Palin cracks wise at Gridiron dinner  —  In an 11-minute speech before Washington's Gridiron Club at its Winter Dinner, Sarah Palin tossed a few barbs at the gathering of journalists, comparing them to “death panels.”  —  “Sometimes you got to trust your instincts, and if you don't …

Understanding Climategate's Hidden Decline  —  Close followers of the Climategate controversy know that much of the mêlée surrounds an email in which Climate Research Unit (CRU) chief Phil Jones wrote about using “Mike's Nature Trick” (MNT) to “hide the decline.”

The Lady and the Tiger  —  They were both elegant and entitled swans, insulated in guarded enclaves, obsessed with protecting and promoting the Brand.  Then trouble trespassed into their privileged worlds and both responded the same foolish way.  —  They presumptuously put themselves beyond authority and …

Democrats consider new presidential nominating process  —  Washington (CNN) - National Democrats are considering changing the presidential nominating process, by establishing a new primary calendar and deemphasizing the influence lawmakers and political insiders have on choosing the party nominee.

Gates Expects 2-4 Years of Big Afghan Role for U.S.  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Robert Gates says Americans should expect a significant U.S. military presence in Afghanistan for two years to four years more.  —  Just as in Iraq, the U.S. eventually will turn over provinces …

Were Russian security services behind the leak of ‘Climategate’ emails?  —  Suspicions were growing last night that Russian security services were behind the leaking of the notorious British ‘Climategate’ emails which threaten to undermine tomorrow's Copenhagen global warming summit.

Stolen E-Mail, Stoking the Climate Debate  —  AS world leaders prepare to meet tomorrow in Copenhagen to address global warming, skeptics are pointing to e-mail hacked from a computer server at a British university as evidence that the conference may be much ado about nothing.

U.S. relations with Honduras appear to be stabilizing after coup  —  Coup's supporters persisted out of fear of Zelaya's policies  —  TEGUCIGALPA, HONDURAS — Just weeks ago, wealthy businessman Adolfo Facussé was shocked to be turned away at Miami's airport.

Middle Israel: Obama's naivete will result in isolationism  —  Had there been a type of Moody's rating for world leaders, and had those ratings not been delivered in sterile characters like “BBB+” but in unambiguous terms like “go for it” or “you don't want to go there,” …

Break-in targets climate scientist  —  New incident raises fears of a smear campaign  —  Attempts have been made to break into the offices of one of Canada's leading climate scientists, it was revealed yesterday.  The victim was Andrew Weaver, a University of Victoria scientist …

Obama's Logic Is No Match for Afghanistan  —  AFTER the dramatic three-month buildup, you'd think that Barack Obama's speech announcing his policy for Afghanistan would be the most significant news story of the moment.  History may take a different view.  When we look back at this turning point …