Palin: Obama birth certificate ‘a fair question’  —  Speaking to the conservative talker Rusty Humphries today, Sarah Palin left the door open to speculation about President Obama's birth certificate.  —  “Would you make the birth certificate an issue if you ran?” she was asked (around 9 minutes into the video above).

Gore cancels climate conference event  —  Former Vice President Al Gore on Thursday abruptly canceled a Dec. 16 personal appearance that was to be staged during the United Nations' Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, which begins next week.  —  As described in The Washington Times' Inside …

Reform or Else  —  Health care reform hangs in the balance.  Its fate rests with a handful of “centrist” senators — senators who claim to be mainly worried about whether the proposed legislation is fiscally responsible.  —  But if they're really concerned with fiscal responsibility …

U.S. Economy Lost Only 11,000 Jobs in November  —  The United States economy shed 11,000 jobs in November, and the unemployment rate fell to 10 percent, down from 10.2 percent in October, the Labor Department said Friday.  —  The government also revised the October number to show …

Bernanke Channels Willie Sutton In Assault On Social Security: 'That's Where The Money Is'  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  Ben Bernanke has overseen the greatest expansion of the Federal Reserve's balance sheet in its history, pouring trillions of dollars into Wall Street firms at roughly zero interest rates.

C.I.A. Authorized to Expand Use of Drones in Pakistan  —  WASHINGTON — Two weeks ago in Pakistan, Central Intelligence Agency sharpshooters killed eight people suspected of being militants of the Taliban and Al Qaeda, and wounded two others in a compound that was said to be used for terrorist training.

NATO Pledges 7,000 More Troops for Afghanistan  —  BRUSSELS — Responding to American entreaties for more soldiers in Afghanistan, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the NATO secretary general, announced Friday that the alliance had agreed to contribute a further 7,000 “new forces” to the coalition …

Sen. Reid has recipe for getting health-care deal done  —  Senate's point man for bill has been slow to tip his hand as he faces challenges  —  Of the Democratic senators who have set out to transform the nation's health-care system, one of the least likely is Majority Leader Harry M. Reid …

House votes to make current estate tax permanent  —  The House approved Thursday a measure making the current estate tax rate permanent, overcoming the objections of an unusual coalition of liberal and conservative critics.  —  The bill passed, 225 to 200, with 26 Democrats joining …

Somebody at Fort Hood Should Be Walking the Plank — By: Andy McCarthy  —  Prepare to be infuriated.  —  It's been brought to my attention by several reliable sources that the Defense Department has brought Louay Safi to Fort Hood as an instructor, and that he has been lecturing on Islam …

SENATE RACE: Reid in a battle, poll reveals  —  Nine Republicans running for seat  —  Nevadans aren't warming up to Sen. Harry Reid, despite plenty of early advertising designed to boost his image, a new poll shows.  —  Just 38 percent of respondents said they had a favorable opinion …

Republicans have the answers Obama seeks on creating jobs  —  President Obama will have plenty of explaining to do when he arrives in Allentown today.  More than 3 million Americans have lost their jobs in the nine months since he signed into law a trillion-dollar “stimulus” that was supposed to put people back to work “immediately.”

The Analytic Mode  —  Many Democrats are nostalgic for Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign — for the passion, the clarity, the bliss-to-be-alive fervor.  They argue that these things are missing in a cautious and emotionless White House.  —  But, of course, the Obama campaign …

The ‘science’ of global warming  —  These leaked documents reveal the greatest scientific scandal of our times—and a tragedy  —  “The gravest challenge that we face is climate change . .  . Every one of our compatriots must feel concerned”—Nicolas Sarkozy, president of the French Republic;

Coburn, Vitter want to force Congress into public health plan  —  Two of the Senate's most ardent opponents of a public health program, Sens. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) and David Vitter (R-La.), are preparing an amendment to force members of Congress into any plan that is passed.

U.S. Seen as Less Important, China as More Powerful  —  Isolationist Sentiment Surges to Four-Decade High  —  The general public and members of the Council on Foreign Relations are apprehensive and uncertain about America's place in the world.  Growing numbers in both groups …