A Setback Of His Own  —  There are no friends in politics, just interests.  Some in the White House relearned that dictum this week, as their party dissolved into factions, and largely knelt down in front ofRepublican political priorities.  —  As usual, administration officials won't concede …

FBI arrest four in alleged plot to bomb Bronx synagogues, shoot down plane  —  The FBI busted a homegrown terror cell late Wednesday night as the men sneaked around a Jewish temple in Riverdale planting what they thought were packages of C-4 explosives, sources told the Daily News.

California, a Broke State, Reels as Voters Rebuff Leaders  —  LOS ANGELES — Direct democracy has once again upended California — enough so that the state may finally consider another way by overhauling its Constitution for the first time in 130 years.  —  Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger returned home …

Specter defends Pelosi, questions CIA's honesty  —  Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) took the opportunity Wednesday to defend House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who has come under fire in recent weeks over a controversy surrounding when she was told of the use of enhanced interrogation techniques being used by the CIA.

Krauthammer  —  The usual neoconservative malingerers have been hammering me about a quote I gave to Politico, regarding Charles Krauthammer's limitations as a columnist.  —  Obviously, I didn't mean to imply second-class status for disabled people.  On the contrary, the distance and perspective …

Obama: Plame Lawsuit Should Not Be Reconsidered By Supreme Court  —  Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington:  —  CREW learned today that the Obama administration is opposing our request that the Supreme Court reconsider the dismissal of the lawsuit, Wilson v. Libby, et al.

Powell to Rush, Cheney: Room for me among ‘emerging’ Republican Party  —  Colin Powell issued a sharp rebuke Tuesday night to Rush Limbaugh and Dick Cheney for trying to exclude him from the backbiting Republican Party.  —  Before some 1,500 business leaders in Boston …

PM aide: Focus on 2-state idea ‘stupid’  —  Article's topics: Ron Dermer, 2-state Solution, Binyamin Netanyahu, Barack Obama  —  As Binyamin Netanyahu returned to Israel from Washington late Wednesday afternoon, an aide to the prime minister said that media focus on the idea …

Did White House OK Earliest Detainee Abuse?  —  Listen Now  —  · It is clear that increasingly abusive interrogation techniques were used on Abu Zubaydah, the first high-value detainee, in the months between his capture and the first Justice Department memo authorizing harsh interrogations.

Car Crazy  —  Bankrupt companies making 39 mpg autos.  Are we nuts?  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  At the end of his Rose Garden explanation yesterday of the new U.S. fuel-efficiency standards, President Obama remarked on the good that can be accomplished when we are “working together.”

CNN Poll: Obama moving US in right direction  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) - As the Republican Party gets ready to condemn what they call the Democrats ‘march to socialism’, a new national poll indicates that most Americans believe President Barack Obama's policies would move the country in the right direction.

CNN And MSNBC To Carry Cheney's Big National Security Speech Live  —  Looks like Dick Cheney's big national security speech at the American Enterprise Institute tomorrow is going to get wall-to-wall cable coverage — giving a major assist to those who hope that his speech will be seen as …

New Hampshire lawmakers reject gay-marriage bill  —  MANCHESTER, New Hampshire (Reuters) - New Hampshire lawmakers unexpectedly rejected a bill on Wednesday that would have made the state the sixth in the United States to authorize gay marriage.  —  The state's Democrat-controlled House …

Exclusive: SF Mayor Gavin Newsom Asked Court to Delay Prop 8 Ruling  —  Confidential sources close to San Francisco City Hall told Towleroad's Corey Johnson that the California Supreme Court was prepared to release its opinion on Proposition 8 tomorrow, but decided to delay the ruling after a call from Mayor Gavin Newsom.

Giuliani Duke Golf Lawsuit Shanks  —  Judge recommends dismissal of Rudy kid's action against university  —  In an opinion peppered with golf references and a quote from “Caddyshack” star Bill Murray, a federal magistrate has recommended the dismissal of a lawsuit brought by Rudolph Giuliani's son …

The Death of the Republican Party May Have Been Greatly Exaggerated  —  Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine:  —  Elephant Extinction  —  Some in the media believe the Republican Party is washed up and dying.  Leslie Savan wrote in The Nation earlier this month …

Sexual-Harassment Cases Plague U.N.  —  The United Nations, which aspires to protect human rights around the world, is struggling to deal with an embarrassing string of sexual-harassment complaints within its own ranks.  —  Many U.N. workers who have made or faced accusations of sexual harassment …

Nationalize Martin Luther King Jr.  —  We are in the process of nationalizing and/or federalizing vast stretches of our economy, including the auto industry, banks, and health care.  Individual property rights have taken a back seat to political priorities.

House passes measure expanding gun rights  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — Gun rights advocates found an unlikely ally in the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives on Wednesday as lawmakers passed a measure allowing concealed, loaded firearms to be carried in national parks.

Judge Diane Wood, Solicitor General Elena Kagan Seen as Supreme Court Hopefuls  —  President Obama is intensifying his search for a Supreme Court nominee and has interviewed Judge Diane P. Wood of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit in Chicago, believed to be among a handful of top contenders.

The Housing Boom and Bust  —  Thomas Sowell, prolific public intellectual and the Rose and Milton Friedman Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, is one of America's greatest economic thinkers and educators.  He's taught the fundamentals through such books as Economic Facts and Fallacies …