Maurice Clemmons, man wanted for questioning, has troubling criminal history  —  Maurice Clemmons, the 37-year-old Tacoma man being sought for questioning in the killing this morning of four Lakewood police officers, has a long criminal record punctuated by violence, erratic behavior and concerns about his mental health.

Swiss Ban Building of Minarets on Mosques  —  GENEVA — In a vote that displayed a widespread anxiety about Islam and undermined the country's reputation for religious tolerance, the Swiss on Sunday overwhelmingly imposed a national ban on the construction of minarets, the prayer towers of mosques …

Statement from Tiger Woods  —  As you all know, I had a single-car accident earlier this week, and sustained some injuries.  I have some cuts, bruising and right now I'm pretty sore.  —  This situation is my fault, and it's obviously embarrassing to my family and me.  I'm human and I'm not perfect.

Why Do You Believe What You Do?  —  Do our beliefs form the basis of our partisan and ideological affiliations?  Or is it vice versa?  —  There's been a lot of recent evidence not only that Republicans disproportionately disbelieve the evidence for man-made global warming but that their skepticism is growing.

Break chains of mortgage morality, lawyer says  —  (11-29) 04:00 PST WASHINGTON —  Go ahead.  Break the chains.  Stop paying on your mortgage if you owe more than the house is worth.  And most important: Don't feel guilty about it.  Don't think you're doing something morally wrong.

A Theocon On “Going Rogue”  —  Here's an interesting and intellectually honest book review from a Sarah Palin fan, writing in the theocon journal.  First Things: … Indeed we are.  But this is a more salient question for Adam Bellow at Harper Collins, the person who allegedly edited this book:

Harvard ignored warnings about investments  —  Advisers told Summers, others not to put so much cash in market; losses hit $1.8b  —  It happened at least once a year, every year.  In a roomful of a dozen Harvard University financial officials, Jack Meyer, the hugely successful head of Harvard's endowment …

A Defiant Iran Details Plan for 10 Enrichment Plants  —  WASHINGTON — Iran angrily refused Sunday to comply with a demand by the United Nations nuclear agency to cease work on a once-secret nuclear fuel enrichment plant, and escalated the confrontation by declaring it would construct 10 more such plants.

A friendly chat with the global warming evangelist who lives in my head  —  Hello, hyperventilating zealot.  Greetings, denialist scum.  Now that we've dispensed with the formalities, please allow me to point and laugh at you.  Ahem.  Ha ha ha!  Point point point!  Shut up.  That's what you'd like me to do.

Coakley opposes troop increase  —  The frontrunner to take Ted Kennedy's Senate seat said today she opposes sending more troops to Afghanistan.  —  Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley, who is facing an increasingly tight race with Rep. Michael Capuano (D-Mass.) …

A Last-Minute Meeting On Afghanistan  —  President Obama convened a last-minute meeting of his national security team tonight to discuss the language that his administration will use to describe its new strategy for Afghanistan.  Two administration sources confirmed that the meeting …

Food Stamp Use Soars, and Stigma Fades  —  A GROWING NEED FOR A PROGRAM ONCE SCORNED Greg Dawson and his wife, Sheila, of Martinsville, Ohio, help feed their family of seven with a $300 monthly food stamp benefit.  Center and right, the food pantry in Lebanon, Ohio, where residents can also enroll …

The Obama-Holder Justice Department turns a blind eye to ACORN  —  As I noted yesterday, ACORN caught a break from the Department of Justice when DOJ decided, based on a strained reading of the applicable statute, that the Obama administration can lawfully pay ACORN for services provided under contracts signed …

MIT analysis backs Obama  —  A new analysis by a leading MIT economist provides new ammunition of Democrats at the Senate being formally debating the historic health-reform bill being pushed by President Barack Obama.  —  The report concludes that under the Senate's health-reform bill …

Seven issues to watch as Senate begins amending healthcare bill  —  Senators will be asked to cast their votes on numerous amendments as they begin a debate to reshape the country's healthcare system.  —  Some amendments will be designed to improve the bill, some to satisfy a special interest or pet peeve.