Obama meets with liberal columnists  —  Obama held a meeting with several columnists and liberal commentators this morning, following up on last night's dinner with conservative writers, according to sources with knowledge of the meeting.  —  The group included the Washington Post's E.J. Dionne …

Cheney Tells Jim Lehrer Tonight: No Torture, Few Mistakes, Economy Not Our Fault  —  NEW YORK In an exit interview with PBS's Jim Lehrer on the NewsHour airing tonight, Vice President Cheney repeats claims that Saddam Hussein worked with al-Qaeda.  Asked if he made any mistakes in his eight years as V.P. …

WARREN COUNTY, N.J. NEWS  —  Real-time news for Belvidere, Phillipsburg and more  —  Boy named Adolf Hitler, his sisters removed from parents' home by New Jersey authorities … State authorities have removed Adolf Hilter Campbell and his two sisters from their parents' home in Holland Township …

IMF Informed Geithner on Taxes  —  Senate Delays Treasury Nominee's Hearing Till Jan. 21; Obama Vote of Confidence  —  Timothy Geithner, whose nomination as Treasury secretary has been delayed by his past failure to pay taxes, was repeatedly advised in writing by the International Monetary Fund …

Obama to End Military's 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Policy  —  WASHINGTON — President-elect Barack Obama will allow gays to serve openly in the military by overturning the controversial “don't ask, don't tell” policy that marred President Clinton's first days in office, according to incoming White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs.

U.S. military report warns ‘sudden collapse’ of Mexico is possible  —  President-elect Barack Obama listens as Mexico's President Felipe Calderon makes a statement to reporters in Washington, Monday, Jan. 12, 2009.  Mexico is one of two countries that “bear consideration for a rapid and sudden collapse …

New official portrait released  —  Today we are releasing the new official portrait for President Barack Obama.  —  It was taken by Pete Souza, the newly-announced official White House photographer.  —  It is the first time that an official presidential portrait was taken with a digital camera.

Gannett Plans to Furlough Employees for a Week  —  The Gannett Company, the nation's largest newspaper publisher, said on Wednesday that it would force thousands of its employees to take a week off without pay in an effort to avoid layoffs.  —  Gannett, which owns 85 daily newspapers across …

Education and Challenges in Afghanistan  —  This is a great interview with General David Petraeus: … Also, Dexter Filkins wrote a fine piece regarding girls returning to school after the acid attacks in Afghanistan: … Despite my own general misgivings about Afghanistan, there definitely are points of light.

Poll: Broad Backing for Obama, Stimulus  —  WASHINGTON — Americans support the economic-stimulus plan being pushed by President-elect Barack Obama but worry the government will spend too much money and widen the budget deficit, a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll found.

Obama's early stumbles  —  Longtime listener, first-time caller.  Although I wasn't yet alive in the times it describes, I too was blown away (pun intended) by “The Weather Underground” film, not so much by the namby-pamby William Ayers — who for all his scandalous reputation …

Bank of America to Get Billions in U.S. Aid  —  Deal Is Said to Be Reached on Fresh Bailout Cash; Lender Told Government It Needed Funds to Absorb Ailing Merrill Lynch  —  WASHINGTON — The U.S. government has agreed to commit billions in additional aid to Bank of America Corp. to help …

R.I.P. Patrick McGoohan, The Prisoner's TV Visionary  —  “I am not a number, I am a free man!”  Patrick McGoohan's character Number Six shouted at the panoptic eye in the sky at the beginning of every episode of the revolutionary '60s sci-fi TV series The Prisoner.

Ex-Bush aide takes blame for ‘Mission Accomplished’  —  (CNN) - It's a moment President Bush has repeatedly called a mistake: Delivering a speech on board the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Spring of 2003 with a “Mission Accomplished” banner featured prominently behind him.

The Minnesota Recount Was Unconstitutional  —  There's still plenty of time for the state to get it right.  —  You would think people would learn.  The recount in the contest between Norm Coleman and Al Franken for a seat in the U.S. Senate isn't just embarrassing.  It is unconstitutional.

It's an injustice to NOT marry girls aged 10, says Saudi cleric … Saudi Arabia's most senior cleric has told followers it is permissible for ten-year-old girls to marry and anyone who think they are too young are doing the youngsters ‘an injustice’.  —  Abdul-Azeez ibn Abdullaah Aal ash-Shaikh …

In China, Bush remains a popular president  —  He is shown in a dozen flattering photographs at a Beijing exhibit marking 30 years of Sino-U.S. diplomatic ties.  Many Chinese openly express affection toward ‘Xiao Bush,’ or Young Bush.  —  Reporting from Beijing — Walk into the exhibit hall …

Nick Fury no more?  Samuel L. Jackson says 'Maybe I won't be Nick Fury'  —  EXCLUSIVE AND UPDATED  —  Samuel L. Jackson, clearly bristling, said today that negotiations to put him in the role of Nick Fury have broken down because “there seems to be an economic crisis in the Marvel Comics world.”

Re: Ricardo Montalban  —  Jonah, I'm with you on Ricardo Montalban.  He was one of a select group of actors who could redeem almost any nonsense.  My memory of the Dynasty spin-off, The Colbys, is that he was cast as a guy called “Zach Powers” but played him as his usual Latin charmer anyway.

Kennedy Fades As New Yorkers Back Cuomo For Senate, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; More Voters Don't Think Kennedy Is Qualified  —  New York State voters have cooled on Caroline Kennedy and more voters now prefer State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo 31 - 24 percent for Hillary Clinton's U.S. Senate seat …

The House Republicans Propose A Stimulus Alternative  —  There is no pride of authorship, President-elect Barack Obama said last week.  His economic team is open to and all ideas, regardless of progenitor.  —  So — the Republican Study Committee in the House has come out with an all-tax, no spending variant.

Race and The Israel Lobby  —  Freddie deBoer emails: … It's a fair issue to raise.  To be clear, I don't think that Walt and Mearsheimer are mimicking anti-Semitic tropes intentionally; I think they're doing so obtusely, in the course of a tendentious and simplistic argument about the roots of U.S. foreign policy.

Czech art spoof sparks EU outrage  —  As if the Russian gas crisis and war in Gaza were not headache enough, the Czech Republic, which took over the rotating EU presidency at the start of the year, has been landed with a cultural debacle.  —  Sited prominently in the headquarters of the EU Council …