Obama Administration Was Not Willing to Trust Romney With a Secret Kill List  —  Obama with advisors in the Oval Office on July 27, 2010  —  The administration of United States President Barack Obama feared they might lose re-election and in the summer of last year began to develop a set …

McCain: Rice could change my mind on Secretary of State vote  —  Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said Sunday that U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice should have the opportunity to change his mind about a potential nomination to replace Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State, days after the Arizona lawmaker pledged to block her nomination.

Sen. Graham ready to ‘violate’ anti-tax pledge for ‘fiscal cliff’ deal  —  Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Sunday said he is ready to violate conservative activist Grover Norquist's anti-tax pledge to reach a deal to avoid the looming “fiscal cliff.”  —  “I will violate the pledge …

Incredible Credibility  —  There's an interesting mix of contrast and similarity between the policy debates in Britain and the United States right now.  In both countries — as in every country that retains its own currency and has debts denominated in that national currency — interest rates are near record lows:

Barney Frank Calls Out Republican Senator: Stop Using ‘Weasel Words’  —  Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) challenged the GOP's implications that the Obama administration or the FBI sat on the Gen. David Petraeus sex scandal until after the election, describing such claims underhanded and unsubstantiated.

‘Gangnam Style’ Most Watched YouTube Video Ever  —  South Korean rapper PSY's “Gangnam Style” has become YouTube's most viewed video of all time.  —  YouTube says in a posting on its Trends blog that “Gangnam Style” had been viewed 805 million times as of Saturday afternoon …

Rising Seas, Vanishing Coastlines  —  THE oceans have risen and fallen throughout Earth's history, following the planet's natural temperature cycles.  Twenty thousand years ago, what is now New York City was at the edge of a giant ice sheet, and the sea was roughly 400 feet lower.

E A R L Y B I R D  —  Pg.  1  —  Hamas's Tactics Garner Support  —  Frustration with diplomacy; Palestinians see path to victory through fighting  —  RAMALLAH, West Bank — Hamas's latest battle against Israel sparked feverish Palestinian pride that spread beyond the Gaza Strip to the Palestinian ­Authority-led West Bank.

Israel successfully tests David's Sling's interceptor  —  Defense system aims at intercepting long-range missiles, will work in conjunction with Iron Dome, Arrow, Arrow 3; test brings Israel step closer to having active defense shield against Hezbollah's arsenal of projectiles.

Republicans face unexpected challenges in coastal South amid shrinking white vote  —  OXFORD, Miss. — Late on election night, a small melee erupted at the University of Mississippi here when a group of white students frustrated by the reelection of President Obama marched outside …