North Korea Announces 2nd Test of Nuclear Device  —  SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea announced on Monday that it had successfully conducted its second nuclear test, defying international warnings and dramatically raising the stakes in a global effort to persuade the recalcitrant Communist state to give up its weapons program.

Split threatens to rupture Republican ranks  —  Conservative vs. moderate divide plays out across the airwaves on Sunday  —  WASHINGTON - The conservative vs. moderate split threatening to rupture the Republican Party played out across the airwaves Sunday, with Colin Powell …

State of Paralysis  —  California, it has long been claimed, is where the future happens first.  But is that still true?  If it is, God help America.  —  The recession has hit the Golden State hard.  The housing bubble was bigger there than almost anywhere else, and the bust has been bigger too.

Court Officials Turn to Guards, Identity Shields, Weapons to Handle New Threats  —  Worried Court Personnel Resort To Guards, Identity Shields, Weapons  —  Threats against the nation's judges and prosecutors have sharply increased, prompting hundreds to get 24-hour protection from armed U.S. marshals.

Conservatives itching for SCOTUS fight  —  As Barack Obama prepares to nominate his first Supreme Court justice, conservative activists have three words for Senate Republicans: Lock and load.  —  While conservatives know that they can't defeat Obama's nominee without massive Democratic defections …

Thousands gather to hear, cheer Iran's Michelle Obama  —  TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) — Dancing in public is not allowed in Iran, but thousands could hardly contain themselves at a recent presidential campaign rally in the capital city, Tehran.  —  On this day, the deafening cheers …

Japan panel wants “first strikes” against enemies  —  TOKYO (Reuters) - A Japanese ruling party panel is to propose that pre-emptive strikes against enemy bases be allowed despite the country's pacifist constitution, Kyodo news agency said on Monday, weeks after a North Korean missile launch.

Explosion outside UES Starbucks  —  NEW YORK (WABC) — An explosive device blew out the windows of a Starbucks coffee shop in a blast that rocked an Upper East Side neighborhood.  —  The loud blast was heard at the intersection of Third Avenue and East 92nd Street just before 4 a.m.

Hank Paulson Admits He Doesn't Understood Mortgage Securities  —  This quote, from Newsweek's piece on former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, strikes me as a bombshell: … If Newsweek won't play prosecutor, I will: “Hank Paulson, you were Goldman's chief executive as mortgage securities boomed in 2004-5.

Justice Department Investigates Mountaintop Technologies Over Murtha Earmarks  —  In tiny, cash-strapped Monongahela, Pa., the city clerk was stunned when federal investigators arrived this fall with a subpoena seeking information on a crime-fighting grant she'd never heard of.

Job Losses Push Safer Mortgages to Foreclosure  —  As job losses rise, growing numbers of American homeowners with once solid credit are falling behind on their mortgages, amplifying a wave of foreclosures.  —  In the latest phase of the nation's real estate disaster, the locus of trouble …