Julian Assange granted bail with conditions  —  • Assange granted bail to cheers from supporters  —  • Assange criticises Visa, MasterCard and Paypal from cell  —  • Police worked case against Madeleine McCann's parents  —  • Full coverage of the WikiLeaks cables

Richard Holbrooke dies: Veteran U.S. diplomat brokered Dayton peace accords  —  Longtime U.S. diplomat Richard C. Holbrooke, whose relentless prodding and deft maneuvering yielded the 1995 Dayton peace accords that ended the war in Bosnia - a success he hoped to repeat as President Obama's chief envoy …

Health reform will survive its legal fight  —  In March, New Hampshire preschool teacher Gail O'Brien, who was unable to obtain health insurance through her employer, was diagnosed with an aggressive form of lymphoma.  Her subsequent applications for health insurance were rejected because of her condition.

As Electoral Ground Shifts, Bloomberg Could Skip the Party  —  On Sunday, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg flatly ruled out an independent run for president in 2012.  On Monday, he appeared at the national unveiling in New York of No Labels, a group that aspires to build a grass-roots movement …

No Labels and Other Ripped Off Designs  —  Brooklyn-based artist Thomas Porostocky's friends and fans have been tipping off NY media that his art has been used without permission by the bi-partisan political group No Labels.  —  Porostocky designed star-spangled giraffes …

Atheist Ads on Buses Rattle Fort Worth  —  FORT WORTH — Stand on a corner in this city and you might get a case of theological whiplash.  —  A public bus rolls by with an atheist message on its side: “Millions of people are good without God.”  Seconds later, a van follows bearing a riposte: “I still love you.

Court battle casts pall over Mitt Romney run  —  A likely U.S. Supreme Court battle over a key component of Obamacare — which was modeled on a Bay State law championed by former Gov. Mitt Romney — could plague the GOP presidential wannabe just as the 2012 White House race heats up, experts said yesterday.

House Dems tinkering with estate tax  —  House Democratic efforts to change the tax deal struck by President Obama and congressional Republicans are focusing on an amendment to the estate tax provision, according to senior party sources familiar with a Monday leadership meeting.

The Nixon tapes remind us what a vile creature Henry Kissinger is.  —  Over the last few weeks, this modest little column of mine has been acquiring an almost eerie prescience and potency.  I called for the death sentence on Tariq Aziz to be commuted, and it was only a matter of days …

Corker assembling bloc to demand reforms ahead of debt ceiling vote  —  Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) said Tuesday he's hoping to assemble a bloc of senators who will demand tax and spending reforms before agreeing to vote to raise the U.S. debt ceiling next year.

Will a GOP-led House un-'green' the Capitol?  —  Just outside the doors of Congress, the U.S. Capitol Christmas tree glows with strands of energy-efficient LED lights.  Inside the Capitol, thousands of compact fluorescent light bulbs illuminate the final days of the session.

Fed's Contrarian Has a Wary Eye on the Past  —  KANSAS CITY, Mo. — All year, Thomas M. Hoenig has been saying no.  —  As the lone dissenter on the Federal Reserve committee that sets interest rates, Mr. Hoenig, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City …

President Obama pushes for tax package, compromise  —  posted by Dan Boniface written by: Jeffrey Wolf written by: Adam Schrager 11 hrs ago  —  WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama tells 9NEWS he does not want to extend tax cuts for the wealthy but agreed to it in a deal with Republicans …

Hoyer expected to file 'don't ask, don't tell' repeal bill Tuesday  —  House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-Pa.) are expected to introduce standalone “don't ask, don't tell” repeal legislation on Tuesday, three sources actively involved in repeal discussions told POLITICO Monday.