Media Creates New Palin Scandal!  Sarah Accused of Bringing Hairdresser on Haiti Trip  —  Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin traveled to Haiti this weekend as a guest of the Rev. Franklin Graham and Samaritan's Purse to spotlight the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the earthquake and cholera-stricken Caribbean (half an) island nation.

John Boehner: Obama disrespectful to me  —  John Boehner thinks President Barack Obama is “engaging” and “smart” — but the speaker-elect is also still smarting over the president's claim that he took taxpayers hostage to secure a tax break for the rich.  —  In an interview with Leslie Stahl of …

Sweden suicide bomber: Taimur Abdulwahab al-Abdaly was living in Britain  —  An Islamic suicide bomber who attacked Christmas shoppers in Sweden at the weekend is a British university graduate and was living in this country until two weeks ago.  —  The suicide bomb in Stockholm is thought …

Commenting Accounts Compromised — Change Your Passwords  —  Our user databases appear to have been compromised.  The passwords were encrypted.  But simple ones may be vulnerable to a brute-force attack.  You should change your Gawker password and on any other sites on which you've used the same passwords.

Arsonist Strikes on Cape Cod, Leaves Calling Card: ‘F—k the Rich’  —  I blame the class warfare rhetoric of the Democrats for these incidents of arson.  Maybe if the left didn't demonize wealthy people so much they wouldn't stoke such hatred in their supporters.

Transfer ban for Guantanamo detainees tucked into spending bill  —  The Senate is expected to consider a provision this week that would block the Obama administration from bringing Guantanamo Bay detainees to the United States for trial, including the self-proclaimed mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

Julian Assange Boasted About ‘Asian Teengirl Stalkers’ In Online Dating Profile  —  Discussion of Julian Assange's sex life of late has focused on the rape and sexual molestation charges filed against him by two Swedish women.  But he was once a nerdy Australian posting on OKCupid under the pseudonym “Harry Harrison”.

Federal Judge to Rule on Health Law's Constitutionality  —  A Virginia federal judge is expected to rule Monday on whether the Obama administration's health law violates the Constitution, opening a new stage in the administration's defense of its biggest legislative achievement.

What Progressives Don't Understand About Obama  —  NOT all of my white teachers viewed me as a discipline problem.  To the annoyance of my fellow students, one teacher selected me regularly to lead assembly programs.  A high school teacher insisted that I learn about the theater.

In Tax Benefits to the Middle, Political Lift for Obama  —  WASHINGTON — With the Senate poised to hold a key vote on Monday on the tax cut deal between President Obama and Republicans, the political jousting has focused on what the agreement does for the wealthy by extending all of the Bush-era tax rates …

Economists Predict Growth in 2011  —  Economists have grown more optimistic about the outlook for U.S. growth next year, predicting the expansion will accelerate as 2011 progresses, according to the latest Wall Street Journal forecasting survey.  —  The 55 respondents, not all of whom answer …

Web Focus Helps Revitalize Atlantic  —  WASHINGTON — How did a 153-year-old magazine — one that first published the “Battle Hymn of the Republic” and gave voice to the abolitionist and transcendentalist movements — reinvent itself for the 21st century?  —  By pretending it was a Silicon Valley start …

Next Week in Politics  —  Last week was an extraordinary week in politics.  Fairly ordinary business led to high-school levels of angst and drama, including the Democratic civil war, a presidential abdication, and an honest-to-Buddha filibuster.  One of my coworkers sagely observed …

Obama's reelection campaign could hit billion-dollar mark  —  Will President Obama be the first billion-dollar man?  —  He raised and spent $750 million in the 2008 campaign, and there is already speculation that the cash-collection operation for his 2012 reelection bid will crest the once-unimaginable sum of $1 billion raised.

Reality Check  —  The failed attempt by the U.S. to bribe Israel with a $3 billion security assistance package, diplomatic cover and advanced F-35 fighter aircraft — if Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu would simply agree to a 90-day settlements freeze to resume talks with the Palestinians — has been enormously clarifying.