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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

Iran says it's now fully self-sufficient at producing uranium  —  An Iranian official announces that the country, suspected by the West and others of plans to build nuclear weapons, has produced yellow-cake uranium.  The announcement may be meant to bolster Tehran's bargaining position at talks starting Monday in Geneva.

Hugo Chavez blames massive flooding on capitalism as 70,000 remain homeless in Venezuela  —  Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez said he knows what's been causing the floods that have killed 32 people in his country and left 70,000 homeless: “criminal capitalism.”

Lefties Hate Israel  —  Leading Leftist Website Urges Liberals Not to Donate to Israel's Fire Relief Fund  —  Maybe someday the Jews in America will wake up to the absolute hatred and hostility the left has for the State of Israel.  —  Fire in Israel Not Natural ... Terrorism?

Wide-open race means quiet start for GOP  —  While Sarah Palin left behind no clues about her plans during her recent trips to Iowa, most of the 2012 Republican presidential field's prospects have made initial contacts with GOP leaders in the leadoff caucus state this year.

How to Balance the Budget Without Raising Taxes  —  The 19 Percent Solution  —  A value-added tax, a soda tax, a gas tax, banning earmarks, freezing a portion of federal spending at “pre-stimulus” levels - there's no shortage of ideas being thrown out to fix the country's disastrous balance sheet …

more efficiency means less profit  —  I've been following the “Do Not Track” discussion with interest.  I'm not sure I have any particularly strong feelings about the proposed implementations, but I'm curious to see what happens.  And of course it's been hilarious, as always …

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.”