Swiss voters back ban on minarets  —  Swiss voters have supported a referendum proposal to ban the building of minarets, official results show.  —  More than 57% of voters from 26 cantons - or provinces - voted in favour of the ban, Swiss news agency ATS reported.

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.

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.

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.) …

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 …

A Defiant Iran Details Plan for 10 Enrichment Plants  —  Iran warned Sunday that it would reduce its cooperation with United Nation's nuclear agency and in a gesture of defiance it ordered the construction of 10 new uranium enrichment plants.  —  Iran's warning and its announcement for building …

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.

Senate Report Explores 2001 Escape by bin Laden From Afghan Mountains  —  WASHINGTON — As President Obama vows to “finish the job” in Afghanistan by sending more troops, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee has completed a detailed look back at a crucial failure early in the battle against Al Qaeda …

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 …

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 …

America vs. The Narrative  —  What should we make of Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, who apparently killed 13 innocent people at Fort Hood?  —  Here's my take: Major Hasan may have been mentally unbalanced — I assume anyone who shoots up innocent people is.  But the more you read about his support …

Predatory lending has an ugly tail end  —  Talk about burying the lede.  The NYTimes has run a story which purports to be about the plans by the Treasury Department to pressure banks to do more to renegotiate delinquent mortgages.  It has all sorts of blather from Treasury about using …

When Results Go Bad ...  Guest post by Willis Eschenbach  —  One of the claims in this hacked CRU email saga goes something like “Well, the scientists acted like jerks, but that doesn't affect the results, it's still warming.”  —  I got intrigued by one of the hacked CRU emails …

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.

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.

The great climate change science scandal  —  Leaked emails have revealed the unwillingness of climate change scientists to engage in a proper debate with the sceptics who doubt global warming  —  The storm began with just four cryptic words.  “A miracle has happened,” …