U.S. Intensifies Screening for Travelers From 14 Nations  —  WASHINGTON — Citizens of 14 nations, including Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Nigeria, who are flying to the United States will be subjected indefinitely to the intense screening at airports worldwide that was imposed after the Christmas …

Photo-Smearing Obama  —  Glenn Reynolds finds a photo in the White House Flickr basket and publishes it to, er, point out how bad the White House's p.r. is, or how blind they are to perceptions of Obama or some such thing.  I tried to puzzle this one out and can just about see how an elusive photo …

EXCLUSIVE: Dems ‘Almost Certain’ to Bypass Conference  —  Now that both the House and Senate have passed health care reform bills, all Democrats have to do is work out a compromise between the two versions.  And it appears they're not about to let the Republicans gum up the works again.

That 1937 Feeling  —  Here's what's coming in economic news: The next employment report could show the economy adding jobs for the first time in two years.  The next G.D.P. report is likely to show solid growth in late 2009.  There will be lots of bullish commentary …

BRIT HUME SAID WHAT?.... As regular readers know, I've made no mention of Tiger Woods on this blog.  I don't care about golf; I don't care about golfers' private lives; I don't care about any aspect of this “story” at any level.  —  But I was taken aback when I saw that Fox News' Brit Hume …

Ten campaign themes to watch  —  Important themes are emerging as party leaders move into full “campaign mode” ten months ahead of the 2010 midterms.  —  The Hill looks at 10 to keep an eye on as we say goodbye to 2009.  —  1. How real is the tea party effect?

Effigy of Obama hanged in US town  —  The US Secret Service says it is investigating after an effigy of Barack Obama was found hanging in the home town of former President Jimmy Carter.  —  TV footage showed the doll hanging by a noose in front of a red, white and blue sign that reads “Plains, Georgia.

Brown will not seek re-election  —  CONGRESSMAN TO RETIRE AFTER 5TH TERM IN OFFICE  —  Republican Congressman Henry Brown, who has served South Carolina in the U.S. House since 2001, will retire at the end of his term, sources tell The Palmetto Scoop.  —  Brown will announce his intention …

White House: No matter what, we're sending Gitmo prisoners back to Yemen  —  As Susan notes below, a bipartisan group of lawmakers is urging the Obama White House not to go forward with plans to send a number of Yemeni terrorists now being held in the Guantanamo Bay detention facility back to their home country.

Yemeni leadership feared in al Qaeda's sights  —  U.S., British embassies shuttered over threats  —  U.S. intelligence agencies are worried that al Qaeda's affiliate in Yemen may attempt to topple the government of the poor Arab nation or assassinate its president, Ali Abdullah Saleh …

Reids, Bidens and Pauls to attempt to follow the Bushes and Kennedys  —  Voters will see several familiar names on the ballot in 2010 as the offspring of prominent politicians try to follow their relatives into office.  —  America has a long tradition of political families: the Adamses …

Inside Obama's War on Terrorism  —  The evening before he was sworn into office, Barack Obama stepped out of Blair House, the government residence where he was staying across from the White House, and climbed into an armored limousine for the ride to a bipartisan dinner.

Stimulus Funds Went to Nonexistent Zip Code Areas  —  First it was phantom Congressional districts.  Now it is phantom zip codes.  —  Last month, we reported on federal stimulus money credited with creating jobs in nonexistent New Mexico Congressional districts.

Peru's mountain people face fight for survival in a bitter winter  —  For alpaca farmer Ignacio Beneto Huamani and his young family, life in the Peruvian Andes, at almost 4,700m above sea level, has always been a struggle against the elements.  His village of Pichccahuasi, in Peru's Huancavelica region …

Monetary Policy and the Housing Bubble  —  The financial crisis that began in August 2007 has been the most severe of the post-World War II era and, very possibly—once one takes into account the global scope of the crisis, its broad effects on a range of markets and institutions …