the appointment of Caroline Kennedy as US ambassador, according to reports.  —  Vatican sources told Il Giornale that their support for abortion disqualified Ms Kennedy and other Roman Catholics President Barack Obama had been seeking to appoint.

Obama and habeas corpus — then and now  —  (updated below)  —  It was once the case under the Bush administration that the U.S. would abduct people from around the world, accuse them of being Terrorists, ship them to Guantanamo, and then keep them there for as long as we wanted without offering …

Video: Liberal “Tea Party” in DC is Epic Fail; Blogger Claims Real Tea Parties “Financed by Fox News”  —  This afternoon I swung by the “New Way Forward” rally in front of the White House - it was billed essentially as a left-leaning Tea-Party-style anti-bank protest that's being held in dozens of cities around the country.

Chinese Bias for Baby Boys Creates a Gap of 32 Million  —  BEIJING — A bias in favor of male offspring has left China with 32 million more boys under the age of 20 than girls, creating “an imminent generation of excess men,” a study released Friday said.  —  For the next 20 years …

Islam ‘insulted’ by alleged child killer's mug shot, says husband  —  The police booking photo of alleged child killer Nour Hadid released Tuesday is an “insult against our religion,” says Hadid's husband, Alaeddin.  —  Orland Park police detectives say the 26-year-old Muslim woman was treated …

Talks With Somalis Over U.S. Captain's Release Break Down  —  Negotiations over the American captain taken hostage by Somali pirates broke down on Saturday, according to Somali officials, after American officials insisted that the pirates be arrested and a group of elders representing the pirates refused.

Goldman Sachs hires law firm to shut blogger's site  —  Goldman Sachs is attempting to shut down a dissident blogger who is extremely critical of the investment bank, its board members and its practices.  —  The bank has instructed Wall Street law firm Chadbourne & Parke to pursue blogger Mike Morgan …

States Slashing Social Programs for Vulnerable  —  PHOENIX — Battered by the recession and the deepest and most widespread budget deficits in several decades, a large majority of states are slicing into their social safety nets — often crippling preventive efforts that officials say would save money over time.

Pirates seize U.S.-owned, Italy-flagged tugboat  —  Source: Reuters  —  Pirates seized a U.S.-owned and Italian-flagged tugboat with 16 crew on Saturday in the latest hijacking in the busy Gulf of Aden waterway, a regional maritime group said.  —  Andrew Mwangura, of the Mombasa-based …

Dismissal for Stevens, but Question on ‘Innocent’  —  WASHINGTON — When a federal trial judge tossed out the ethics conviction of former Senator Ted Stevens last week, his lawyers promulgated the story of an innocent man victimized by unscrupulous prosecutors.

Obama Team Mulls Aims Of Somali Extremists  —  Seeing Potential Terror Threat, Officials Debate Their Options  —  Senior Obama administration officials are debating how to address a potential terrorist threat to U.S. interests from a Somali extremist group, with some in the military advocating strikes against its training camps.