Bush Tax-Cut Deal With Jobless Aid Said to Be Near  —  WASHINGTON — White House officials and Congressional Republicans said Sunday they were closing in on a deal to temporarily continue the Bush-era tax cuts at all income levels, while bitterly frustrated Democratic Congressional leaders …

List of facilities ‘vital to US security’ leaked  —  Ningbo port in south-eastern China, one of the facilities on the US list  —  A long list of key facilities around the world that the US describes as vital to its national security has been released by Wikileaks.

Dems aim for 100+ bills in 1 swoop  —  Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), ranking member of the Environment and Public Worls Committee has threatened to block swift approval of a land and water omnibus bill if it includes, for example, the version of the Chesapeake Bay protection bill that passed …

Talks begin on Iran's nuclear program  —  Western officials see the Geneva meetings as a test of whether Iran is more willing to bend to international pressure.  —  Jacques Audibert, general and strategic affairs director of France, third from left, talks to Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov …

Mike Huckabee wants some respect  —  Dial down the deafening Sarah Palin buzz for just a moment: The most consequential decision in the 2012 Republican presidential sweepstakes could be whether Mike Huckabee decides to run again - and associates say the former Arkansas governor may well take the plunge.

Saudi women's veil versus modernity  —  Husband has not seen wife's face despite 10 years of marriage  —  After nearly 10 years of marriage that produced five children, Mufleh Mohammed of Saudi Arabia still has not seen his wife's face.  —  Mohammed Hilal, another Saudi husband …

Exclusive: Gen. Petraeus Not ‘Sure’ Victory in Afghanistan by 2014  —  In my exclusive interview with General David Petraeus he was encouraged by the progress made since President Obama's surge of forces into Afghanistan, but is he confident that the Afghan army can take the lead from U.S. forces by NATO's 2014 deadline?

David Frum, Speech Policeman  —  Last week, the distinguished liberal thinker and activist William Galston, along with an equally distinguished conservative counterpart, David Frum, announced in the Washington Post the forthcoming founding of a new organization called “No Labels.”

Time to Think the Unthinkable: A Democratic Primary Challenge To Obama's Reelection  —  What's Your Reaction:  —  Can't tell you how it happened.  All I know, it just happened.  —  Been thinking and reading a lot about President Barack Obama.  Lots of news commentaries about his alleged lack of leadership on this or that issue.

Short goodnight expected for the DREAM Act during lame duck  —  The DREAM Act — a priority of Democrats in both Congress and the White House — faces a difficult future in the lame duck.  —  Even as Democrats in both chambers prepare to consider the measure this week …

WikiLeaks cables: Barack Obama is a bigger danger  —  WikiLeaks harms the US.  But the president's refusal to acknowledge the threats we face is a bigger danger  —  WikiLeaks has yet again flooded the internet with thousands of classified American documents, this time state department cables.

Same-Sex Initiative Reaches Next Hurdle  —  SAN FRANCISCO — It has been more than two years since voters outlawed same-sex marriage with a ballot initiative in California, and it may be two more before the legality of that measure — Proposition 8 — is finally decided, most likely by the Supreme Court.