Obama Returns to End-of-Life Plan That Caused Stir  —  WASHINGTON — When a proposal to encourage end-of-life planning touched off a political storm over “death panels,” Democrats dropped it from legislation to overhaul the health care system.  But the Obama administration will achieve the same goal by regulation, starting Jan. 1.

Coded American Civil War message in bottle deciphered  —  A message in a bottle delivered to a Confederate general during the American Civil War has been deciphered, 147 years after it was written.  —  In the encrypted message, a commander tells Gen John Pemberton that no reinforcements …

Janet Napolitano: Director Of National Intelligence Did Not “Need” To Know About London Terror Plot  —  Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano appeared on CNN's State of the Union and was eager to defend Director of National Intelligece James Clapper's embarrassing ordeal of being unaware …

Julian Assange Signs $1.3 Million Book Deal  —  WikiLeaks Founder's Deal Will Cover Legal Costs for Himself and Website  —  WikiLeaks.org founder Julian Assange has inked a $1.3 million book deal to cover legal costs relating to his arrest and any lawsuits aimed at his controversial whistle-blowing website.

Juan Williams: Palin not on same ‘intellectual stage’ as Obama  —  Fox News contributor Juan Williams said Sunday that Sarah Palin “can't stand on the intellectual stage” with President Obama.  —  Williams, in his role as an analyst on Fox News Sunday, was breaking down the Republican presidential field, which he saw as weak.

Bundle Up, It's Global Warming  —  THE earth continues to get warmer, yet it's feeling a lot colder outside.  Over the past few weeks, subzero temperatures in Poland claimed 66 lives; snow arrived in Seattle well before the winter solstice, and fell heavily enough in Minneapolis to make the roof …

The Looming Crisis in the States  —  For most of this year, the state of Illinois has lacked the money to pay its bills.  Some of its employees have been evicted from their offices for nonpayment of rent, social service groups have laid off hundreds of workers while waiting for checks …

Even after shellacking, 2012 looks OK for Obama  —  On Boxing Day, it's worth noting that Barack Obama is down but not out.  —  You could tell as much from the contrast between his petulant postelection press conference and his peppy pre-Christmas press conference.

Many Russians here aligning with Republicans  —  STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Many Russian immigrants to the “red borough” of Staten Island are flocking to the Republican Party, saying that the national Democrats' “socialistic” policies remind them too much of the top-down oligarchy they fled in their native land.

A remedy for beggar states  —  The nation's menu of crises caused by governmental malpractice may soon include states coming to Congress as mendicants, seeking relief from the consequences of their choices.  Congress should forestall this by passing a bill with a bland title but explosive potential.

Gibbs: 'It's going to be a while' before Gitmo prison is shut down  —  Even though nearly a year has passed since the administration's self-imposed deadline to close the Guantanamo Bay military prison, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Sunday the facility will not go away any time soon.