Confirmed: Kirsten Gillibrand Chosen to Fill Clinton's Senate Seat  —  PIX NEWS is being told that Congresswoman Kirsten Gillibrand is the reported choice of Governor David Paterson to fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Hillary Clinton.  Two Congressional sources say members …

Obama flashes irritation in press room  —  President Obama made a surprise visit to the White House press corps Thursday night, but got agitated when he was faced with a substantive question.  —  Asked how he could reconcile a strict ban on lobbyists in his administration …

On Plane to Texas, Critiques of the Speech  —  WASHINGTON — On the plane, no longer Air Force One but now Special Air Mission 28000, they talked about the speech.  George W. Bush, the former president, was heading home to Texas with his inner circle, having just left the west front of the Capitol …

Obama urges Israel to open Gaza borders  —  By Daniel Dombey in Washington and Tobias Buck in Jerusalem  —  President Barack Obama urged Israel on Thursday to open its borders with Gaza.  —  The plea came in a speech that signalled the new US administration's shift from Bush-era policy on the Middle East and the world as a whole.

Freed by U.S., Saudi Becomes a Qaeda Chief  —  BEIRUT, Lebanon — The emergence of a former Guantánamo Bay detainee as the deputy leader of Al Qaeda's Yemeni branch has underscored the potential complications in carrying out the executive order President Obama signed Thursday that the detention center be shut down within a year.

A RIDICULOUS STANDARD.... Marc Thiessen, up until recently George W. Bush's chief speechwriter, has a twisted op-ed in the Washington Post today, arguing that if Barack Obama changes Bush's national-security apparatus in anyway, he'll invite domestic terrorism and will shoulder the blame for American deaths.

Obama Orders Secret Prisons and Detention Camps Closed  —  WASHINGTON — Saying that “our ideals give us the strength and moral high ground” to combat terrorism, President Obama signed executive orders Thursday effectively ending the Central Intelligence Agency's secret interrogation program …

Obama to Bush: I Can Release Your Records.  Don't Like It?  Sue.  —  On his first day in office, President Obama put former president Bush on notice.  His administration just released an executive order that will make it difficult for Bush to shield his White House records …

Frigid Fingers Were Live but the Music Wasn't  —  It was not precisely lip-synching, but pretty close.  —  The somber, elegiac tones before President Obama's oath of office at the inauguration on Tuesday came from the instruments of Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman and two colleagues.

Banks Die Too Fast for the Regulators  —  WASHINGTON — Banking regulators across the country are struggling with a new phenomenon: Banks are failing with accelerating speed, exposing holes in the regulatory infrastructure designed to catch collapsing institutions.

Media frustration spills into briefing  —  A growing media frustration with Barack Obama's team spilled into the open at Thursday's briefing, with reporters accusing the White House of stifling access to his oath re-do and giving Obama's first interview as president to a multi-million dollar inauguration sponsor.

Pa. defense firm raided by FBI  —  Federal agents raided the offices of a Western Pennsylvania defense contractor that has received millions in federal earmarks at the request of Rep. John Murtha, according to local media reports.  —  The offices of Kuchera Industries and Kuchera Defense Systems …

Who Expects To Gain — And Lose — Under Obama  —  More Americans say that people like themselves will gain influence under the Obama administration than was the case for the last two incoming presidents.  An analysis finds that those who think they will gain under the new president includes groups …

Our Struggle for the Soul of our Nation  —  In remarks delivered yesterday at the Cardinal O'Connor Conference on Life, Robert P. George reflected on the history of the pro-life movement and offered advice for its future.  —  Thirty-six years ago tomorrow, the Supreme Court of the United States handed …

Senate Gets Reacquainted With McCain the Maverick  —  He Chides Republicans Who Hindered Clinton  —  A joke made its way around the Capitol yesterday: How do you know the 2008 election is really over?  Because John McCain is causing trouble for Republicans again.

Glenn Beck freaks out about the missing Bible at Obama's do-over swearing in.»  —  Today on his new Fox News show, Glenn Beck panicked about the re-do oath of office President Obama took last night, because Obama did not place his hand on a Bible.  “I checked.

John Thain's $87,000 Rug  —  Merrill Shocker: CEO Thain's $87,000 Office Rug by Charlie Gasparino  —  Full Coverage: Obama Inauguration, Bush Farewell  —  Blogs and Stories  —  In a Daily Beast/CNBC exclusive, Charlie Gasparino reveals how Merrill Lynch's CEO spent over $1 million …