Officials: U.S. Aware of Hasan Efforts to Contact al Qaeda  —  Army Major in Fort Hood Massacre Used ‘Electronic Means’ to Connect with Terrorists  —  U.S. intelligence agencies were aware months ago that Army Major Nidal Hasan was attempting to make contact with people associated with al Qaeda …

Paranoia Strikes Deep  —  Last Thursday there was a rally outside the U.S. Capitol to protest pending health care legislation, featuring the kinds of things we've grown accustomed to, including large signs showing piles of bodies at Dachau with the caption “National Socialist Healthcare.”

Life After the End of History  —  For most of the last century, the West faced real enemies: totalitarian, aggressive, armed to the teeth.  Between 1918 and 1989, it was possible to believe that liberal democracy was a parenthesis in history, destined to be undone by revolution …

Where Health Care Reform Stands Now: Who's Selling Out Whom For What  —  It's time to evaluate where health care reform stands at this point.  —  Guaranteed Issue: The best thing about the bill is unquestionably the fact that insurers have to issue policies to anyone who can pay.

FL-Sen.: Club for Rubio, trouble for Crist  —  Former Florida state House Speaker Marco Rubio is being endorsed by the Club for Growth.  Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images  —  The Club for Growth made it official this morning, throwing its weighty endorsement behind former Florida state House …

Alleged Fort Hood Shooter Frequented Local Strip Club  —  KILLEEN, Texas — The Army psychiatrist authorities say killed 13 people and wounded 29 others at the Fort Hood Army Base Thursday was a recent and frequent customer at a local strip club, employees of the club told FoxNews.com exclusively.

Huckabee says he's ‘very serious’  —  The day the Gallup Organization confirmed Mike Huckabee's status as the pollsters' front-runner for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, the former Arkansas governor was slouched in the back of his tour bus, somewhere between Harrisburg and Allentown …

The GOP's women problem  —  Conservatives say they pushed Dede Scozzafava out of the House race in New York's 23rd District a week ago because of her left-of-Republican social views — and not because she is a woman.  —  But the growing schism between the Republican Party's ascendant right wing …

Economists Seek to Fix a Defect in Data That Overstates the Nation's Vigor  —  WASHINGTON — A widening gap between data and reality is distorting the government's picture of the country's economic health, overstating growth and productivity in ways that could affect the political debate on issues like trade, wages and job creation.

Murdoch threatens to block Google  —  Charles Arthur: Murdoch's threat unlikely to worry Google  —  Rupert Murdoch says he will remove stories from Google's search index as a way to encourage people to pay for content online.  —  In an interview with Sky News Australia …

The big national story that wasn't  — Site Map - Terms of Service - Privacy Policy - About Our Ads - Copyright - About The Charlotte Observer - About the McClatchy Company  —  Mary Newsom, associate editor of the Charlotte Observer, has been writing about growth, development, urban design and urban life since 1995.

Fred Hiatt on stepping closer to universal health care — and bankruptcy  —  The House passage of health-care reform Saturday night should be a moment of celebration.  In a country as wealthy as America, no one should have to go without medical care.  As in other developed nations …

Shake-up at WashTimes; three executives out  —  The Washington Times has announced major changes at the paper this morning, with three top executives gone in the process.  —  Those removed Monday morning include Thomas P. McDevitt (president and publisher), Keith Cooperrider (chief financial officer), and Dong Moon Joo (chairman).

Westboro Baptist Church Organizes Homophobic Anti-Obama Protest Outside Sasha And Malia's School  —  Fred Phelps' Westboro Baptist Church is a hate group that goes around the country staging anti-gay rallies at some of the most inappropriate places (e.g. the funerals of former White House …

Another Independent could be the spoiler as Reid moves forward  —  With a pronounced independent streak to match his political alignment, Bernie Sanders of Vermont may be another headache for Democrats trying to cobble together 60 votes for healthcare reform in the coming weeks.