Woman knocks down Pope at Christmas Eve Mass  —  Buzz up!  —  VATICAN CITY - A woman jumped the barriers in St. Peter's Basilica and knocked down Pope Benedict XVI as he walked down the main aisle to begin Christmas Eve Mass on Thursday.  —  The 82-year-old pope quickly got up and was unhurt …

Winning ugly, but winning  —  On Dec. 24, in an early morning vote, the United States Senate passed health-care reform.  It was the first time the body had been in session on Christmas Eve since 1963.  That's fitting, as it's arguably the most important piece of legislation the body has passed since 1963.

Fannie and Freddie CEOs to get up to $6M in pay  —  NEW YORK (AP) - The two chief executives of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could get paid as much as $6 million for 2009, despite the companies' dismal performances this year which cost taxpayers more than $100 billion.

Reality Check: For Opponents, It Was Never About the Bill  —  Today's Republican talking point of the day is that the historic health reform bill passed today represents the first major piece of social legislation to be passed without a single vote from across the aisle.  —  Well that may be true.

Another Bad Argument For Iran Strike: ‘The Worst Might Not Happen!’  —  Today, Iran's leading daily newspaper featured an op-ed by a conservative Iranian university professor insisting that there is only one way to deter the American war on Iran that all serious Iranian analysts believe is coming …

Keep the Big Tent big  —  The announcement by Alabama Rep. Parker Griffith that he is switching to the Republican Party is just the latest warning sign that the Democratic Party — my lifelong political home — has a critical decision to make: Either we plot a more moderate …

A Warhol Christmas at the White House  —  When it comes to art, the right-wing anti-Obama crowd hasn't had a very good year.  Repeated efforts to gin up outrage in a manufactured culture war have either fallen flat or proved downright embarrassing.  (You can see some of them here, here and here.)

Senate Passes Landmark Health Bill  —  60-39 Vote Is Landmark in Effort to Expand Insurance Coverage  —  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nev., center, answered questions outside of the Senate chambers on Capitol Hill.  —  WASHINGTON — The Senate approved sweeping health-overhaul legislation …

Watch The Decline: The Media Lowlights Of 2009  —  Climate “scientists” are about as trusted as used-car salesmen or congressmen these days thanks to the beating their profession has taken in the “ClimateGate” scandal.  But give the alarmists their due: They know how to hide the decline.

Yemeni air strike kills 30, targets home of cleric linked to Ft. Hood attack  —  SANAA, Yemen — Yemeni forces killed at least 30 suspected militants in an airstrike early Thursday on an alleged al-Qaeda hideout in southeastern Yemen, the second such assault in the past week, according to Yemeni security and government sources.

No Churchgoing Christmas for the First Family  —  The Senate vote on final passage of health reform almost scuttled their plans, but it looks like the First Family will still make it to Hawaii for Christmas.  They've had a whirlwind holiday season so far, starting with the lighting …

Report: Ohio could lose two seats in Congress  —  Ohio could lose two seats in Congress as a result of waning population growth according to Census numbers.  —  The figures, which were released on Wednesday, show that the Buckeye State's population grew by only 14,573 people over the past decade, or one-tenth of one percent.

This Christmas, 78% of Americans Identify as Christian  —  Over time, fewer Americans identify as Christian; more have no religious identity  —  PRINCETON, NJ — This Christmas season, 78% of Americans identify with some form of Christian religion, a proportion that has been declining in recent decades.