Lieberman Rules Out Voting for Health Bill  —  WASHINGTON — In a surprise setback for Democratic leaders, Senator Joseph I. Lieberman, independent of Connecticut, said on Sunday that he would vote against the health care legislation in its current form.  —  The bill's supporters had said earlier …

Recession Is Over, Job Growth Coming, White House Advisers Say  —  Yet Romer Says While Wall Street Recession is Over, Main Street Recession is Not  —  President Obama's top economic adviser Lawrence Summers today for the first time predicted that job growth would begin as early as this spring.

Secret document exposes Iran's nuclear trigger  —  Confidential intelligence documents obtained by The Times show that Iran is working on testing a key final component of a nuclear bomb.  —  The notes, from Iran's most sensitive military nuclear project, describe a four-year plan to test …

Citigroup Says It Has Reached a Deal to Repay Bailout Funds  —  Citigroup reached a deal early Monday morning to be the last of the big Wall Street banks to exit the government's bailout program, after persuading regulators that it was sound enough to stand on its own.

President Obama tells Oprah Winfrey: I deserve a B+ for my first 11 months in White House  —  President Obama told Oprah Winfrey on Sunday night he gives himself a “good, solid B-plus” for his first 11 months in the Oval Office.  —  On what was billed as Oprah's “White House Christmas Special …

Berlusconi is bloodied by attack  —  Mr Berlusconi was whisked away with blood on his face following the incident  —  Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi of Italy is recovering in hospital after an assault left his face covered in blood following a rally in Milan.

Palin's Turning Point  —  Sarah Palin's appearance on the Conan O'Brien late night show generated huge positive buzz.  Even (some of) the Palin haters were hard-pressed to come up with a negative about it.  —  This marks something of a turning point for Palin.

Taliban can be admired for their faith and loyalty, says bishop  —  The Taliban can be admired for their conviction to their faith and their sense of loyalty to one another, the new bishop for the Armed Forces has claimed.  —  The Rt Rev Stephen Venner called for a more sympathetic approach …

Paul A. Samuelson, Economist, Dies at 94  —  Paul A. Samuelson, the first American Nobel laureate in economics and the foremost academic economist of the 20th century, died Sunday at his home in Belmont, Mass. He was 94.  —  His death was announced by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology …

Climate negotiations ‘suspended’  —  Negotiations at the UN climate summit have been suspended after developing countries withdrew their co-operation.  —  Delegations were angry at what they saw as moves by the Danish host government to sideline talks on more emission cuts under the Kyoto Protocol.

Charles Lane on job-killers that should be killed  —  With unemployment stuck around 10 percent, President Obama has pledged “to take every responsible step to accelerate the pace of job growth.”  Here's a thought: Instead of trying to “create” jobs by tweaking this tax break or increasing …