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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

TSA: Newark terminal locked down  —  (CNN) — Hours after a security breach forced the closure of a terminal at the Newark, New Jersey, airport Sunday, authorities were still searching for a man who went the wrong way through a checkpoint exit.  —  The incident happened at about 5:20 p.m. at Terminal C …

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 …

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 …

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?

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.

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 …

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.

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 …

Gaza March Blocked But Message Delivered  —  This past week 1,400 activists from around the world gathered in Cairo on their way to Gaza.  They planned to show their concern and support for the people of Gaza on this anniversary of the devastating Israeli Operation Cast Lead and demand an end of the blockade.